SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Will the bikers who came to Sturgis in 2021 be the bikers of 2022 and beyond?
In 2019, the average age of a biker who attended the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was 54.
But that biker was younger in 2021.
The average age for a rally biker was 46.5 in 2021 while the median age was 48 in 2021, according to the city’s 2021 report on the rally.
Based on 2021’s attendance, rally goers “are not getting older, there’s a lot of younger (bikers) coming,” now-retired rally director Jerry Cole said in the annual report in October 2021.
City surveys reveal much about the 2021 rally attendee.
There’s a good chance a 2021 rally attendee was a 46-year-old white person from Colorado or Texas, who worked in sales, and had a two-person household with an income of $81,000.
The city of Sturgis has surveyed rally goers for the past several years to gather demographic and other data. The 2020 data was incomplete because the city did a limited amount of one-on-one surveys because of COVID-19. Data from 2020 is not included in the comparisons shared in the 2021 report.
The city added a QR code survey and hired a company to do a GEO Fence in sections of downtown Sturgis.
The city received 46,000 responses from all three options.
Minnesota had been the top home state for rally goers from 2017 to 2019. Colorado took over in 2021. More rally goers came to Sturgis from Aug. 1 through Aug. 15 from Colorado than from any other state, according to the 2021 report.
That was followed by Texas, California, Washington, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Nevada, Michigan and Arizona.
From 2017-2019, Colorado held the No. 2 or 3 spot as having the most rally attendees.
Who didn’t show up in 2021?
Bikers from Iowa, North Dakota, and Wisconsin didn’t make the top 10 after cracking it in 2018, 2019 or 2017.
Fewer bikers who have attended the rally for more than 10 times were at the 2021 rally.
More than 50% of the 2021 rally goers had been at the rally five times or less. A good chunk were at the rally for the first time.
The 2021 rally attendees had been at an average four rallies.
About six years ago the rally group decided it wanted to market the rally to younger attendees which included marketing the concerts.
Cole said in his report that the effort seemed to pay off in 2021.
How much do rally attendees make?
The average rally attendee household in 2021 made more than the national average household income of $77,000.
The average household income for a rally attendee in 2021 made $81,005.
The income bracket of $75,000 to $100,000 was the largest share of rally attendee income in 2021.
The rally income is less than the $87,000 household income of the leisure visitor who is in the Sturgis area from July 15 to Aug. 1, according to the 2021 report.
How much does a rally attendee spend?
Based on a seven-day stay, the average rally attendee spent $2,678 in the Sturgis area. That is about $382 per day.
That does not include people who bought a motorcycle in Sturgis.
Most rally attendees own a motorcycle but about 12% did not in 2021. The 2021 rally saw an increase of about 2% in the number of people who did not own a motorcycle over 2019, 2018 and 2017.
Harley-Davidson remained the most popular motorcycle with just over 81% of the owners. Indian owners cracked about 5%.
Small households
Roughly 50% of the rally-goer households were two people or less.
The report said 58% owned their own home which includes condominiums or similar.
About 10% of the rally goers do not have a diploma. The rest have at least graduated from high school.
Most rally attendees were white (70%).
