Document And Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Mar. 02, 2017	Jun. 30, 2016
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Entity Registrant Name	SAGA COMMUNICATIONS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000886136
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Public Float			$ 196,675,874
Trading Symbol	SGA
Common Class A [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		5,011,737
Common Class B [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		878,475