STURGIS, S.D. – As the 85th City of Sturgis Motorcycle Rally hits the mid-week mark, traffic volumes entering the town continue to show strong momentum.
According to the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT), more than 311,764 vehicles were counted entering Sturgis during the first five days of the Rally — representing an 11.5% increase over the five-year average for the same period, and a 15.9% increase over 2024 numbers.
SDDOT uses nine traffic counters placed at key entry points around the city to collect this data. These road tube counters track vehicle crossings, providing a consistent year-over-year snapshot of Rally traffic activity.
While these numbers do not represent individual visitors — since multiple people may ride in a single vehicle and many vehicles re-enter over several days — they offer a reliable indicator of overall travel activity into the Sturgis area during Rally week.
In recent years, the City of Sturgis has also adopted mobile device tracking technology to gain deeper insight into Rally attendance. This method estimates the number of unique individuals based on aggregated cellphone location data. In 2023, this system reported more than 617,000 visits to the Rally, offering a broader picture of Rally participation that accounts for walk-ins, multiple riders, and group travel.
“Both vehicle counters and mobile data play important roles in helping us understand Rally traffic and visitation,” said Deb Holland, Sturgis Director of Communications. “While each method tells a different part of the story, together they give us a more complete picture of how many people are coming to Sturgis and how they’re moving throughout the event.”
The city has and continues to use several metrics to measure rally attendance, in addition to the DOT traffic counts and the city’s cellphone location data they include:
- Amount of garbage hauled from Sturgis.
- Temporary vendor sales during the event.
- Traffic counts at Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
- Counts of photos taken on Sturgis Main Street.
Monday, Aug. 4 was the highest traffic day with 68,906 entering Sturgis as compared to 55,971 a year ago – a 23.1% increase.
Another indicator – temporary vendor licenses – showed an increase from 794 last year to 818 this year – up about 3%. Initially, vendor licenses were up substantially when compared year-to-date, but those numbers became more on par with last year as the week progressed.
The city’s public works department has hauled 247.47 tons of garbage this year, up slightly from 240.77 tons a year ago.