Country is the most popular music format on the radio, with 13.3 percent of people ages twelve and older tuning in. The country format claims a large number of stations, many of which are in tiny markets where country is traditionally the default format for communities with only one radio station. Country music has old roots in radio and although Top 40 drove it out of many markets in the 1950s, it came back in the 1960s with the growth of FM radio.

News/talk/information is the second most popular radio format in terms of listeners. By 2012, more than 1,920 stations carried the format—the most stations for any format. It rose to popularity for two reasons: First, personalities like Rush Limbaugh became increasingly popular with listeners; second, though news/talk/information is more expensive to produce, its main listeners are working- and middle-class—two target groups for advertisers.