> Quick answer: Use direct city selection in Meta Ads Manager to target up to 250 cities at once. Or drop a pin on your address and set a radius of 1 to 50 miles (US) or 1 to 70 km (outside the US). Match your radius to your real service area. Exclude zones you cannot serve.
Facebook's location targeting puts your ads in front of people in specific cities, zip codes, or custom radius zones. Getting this right saves budget and increases relevance. Here is how to set it up correctly.
What is Location Targeting on Facebook Ads?
Definition and available location types
Location targeting lets you define exactly where your audience is when they see your ad. Per Meta's Business Help Center, you can target countries, states, cities (up to 250 at once), counties, congressional districts, and postcodes (up to 50,000). Each location type serves a different scale of campaign. City-level is the most practical for local and regional advertisers.
Why city-level targeting matters for local and regional businesses
City-level targeting is the sweet spot for most local businesses. You control who sees your ad based on where they live or where they have recently been. This keeps your budget focused on people you can actually serve. Broad national targeting wastes impressions on audiences outside your delivery area.
How to Set Up City Location Targeting in Facebook Ads Manager
Step 1: Navigate to the Audience section
Open Ads Manager and create a new campaign or edit an existing ad set. At the ad set level, scroll down to the Audience section. Location settings appear near the top of that panel.
Step 2: Select your target location(s)
Click the location search bar. Type your city name. Select it from the dropdown. Repeat for additional cities. You can add up to 250 locations in a single ad set, which makes multi-city campaigns straightforward to manage.
Step 3: Choose your targeting method
You have two main options. Direct city targeting covers the full metro or city area automatically. Radius targeting lets you enter a specific business address and set a custom distance around it. Use radius targeting when your service area does not align neatly with a city's official boundaries.
Step 4: Adjust radius if using pin-drop method
Enter your business address and use the slider to set your distance. In the US, you can choose between 1 and 50 miles. Outside the US, the range is 1 to 70 km. A map overlay shows your coverage in real time before you publish. Confirm the shaded zone matches your actual service area before saving.
Understanding Location Targeting Options for Cities
Direct city targeting (up to 250 cities)
Direct city targeting selects the full metro or city area. This works well for regional campaigns covering multiple markets. Add all your cities in one ad set rather than splitting them across separate campaigns, which fragments your budget and complicates reporting.
Radius targeting around a specific address
Radius targeting gives more precision when your service zone is tighter than a full city. Enter your address, choose your distance, and confirm coverage on the map. Note that radius targeting does not cross country borders, a radius set near a US border will not extend into Canada or Mexico.
Location categories: living in, recently in, or traveling in
Facebook determines a user's location based on a variety of signals. Three key categories apply. "Living in" targets permanent residents. "Recently in" catches people who visited recently. "Traveling in" targets people currently in your area. Choose "Living in" for services tied to a home address. Choose "Recently in" for retail, dining, or hospitality where foot traffic matters.
Best Practices for Choosing the Right City Targeting Radius
Budget and scale considerations
A smaller radius means higher ad frequency per person nearby. This increases local visibility but can fatigue your audience faster. A larger radius spreads your budget across more people without necessarily increasing total conversions. Start tighter and expand based on cost-per-result data.
Local service area vs. regional reach
Match your radius to how far you can actually serve customers. A cleaning company covering a 12-mile zone should not target 45 miles out. Irrelevant impressions raise CPM and lower conversion rates. Your radius should reflect your real operations.
Excluding locations to improve ROAS
Use exclusions to remove areas you cannot serve. Exclude neighboring zip codes, cities, or regions outside your delivery zone. This prevents spend on people who will never become customers. Facebook location targeting supports exclusions at every location type.
Radius recommendations by business type
- Retail store: 5 to 15 miles
- Local service (plumber, salon, cleaner): 5 to 20 miles
- Regional franchise or multi-location brand: 25 to 50 miles
- E-commerce with a local focus: broad city or state-level targeting
Common City Targeting Strategies
Single-location business (tight radius)
Set a 5 to 15 mile radius around your business address. Select "Living in" to prioritize local residents over passing visitors. A tight audience means higher frequency, which builds local brand recognition faster on a small budget.
Multi-location business (stacked cities or regional)
Add each target city in a single ad set or create separate ad sets per city. Stacked ad sets make it easy to compare performance per market. Shift budget toward cities generating the strongest results as your data builds.
Campaign localization across markets
When targeting multiple cities, tailor your ad copy to each location. Mentioning a specific city in the headline lifts ad relevance. Coinis Brand Profile stores your brand voice and tone. When you generate localized copy for each market, Brand Profile applies it automatically so every city gets on-brand messaging without starting from scratch.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I target multiple cities in a single Facebook ad set?
Yes. Facebook lets you add up to 250 cities in a single ad set. Add each city through the location search bar in the Audience section of your ad set settings.
What is the minimum radius I can set for Facebook city targeting?
The minimum radius is 1 mile in the US. Outside the US, the minimum is 1 km. The maximum is 50 miles in the US and 70 km outside the US. These limits are per Meta's Business Help Center documentation.