TV stations by state

The FCC licenses 6,983 TV transmitters across the country. Utah has the most (833), followed by California (423) and Colorado (400). Many of those are translators, small relay transmitters that carry a big-city station's signal into valleys and rural areas the main tower cannot reach. They are why mountain states have far more transmitters than their population suggests.

In a typical U.S. city or town, about 17 transmitters arrive at fair strength or better, and the nearest major network tower is about 22 miles away. Across all places, 24% can use an indoor antenna, 47% need an amplified or attic antenna and 28% need an outdoor antenna.