While worship music, preaching and faith-based conversations may echo from radio stations across the entire United States, Alaska stands out with the highest concentration of faith-based broadcasting per capita in the country.

A new report by the Pew Research Center titled “What’s Religious Radio Like in Your State?” examined more than 17,000 AM/FM stations nationwide, and found that roughly one in four U.S. radio stations (about 25%) focuses on religious content. Nationally, 98% of American adults live within listening range of at least one such station, with the South showing the highest overall number of faith-based stations.

Alaska, however, leads the nation in religious stations per 100,000 adults – at 7.3. That is the highest of any state, far surpassing the next closest, Montana (5.9), and dwarfing most others, where rates typically fall between 0.4 and 3.1.

Overall, Alaska is home to 54 religious radio stations, which comprises 23.3% of all stations in the state. While that percentage is slightly below the national average of about 25%, Alaska’s vast geography and smaller population translate into unmatched per-capita access to religious programming.

 Alaska’s religious stations lean more toward talk than music. In terms of religious tradition, 11.5% are affiliated with Evangelical Protestantism – notably lower than many Southern states – while 15.4% align with Mainline Protestantism. About 7% are Catholic with the rest falling into mixed formats or other Christian and non-Christian categories.

Based on analysis of nearly 440,000 hours of programming from over 2,000 stations and a national survey of 5,023 adults, the report highlights how religious radio serves as a vital source of faith content, community news, and inspiration in regions where other media may be limited. In Alaska, with its remote communities and challenging terrain, these 54 stations likely play an outsized role in connecting listeners to worship, teaching, and local information.

The full report, including interactive maps and state-by-state breakdowns, is available on the Pew Research Center website.

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