New research from mobile tech company StepLeader shows that adult US smartphone owners are increasingly turning to mobile apps and social media to consume local news.

More than 1 in 4 survey respondents said they had a news app from a local TV station installed on their phone in 2013.

And while 47% still cited local TV news broadcasts as their top source for local news, the local TV station’s app came in second at 17%, ahead of the local TV website (12%) and the local newspaper website (7%).

According to the StepLeader data, 5% rely on social media for local news, which is bound to continue to increase. Most certainly, Twitter makes up a large chunk of the social media bucket in this study.

Radio is now down to 1% as a source of local news.

In addition, those who used local TV news apps skewed well-educated, affluent, and older (62% were between 30 and 60 years old).

Lastly, while 92% of those with a local TV news app used it at least once during a 7-day period, 32% used it 7 or more times during that period (just less than the 36% who said they watched local news on TV that frequently).

What’s your go-to source for local news in 2013? Do you use Twitter more than you watch local TV news?

(Source: eMarketer. News image via Shutterstock.)