When it comes to the radio what are kw like as in wattage?

Question

like is one kw the same as one mile or what?

Answer 1

One kilowatt (kw) equals 1000 watts.

Most of the stations on 1230, 1240, 1340, 1400, 1450 and 1490 AM are 1 kw stations and cover anywhere from 10 to 20 miles radius. These are the local channels with 1 kw max.

The largest stations are 50kw, or 50,000 watts. These are the  stations you can pick up at night via skywave - WSB 750 in Atlanta, WWL 870 in New Orleans, etc. 50kw is the maximum power allowed in the U.S.

Because conditions change from one tower site to the next, there is not a mileage equivalent as far as wattage.

Determining the amount of power for a station is done using engineering studies and. sometimes, directional antenna systems. This is to keep stations from interfering with each other.