This year, a record 55,000 people made the annual pilgrimage to Black Rock Desert in Nevada to build a temporary city in the desert. For over a week, they inhabit the dusty abyss, dancing and sharing gifts, before taking off and leaving no trace of civilization behind.
Would you believe that your typical costume-wearing, drugged-out attendee at Burning Man, is almost as likely to vote Republican as Democratic or Independent? And probably works 9 to 5 in the computers or technology field, the most well-represented profession at the festival (this year, one of the most popular camps was “electronics/tech,” which catered solely to Bay Area nerds).
Newly-released data from 2011's survey of thousands of participants reveal growing gentrification in the ranks of the attendees. Interesting revelations include:
- In 2008, surveys showed that Republicans were less than 10 percent of attendees. By 2011, this group counted for 20 percent of attendees.
- In 2011, over half of the attendees attended college and achieved a bachelors degree.
- In recent years, attendees are younger than ever before. In 2003, just over a third of participants were 30 and under. By 2011, the younger population was even represented than the older group (between the ages of 31 and 50)
- Nearly 16 percent of participants said they lied about attending the annual festival because they were ashamed.
Data is not yet available from 2012 -- it has been reported that about 11,000 people took the survey, roughly one fifth of the desert population.
