The vehicle count for the 2023 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was down over eight percent from the previous five-year average. Just over 458,000 vehicles entered the rally over the ten-day period. This is down from 2022, which saw 497,835 vehicles.
The South Dakota Department of Transportation counts traffic based on a number of factors including sensors that count vehicles, the number of vendor licenses issued, amount of garbage hauled in Sturgis, Mount Rushmore traffic counts and the South Dakota Department of Revenues sales tax calculation.
Although the final number was down over eight percent, it did seem to rally at the Rally, as early estimates saw a decrease in attendance of around sixteen percent. City of Sturgis Communications Director Deb Holland attributed the lower numbers, in part, to the cold and rainy weather at the start of the rally. Holland spoke with the National Weather Service and confirmed that since 1938, when the rally was started, this year was the second coldest high temperatures on record, behind only 1999.