In order to perform local dimming, a driving dimming duty cycle is generated using a target gamma curve (TGV), wherein the driving dimming duty cycle corresponds to a representative grayscale value (RGV) of each of a plurality of dimming unit areas. Each of a plurality of light unit blocks of a light source is driven based on the driving dimming duty cycle, wherein the light unit blocks correspond to the dimming unit areas, respectively. Therefore, a display apparatus may display an image having a higher contrast ratio than normal.