The city of Sturgis has released information about those attending this year’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Data shows the average age of attendees continues to fall and the number of attendees who don’t own a motorcycle has increased.
Beka Zerbst, co-chair of the city’s Rally and Events Committee, says both statistics show the event shifting demographically.
Zerbst says the average age of rally-goers is 50.8-years old – down from 53.5 in 2017. Furthermore, she says time spent in downtown Sturgis during the rally has increased from 4.1 days to 4.6.
After the 75th Rally in 2015, the number of long-term attendees began to drop. Then, during the pandemic year of 2020, the Rally was introduced to a new group of attendees – those from a seven state region surrounding South Dakota, including Colorado, Minnesota and Wyoming.
The rally also continues to shine a spotlight on its giving back to the local area. This year, just over a million dollars was raised for local charities.
Sturgis City Manager Daniel Ainslie says it shows the Rally is one of the largest charitable events in the state.
The data also shows the Rally had a $784.1 million dollar economic impact on the state of South Dakota, supporting over 8,100 jobs. Additionally, $44.8 million dollars in total state and local sales tax were collected.
The 83rd Sturgis Motorcycle Rally will run August 4-13, 2023. (Story courtesy of news partner KBHB.)
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