# Local news in Connecticut

Source: https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-connecticut
Published by NewsUSA. Updated 2026-11-14.

> Short answer: In Medill's 2026 data, Connecticut has 52 newspapers, 95 digital-only news sites, 2 public broadcasters and 4 local TV newsrooms. None of its 9 planning regions is a news desert, and one has only one source. That is 1.4 newspapers for every 100,000 residents, against 1.6 nationally.

| Measure | Connecticut | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Newspapers | 52 | 5,523 |
| Digital-only news sites | 95 | 1,926 |
| Public broadcasters | 2 | 342 |
| Local TV newsrooms | 4 | 678 |
| Newspapers per 100,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| Planning regions with no local news source | 0 | 238 |
| Planning regions with only one | 1 | 1,478 |
| Planning regions | 9 | 3,144 |

Source: Medill Local News Initiative, Northwestern University, 2026 data; population from the US Census Bureau, Vintage 2025. The national county figures come from Medill's county data.

## How Connecticut compares

- Connecticut has 1.4 newspapers for every 100,000 residents, tied for 32nd highest of the 50 states and DC. The national figure is 1.6.
- Connecticut is one of 10 states where every planning region has at least one local news source.
- The planning region with the most local news sources is Capitol Planning Region, with 44.

## Map: local news by planning region

![Map of Connecticut's 9 planning regions, shaded by number of local news sources: 0 with none, 1 with one, 0 with two to four and 8 with five or more. Source: Medill Local News Initiative, 2026 data.](https://trynewsusa.com/charts/map-local-news-connecticut.png)

## Every planning region in Connecticut

Connecticut has had no county governments since 1960. Since 2022 the US Census Bureau, and Medill's data, use its nine planning regions in place of its eight old counties, so this page does too.

| Planning region | Newspapers | Digital sites | Public broadcasters | Local TV | Local news sources | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capitol Planning Region | 9 | 32 | 0 | 3 | 44 | Two or more |
| Greater Bridgeport Planning Region | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 10 | Two or more |
| Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 9 | Two or more |
| Naugatuck Valley Planning Region | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 16 | Two or more |
| Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Northwest Hills Planning Region | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | Two or more |
| South Central Connecticut Planning Region | 10 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 26 | Two or more |
| Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 11 | Two or more |
| Western Connecticut Planning Region | 12 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 31 | Two or more |

Source: Medill Local News Initiative, Northwestern University, county data behind its 2026 map, read November 9, 2026. A planning region's local news sources are its newspapers, digital sites, public broadcasters and local TV newsrooms.

## Neighboring states

Connecticut borders [Massachusetts](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-massachusetts), [New York](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-new-york) and [Rhode Island](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-rhode-island).

Closest to Connecticut (1.4) on newspapers per 100,000 residents: [Georgia](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-georgia) (1.4) and [New York](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-new-york) (1.4).

## Use this data

Connecticut alone: [Connecticut by planning region, 2026 (CSV)](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-connecticut-2026.csv). Every county in the country is in one file: [news outlets by county, 2026 (CSV)](https://trynewsusa.com/news-outlets-by-county-2026.csv). State totals are in [news outlets by state (CSV)](https://trynewsusa.com/news-outlets-by-state-2026.csv) and [news deserts by state (CSV)](https://trynewsusa.com/news-deserts-by-state-2026.csv). Credit the Medill Local News Initiative for the figures, and link to this page or to [news deserts by state](https://trynewsusa.com/news-deserts-by-state), which has every state side by side and a lookup you can put on your own site.

## Put these figures on your site

You are welcome to embed this card on your own site. It shows Connecticut's figures from Medill's 2026 data and links back to this page. Copy this code. On narrow pages, raise the height to 500.

## Getting a story onto local news sites

A feature story placed through a syndication network can run on local news sites in many states at once. [How to get your brand on local news sites](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-sites) explains how that works, and [local news statistics](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-statistics) has the national picture.

## Questions

### How many news deserts are in Connecticut?

None. Every one of its 9 planning regions has at least one local news source in Medill's 2026 data.

### How many newspapers are in Connecticut?

52, in Medill's 2026 data. That is 1.4 for every 100,000 residents, against 1.6 for the whole country.

### Which Connecticut planning region has the most local news sources?

Capitol Planning Region, with 44: 9 newspapers, 32 digital sites, no public broadcasters and 3 local TV newsrooms, in Medill's 2026 data.

## How this page was made

Outlet counts and news deserts come from the Medill Local News Initiative's 2026 data: the state figures on its map (read November 8, 2026) and the outlet list and county data behind it (read November 9). NewsUSA counted the outlets by county and checked on every build that the counties add up to Medill's state figures. Population is the US Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimate.

- [Medill Local News Initiative: Explore the local news landscape (2026 data; state figures read November 8, outlet list and county figures November 9)](https://localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/projects/state-of-local-news/explore/), read November 9, 2026
- [US Census Bureau: state population estimates, Vintage 2025 (July 1, 2025)](https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/state/totals/NST-EST2025-ALLDATA.csv), read November 9, 2026