Connect with us

Business

Visualized: The Top 25 U.S. Newspapers by Daily Circulation

Published

on

u.s. newspapers

Can I share this graphic?
Yes. Visualizations are free to share and post in their original form across the web—even for publishers. Please link back to this page and attribute Visual Capitalist.
When do I need a license?
Licenses are required for some commercial uses, translations, or layout modifications. You can even whitelabel our visualizations. Explore your options.
Interested in this piece?
Click here to license this visualization.

Visualized: The Top 25 U.S. Newspapers by Daily Circulation

Most people today—more than 8 in 10 Americans—get their news via digital devices, doing their reading on apps, listening to podcasts, or scrolling through social media feeds.

It’s no surprise then that over the last year, only one U.S. newspaper of the top 25 most popular in the country saw positive growth in their daily print circulations.

Based on data from Press Gazette, this visual stacks up the amount of daily newspapers different U.S. publications dole out and how that’s changed year-over-year.

Extra, Extra – Read All About It

The most widely circulated physical newspaper is the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) by a long shot—sending out almost 700,000 copies a day. But it is important to note that this number is an 11% decrease since 2021.

Here’s a closer look at the data.

RankNewspaperAverage Daily Print CirculationYear-Over-Year Change
#1Wall Street Journal697,493−11%
#2New York Times329,781−9%
#3USA Today159,233−13%
#4Washington Post159,040−12%
#5New York Post146,649−2%
#6Los Angeles Times142,382−14%
#7Chicago Tribune106,156−16%
#8Star Tribune103,808−9%
#9Tampa Bay Times102,266−26%
#10Newsday97,182−12%
#11Seattle Times86,406−10%
#12Honolulu Star-Advertiser79,096−5%
#13Arizona Republic70,216−10%
#14Boston Globe68,806−11%
#15Dallas Morning News65,369−10%
#16Houston Chronicle65,084−17%
#17Philadelphia Inquirer61,180−20%
#18San Francisco Chronicle60,098−12%
#19Denver Post57,265−13%
#20Chicago Sun-Times57,222−7%
#21The Buffalo News56,005−15%
#22Daily News55,653−18%
#23Villages Daily Sun49,1833%
#24St. Louis Post-Dispatch48,246−11%
#25Milwaukee Journal Sentinel47,832−13%

These papers, although experiencing negative growth when it comes to print, are still extremely popular and widely-read publications digitally—not only in the U.S., but worldwide. For example, the New York Times reported having reached 9 million subscribers globally earlier this year.

The one paper with increased print circulation was The Villages Daily Sun, which operates out of a retirement community in Florida. Elderly people tend to be the most avid readers of print papers. Another Florida newspaper, the Tampa Bay Times, was the worst performer at -26%.

In total, 2,500 U.S. newspapers have shut down since 2005. One-third of American newspapers are expected to be shuttered by 2025. This particularly impacts small communities and leaves many across America in ‘news deserts.’

Print vs. Digital Newspapers

Regardless of print’s downturn, digital subscriptions remain much higher for most of these papers. As one example, The Washington Post has over 3 million online subscribers, compared to their 159,000 print readers.

To put things in perspective, around 24 million print papers now circulate throughout the U.S. on any given day. But looking back at the industry’s peak in the 1980s, almost 64 million were distributed on any given weekday.

And digital is not done growing. Newsroom hires have been ramping up for “digital-native” news sites—publications that started online and never had a print version. On the flipside, employment at traditional papers has more than halved since 2008.

Problems with Media

American news media can be extremely divisive. Many newsrooms across the country play into fear, sensationalism, and partisan politics.

Digital news only makes this worse, utilizing algorithms designed to keep a person’s eyes on the page longer, pushing stories with narratives a person shows interest in, and often taking them down a rabbit hole of fringe information—sometimes towards the extremes.

Additionally, the business of journalism is an increasingly less lucrative industry. Most revenue comes from digital ads running on news sites—so rather than selling the news to consumers, it’s the time and attention of consumers that is being sold to advertisers. Furthermore, some of the best quality content is locked up behind subscription-based paywalls.

Print may actually be one way to avoid some of the more obvious issues, particularly because there’s no way to track the data on which stories you read. But all publications still have inherent bias, of course, and it’s clear that print papers are not bouncing back any time soon.

Subscribe to Visual Capitalist
Click for Comments

Real Estate

Modular Housing vs. Traditional Housing: How Do They Compare?

Modular housing can be completed 40% faster and costs 10-25% less than traditional construction methods. Is the future of housing modular?

Published

on

The following content is sponsored by Boxabl

Modular Housing vs. Traditional Housing: How Do They Compare?

The U.S. needs new houses. Lots of them. 

With housing prices nearing six times annual incomes, increasing supply is a must if there is any hope of bringing down house prices, and modular housing could be the solution.

This visualization is the third and final piece of the Reimagining Home Series from our sponsor Boxabl, where we compare the benefits of modular housing against traditional construction methods. Let’s start with the basics.

What Is Modular Housing?

Modular homes are built offsite, in standardized sections, usually in a factory setting. They are then transported to the building site and assembled on a waiting foundation. Once complete, modular homes look just like any other house. 

Modular housing is not the same as manufactured homes, which are also sometimes called mobile homes. Like modular housing, manufactured homes are built offsite in a factory, but the key difference is that they can be moved after being assembled. Modular homes aren’t meant to be moved again after final assembly.

6 Ways Modular Homes Differ to Traditional Homes

The following benefits are based on information from the Modular Home Building Association, as well as a paper given at the 2020 Creative Construction e-Conference by members of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington.

1. Speed of Construction

Because of the piecemeal nature of modular construction, many building activities can be done simultaneously, greatly reducing the overall time of completion. At the same time, because construction happens indoors, weather delays aren’t an issue. Overall, a modular housing project can be completed in 40% less time than using traditional building construction methods.

2. Cost Effectiveness

Standardization of design, less transportation of materials onsite, and the reduced impact of weather are some of the reasons that modular housing can be much cheaper than traditional building methods. According to the authors of the paper, there was a 10-25% decrease in construction costs for modular housing, again, compared to traditional methods.

3. Customizable

A common misconception is that modular housing isn’t customizable. While many manufacturers will often begin with a starter floor plan, they may also offer various customization options throughout the home. 

4. Safety Record

Construction is a dangerous way to make a living. In 2021, construction and extraction workers held the number two spot for fatal occupational injuries in the U.S., with 951 work fatalities.

When you drill down into that number, construction tradespeople are in the majority, by far, with 726 that year alone.

DescriptionFatalities
Transportation and material moving occupations1,523
Construction and extraction occupations951
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations475
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations356
Management occupations323
Protective service occupations302
Production occupations242
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations218
Sales and related occupations200
Food preparation and serving related occupations101
Office and administrative support occupations91
Unknown occupation71
Personal care and service occupations64
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations57
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations45
Community and social services occupations40
Healthcare support occupations32
Architecture and engineering occupations29
Business and financial operations occupations27
Educational instruction and library occupations16
Legal occupations11
Life, physical, and social science occupations10
Computer and mathematical occupations6
Military occupations0
Total5,190

Because modular construction happens in a controlled, factory environment, the number of accidents decreases by 80% compared to traditional building methods.

5. Environmental Impact

Anyone who has walked past a residential build site can testify to the amount of waste produced during construction. Modular construction is more efficient and therefore produces less waste. And because onsite construction is limited to assembly, there is less dust and noise. Carbon emissions are also 38% lower.

6. Built to Last

Modular housing is as good, if not better constructed, than many traditionally-built houses. The factory environment allows for superior quality control, and homes built this way use 15-20% more wood per square foot, which makes them stronger. Moreover, in a study commissioned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency after 1992’s Hurricane Andrew found that modular housing “performed much better than conventional residential framing.” 

A Market On The Rise

Not only is modular housing cheaper and greener than traditional construction methods, it is also a market on the rise. 

According to a recent report, the global modular construction market is expected to reach $54 billion by 2027, with a CAGR of 2.9% between 2021 to 2027.

Thinking Outside of the Box on Housing

Modular housing could be a solution to the housing affordability crisis not only in the U.S., but around the world. And with the global city population expected to hit 68% by 2050, it’s time to think outside the box on housing.

Boxabl uses advanced, mass production techniques to build and ship homes that significantly lower the cost of home ownership for everyone.

This is the final piece in the Reimagining Home Series from our sponsor, Boxabl. Be sure to read parts one and two on urbanization and affordable housing

Visual Capitalist Logo

Learn more about how Boxabl is helping tackle the housing affordability crisis.

Subscribe to Visual Capitalist
Click for Comments

You may also like

Subscribe

Continue Reading

Subscribe

Popular