Monthly Rankings Reveal the Top 50 News Websites in the U.S.
In the ever-evolving landscape of digital news media, Press Gazette has released its latest monthly ranking of the 50 most-visited news websites in the United States, based on traffic data from Similarweb. This comprehensive update, published on June 4, 2025, provides valuable insight into the competitive world of online journalism, highlighting significant growth trends, notable declines, and emerging players in the industry.
AP News Surges Amidst Legal Controversies
One of the standout performers in the ranking is AP News, which saw a dramatic increase in traffic despite the ongoing legal disputes with former President Donald Trump. The agency’s website garnered an impressive 110.9 million monthly visits in April 2025, marking a year-on-year growth of 44.6%. The surge in popularity comes following AP News’s decision to refuse a request to rename the Gulf of Mexico, leading to its ban from presidential media briefings. As the controversies unfolded, AP News capitalized on the resulting public interest, positioning itself as one of the fastest-growing news websites in the country.
Dominance of Traditional News Giants
The top of the list continues to be dominated by established news outlets. The New York Times remained the most-visited news website in the U.S. with 479.3 million visits, followed closely by CNN. CNBC also experienced substantial growth, with a 34.2% increase year-on-year, achieving 136.3 million visits in April.
Notably, the Arena Group’s two flagship brands—Men’s Journal and Athlon Sports—emerged as the fastest-growing properties among the top 50 websites. Men’s Journal skyrocketed by 338%, reaching 23.5 million visits, while Athlon Sports reported a 144.7% increase, drawing in 40.7 million visitors.
Declines Among Some Big Players
However, not all news brands enjoyed a fruitful month. The Sun experienced the steepest decline among the top 50, witnessing a 61.5% drop in visits to just 22.1 million. Similarly, the New York Post experienced a 25% reduction, falling to 113.3 million visits. These downward trends serve as a reminder of the shifting dynamics in reader engagement amidst the competitive digital landscape.
Rival publication The Mirror has made notable strides outside the top 50, with a staggering 631% growth year-on-year, attracting 15.1 million visits in April 2025. Upworthy also performed well, growing by 158.4%, accumulating 17.4 million visits, albeit still outside of the top 50 ranking.
March Performance Review
Reflecting on traffic data from March, it was reported that nearly all of the top 50 websites experienced increased traffic compared to February, with significant highlights including The Atlantic—which jumped over 40% with 30.4 million visits due to a viral report. Climate news site The Cooldown took the lead for month-over-month growth with a 52% increase.
Overall, three out of five of the top 50 news websites recorded year-on-year growth. Athlon Sports led this pack with an impressive 693% increase, demonstrating the appetite for sports news within the digital sphere.
Methodology and Industry Impacts
The data from Similarweb is derived through advanced machine learning models and aggregates vast datasets from numerous sources, including first-party analytics shared by participating websites, device data aggregation networks, and public data extraction. It should be noted that Press Gazette refines Similarweb’s classification of sites to focus on those with notable journalistic merit.
As the digital news landscape continues to shift, these monthly rankings not only highlight audience engagement but also reflect the industry’s need for adaptability and resilience amidst ongoing changes in consumer behavior and media access.
For more insights on the top-performing news websites in the U.S. and discussions on digital journalism trends, stay tuned for future updates.