2022 STATS & FACTOIDS
Burning Man by the Numbers
“Burning Man is really the sum of the different people who put staggering amounts of energy into it.”
~ Kimric Smythe, Survival Research Labs member, Java Cow, and Black Rock City pyrotechnician (Burning since 1991)
BURNING MAN EVERYWHERE
Through events, projects, and digital culture Burning Man impacted more than 250,000 people around the world.
- 13 Burners Without Borders Chapters and 15 active BWB Working Groups
- 24 Regional Events outside the U.S. in 17 countries
- 49 Regional Events in the U.S. in 27 States
- More than 232 Regional Contacts in 34 countries and 1 virtual world
BLACK ROCK CITY IN 2022
- Black Rock City is the largest Leave No Trace event in the world
- 624 mutant vehicles were registered to drive on playa in 2022
- More than 800 volunteer Rangers served as guides and mediators in BRC
CITIZENS OF BLACK ROCK CITY
Black Rock City’s 2022 population peaked at 75,069.
Black Rock City is created by:
- 75,000 participatory citizens
- 10,000 participatory leaders who contribute to event infrastructure
Participants from 91 countries bought tickets to Black Rock City.
Top 10 countries of origin for BRC participants (BRC 2022 Census data):
- United States: 83.8%
- Canada: 4.5%
- United Kingdom: 1.4%
- Australia: 1.2%
- Germany: 1.1%
- Mexico: 0.8%
- France: 0.6%
- Switzerland: 0.5%
- Netherlands: 0.4%
- Brazil: 0.3%
Percentage of first-time Burners vs. those who’d been before (BRC 2022 Census data):
- First-time: 28.3%
- 1 Burn: 18.3%
- 2 Burns: 9.4%
- 3-4 Burns: 17.4%
- 5-7 Burns: 12.6%
- 8+ Burns: 14%
Age range of BRC participants (BRC 2022 Census data):
- 0-29: 12.3%
- 30-39: 46.7%
- 40-49: 21.8%
- 50-59: 12.2%
- 60+: 7%
-f.15-
“Who looks outside, dreams, but who looks inside awakes.”
~ JANE AUSTIN
City Infrastructure
- There are zero trash cans in Black Rock City
- Lamplighters lit 1,600 kerosene lanterns daily to illuminate the city
- 8,031 Burners took the Burner Express Bus to BRC; 5,993 left by bus
- Black Rock City Municipal Airport supported 3,096 take-offs and landings, including 888 scenic flights
- Approximately 1,700 porta-potties were installed in BRC
Building Black Rock City
- It took 18 people 7 days to lay the city grid with approximately 6,000 flags
- It took 200 people two days to install the trash fence by hand in 2022 (normally it takes one day, but the crew was thwarted by a massive dust storm)
GERLACH & THE BLACK ROCK DESERT
- The Black Rock Desert is one of the world’s largest, flattest surfaces
- The playa covers approximately 200 square miles
- Gerlach, our neighboring town, is 13 miles from BRC
- Gerlach was founded in 1906
- The road to Gerlach was paved in 1963
