Burning Man: Richest Hippies Alive?
Burning Man has become an event dominated by high earners. Black Rock City Census/YouGov data show 47% of attendees reported personal income of $100,000 or more in 2025, up from 24% in 2015. Nationally, about 18% of Americans earn that much. Source: Statista.
Burning Man, the week-long counterculture gathering in the Nevada desert, has increasingly become an event for high earners. According to data from the Black Rock City Census and YouGov, the share of attendees reporting a personal annual income of $100,000 or more climbed from 24% in 2015 to 47% in 2025, nearly doubling over the decade. Over the same period, the share of attendees earning less than $25,000 fell from about 25% to roughly 14 to 15%, though that figure has ticked up slightly since 2023 after reaching a low point. For comparison, only about 18% of American adults earn $100,000 or more per year nationally, according to YouGov. Burning Man's attendee base now reports six-figure incomes at roughly two and a half times the national individual rate. The festival was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19, creating a gap in the yearly data. The figures are based on an online survey of 5,300 to 12,000 attendees per year, weighted against the typical attendee population, and rely on self-reported income rather than verified records. Source: Black Rock City Census, YouGov via Statista.