- Six public and college stations sit between 88.1 and 91.5 FM.
- KNX 1070 is the all-news station; KFI 640 is talk and news.
- Chinese- and Korean-language stations broadcast on AM 1300, 1430 and 1540.
The Los Angeles dial runs from college and public stations at the bottom of FM to news, talk and language stations on AM. The dial below lists the stations we could check in the FCC’s Public Inspection File, with formats taken from the stations’ own websites. Where a website did not say what the station plays, we left a dash rather than guess.
FM: public, college and noncommercial
| Frequency | Call letters | Licensee or licensed to | What the station says |
|---|---|---|---|
| 88.1 | KKJZ | Cal State Long Beach Research Foundation, Long Beach | KJazz 88.1, America’s jazz and blues station |
| 88.5 | KCSN | Cal State Northridge, Northridge | – |
| 88.9 | KXLU | Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles | Non-commercial educational station run by students, faculty and volunteers |
| 89.3 | KPCC | Pasadena Area Community College District, Pasadena | LAist 89.3, L.A.’s NPR news station |
| 89.9 | KCRW | Santa Monica Community College District, Santa Monica | An NPR affiliate |
| 90.7 | KPFK | Pacifica Foundation, Los Angeles | Listener-powered since 1959 |
| 91.5 | KUSC | University of Southern California, Los Angeles | Classical California |
Under the FCC’s rules, 88.1 to 91.9 MHz is the part of the band available for noncommercial educational FM stations, which explains the cluster of colleges and public broadcasters at the bottom of the dial. LAist notes that listeners have long confused LAist 89.3 with L.A.’s other NPR affiliate, KCRW. For more, read Public Radio and TV in Los Angeles: LAist, KCRW, KUSC, KPFK, PBS SoCal and More.
FM: commercial
| Frequency | Call letters | Licensed to | What the station says |
|---|---|---|---|
| 93.9 | KLLI | Los Angeles | – |
| 95.5 | KLOS | Los Angeles | – |
| 98.7 | KYSR | Los Angeles | ALT 98.7, L.A.’s alternative rock |
| 101.1 | KRTH | Los Angeles | – |
| 102.3 | KJLH | Compton | Radio Free 102.3 |
| 102.7 | KIIS-FM | Los Angeles | L.A.’s #1 hit music station |
| 104.3 | KBIG | Los Angeles | – |
| 105.9 | KPWR | Los Angeles | Power 106 |
| 106.7 | KROQ-FM | Pasadena | The World Famous KROQ |
| 107.1 | KSSE | Arcadia | – |
| 107.5 | KLVE | Los Angeles | Licensee: Univision Radio Stations Group |
Tip: Licensed to Pasadena or Arcadia does not mean you cannot hear it in Santa Monica. The license town is a legal detail; transmitter location and terrain decide reception.
AM
| Frequency | Call letters | Licensed to | What the station says |
|---|---|---|---|
| 570 | KLAC | Los Angeles | – |
| 640 | KFI | Los Angeles | More stimulating talk and news radio in L.A. and Orange County |
| 710 | KSPN | Los Angeles | – |
| 790 | KABC | Los Angeles | 790 KABC |
| 1020 | KTNQ | Los Angeles | Licensee: Latino Media Network |
| 1070 | KNX | Los Angeles | KNX News, SoCal’s 24/7 news connection |
| 1230 | KYPA | Los Angeles | Licensee: Woori Media Group |
| 1300 | KAZN | Pasadena | Chinese-language radio |
| 1430 | KMRB | San Gabriel | Chinese-language programming, per its owner |
| 1540 | KMPC | Los Angeles | Radio Korea AM1540 |
KNX has a long claim to fame. CBS Los Angeles reported in 2013 that KNX went all-news on April 15, 1968, and cited broadcasting historian Jim Hilliker calling it the oldest radio station in Los Angeles, on the air since 1920. See A Short History of Los Angeles Broadcasting: KNX, KTLA, KPFK and the Mountain.
News and traffic
For news, KNX 1070 is the dedicated all-news station, and it describes itself as connecting listeners to the freeways. KFI 640 mixes talk and news. Our guide to L.A. Traffic Reports on the Radio, and the Official Tools That Back Them Up covers how to use radio and official traffic tools together.
Languages
Multicultural Radio Broadcasting, which owns KAZN and KMRB, says its Los Angeles AM stations produce their own Chinese programming in Mandarin and Cantonese, and Radio Korea broadcasts on AM 1540. Read Asian-Language TV and Radio in Los Angeles: Chinese, Korean and More and Spanish-Language TV and Radio in Los Angeles.
Keep it current
Formats change more often than frequencies. If something here no longer matches what you hear, the frequency is still right; the station’s website will say what it airs now.
Sports
Several AM stations carry sports talk and game broadcasts; formats and team deals change by season, so check the teams’ own broadcast pages for current radio homes. KLAC 570 and KSPN 710 are both licensed to Los Angeles in the FCC’s public files.
How to use this list
Save stations as presets by frequency, not by name. Brands and formats change, frequencies rarely do. If you drive between the Valley, the Westside and Orange County, test your presets along the route; a station licensed to Pasadena or Arcadia may come in differently on the coast.
Keep at least one AM and one FM news station saved in every car and next to a battery radio at home. In wildfires, windstorms and earthquakes, when power or cell service fails, broadcast radio is often the most reliable source of local information. Wildfire and Earthquake Alerts in Los Angeles: ShakeAlert, Red Flag Warnings, TV and Radio explains the alert systems.
Finally, if you are new to Los Angeles, spend a week scanning the dial slowly at different times of day. Morning shows, midday music, evening sports and late-night specialty programs on the college stations all sound different, and you will quickly find the handful of stations you come back to.
The FCC’s public files are also the place to check who holds each license, if you ever need to contact a station formally.