Sturgis Rally attendance up compared to 2023
The South Dakota Department of Transportation released its final numbers for this year’s Sturgis Rally. According to the department’s data, 470,987 vehicles entered Sturgis between August 2 and 11.
Attendance initially appeared low based on the DOT’s five-year average comparison. However, when you examine the numbers more closely, they tell a different story.
Attendance at the rally this year was up by close to 3 percent compared to last year, and most notably, attendance was up by 44% on the first Saturday of this year’s rally.
Sturgis City Officials say this year’s rally went smoothly, and the new TT race contributed to the increase in a younger crowd turnout.
”It’s just really ending the season on high. One of the things we’d hope to do with that race was to bring more people to town or hopefully they would stay for that last weekend, and we’d see a younger demographic and both of those things held true,” Sturgis’ director of communications, Deb Holland says in a KOTA report.
The state determines the count by placing traffic counters at nine locations entering Sturgis.
Following are the daily numbers compared to last year:
- Friday, Aug. 2: 51,179 entering – up 12.1% from 2023 (45,652)
- Saturday, Aug. 3: 55,127 entering – up 44.6% from 2023 (38,126)
- Sunday, Aug. 4: 52,182 entering – down 14% from 2023 (60,586)
- Monday, Aug. 5: 55,971 entering – up 11% from 2023 (50,487)
- Tuesday, Aug. 6: 54,451 entering – down 3% from 2023 (55,848)
- Wednesday, Aug. 7: 52,878 entering – down 6% from 2023 (56,444)
- Thursday, Aug. 8: 50,053 entering – down 4% from 2023 (52,195)
- Friday, Aug. 9: 44,671 entering – down 2% from 2023 (45,661)
- Saturday, Aug. 10: 34,583 entering – up 4% from 2023 (33,278)
- Sunday, Aug. 11: 19.892 entering – up 1% from 2023 (19,884)
Total for the ten days in 2024 470,987 as compared to 458,161 for 2023 – Up 2.7 percent
