There are 69,498  small businesses in the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV Metro Area, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Almost every one of these businesses is competing for a portion of the $45.1 billion of local retail spending expected to occur in 2023.*

To capture the largest share of this giant pool of consumer cash, Las Vegas small business owners will need to consider advertising.

"Think you have a great product?" asks the U.S. Small Business Administration. "Unfortunately, no one's going to know about it unless you advertise. Advertising, if done correctly, can do wonders for your sales., and you know what that means: more revenue and more success for your company."

One of the best ways to advertise in Las Vegas may be on local radio, a fact not lost on the world's largest advertiser, Proctor & Gamble. Last year, P&G upped spending on the radio by 43% to $235 million, according to Vivvix (formerly Kantar Media), led by a big jump in local radio.

According to Nielsen, 1,475,493 adults tune in to their favorite Las Vegas radio stations every week. This is significantly more consumers than are reached by all other advertising-supported media, including local TV, local cable, streaming video, social media, online audio, and local newspapers.

Las Vegas radio's unchallenged reach is why many local business owners depend on the medium to capture the largest possible share of the $45.1 billion dollars consumers are expected to spend at retail this year.

Other local small business owners, however, may be surprised to learn that by most marketing metrics, radio remains the best way to advertise in Las Vegas.

Here are four more facts about AM/FM radio that may surprise many local marketers.

Every week, according to Nielsen, Las Vegas radio reaches 1,475,493 adults. This is more consumers than use any other medium, including local TV, local cable, streaming video, social media, online audio, and newspapers.

Reach, though, is only one component used to calculate ratings.  The other metric that contributes to the rating formula is the time spent using each medium. So, although for the past 10 years, AM/FM radio's reach has been significantly higher than the reach of local TV, consumers spent considerably more time watching TV. As a result of the math, TV has enjoyed higher ratings than radio.

For the first time, however, AM/FM radio ratings have exceeded local TV ratings by three percent among the key advertising demographic of 18-49-year-olds, according to Nielsen's Total Audience Data for the third quarter of 2023.

In the Las Vegas area, there are 986,507 18-49-year-olds, the majority of whom are millennials, a generation that now accounts for nearly one-third of all retail spending.

Las Vegas radio reaches more local consumers each week than any other advertising medium.

According to Nielsen, 1,475,493 adults tune in to their favorite AM/FM stations every week.  This is significantly more consumers than are reached by Las Vegas TV, cable, streaming video, streaming audio, social media, or newspapers.

AM/FM radio's dominance among local consumers is driven, in large part, by the 1.7 million Las Vegas area adults who take to the road in their car or truck every week, according to Neilsen.