In a recent study done ranking each of the 50 states (and the District of Columbia) by motorcycle ownership per capita, South Dakota ranked the best. There are a total of 69,284 motorcycles registered in the state, according to the Department of Transportation, and with a total population of 816,598, when you do the math, there’s roughly 12 people in South Dakota for every motorcycle.

Considering South Dakota is the home of the Sturgis rally, its ranking on this list may not be much of a surprise. However, coming in second may be an unlikely state: New Hampshire. With just a tick over 79,000 motorcycles registered and a population of 1.3 million, the numbers work out to approximately 17 people per bike. But consider New Hampshire is home to Laconia Bike Week and features some great riding areas (when the weather cooperates!), and the second place standing may not be so far fetched.

Iowa rounds out the top three states for motorcycle ownership per capita with 18 people per motorcycle. Considering it’s the home of Polaris Industries, owners of both Victory and Indian motorcycles, its ranking on the list isn’t surprising.

Looking at the bottom of the field, the District of Columbia ranks 51st, and last, with 172 people per motorcycle. Of the states in the Union, Mississippi is 50th (106 people per motorcycle), followed by Louisiana and Texas, with 67 and 58 people per motorcycle, respectively. When it comes to states with the highest motorcycle ownership, it’s well known that California leads that category by far, with over 800,000 motorcycles registered in the state. However, with a population of over 37 million, it ranks 43rd on the list, with 47 people per motorcycle.

The complete ranking list can be seen below.

Rank State # Bikes Population People per bike 1 South Dakota 69,284 816,598 12 2 New Hampshire 79,266 1,316,807 17 3 Iowa 173,929 3,050,202 18 4 Wisconsin 317,276 5,691,659 18 5 Wyoming 30,351 564,554 19 6 North Dakota 32,654 674,629 21 7 Vermont 30,070 625,909 21 8 Montana 46,996 990,958 21 9 Minnesota 240,288 5,310,658 22 10 Alaska 30,983 714,146 23 11 Idaho 62,576 1,571,102 25 12 Maine 50,318 1,327,379 26 13 New Jersey 330,470 8,799,593 27 14 Colorado 173,120 5,047,692 29 15 Delaware 30,494 899,792 30 16 Ohio 390,494 11,537,968 30 17 Oklahoma 127,140 3,760,184 30 18 Washington 220,856 6,742,950 31 19 Pennsylvania 404,164 12,717,722 31 20 Indiana 204,402 6,490,622 32 21 New Mexico 64,863 2,065,913 32 22 Rhode Island 32,989 1,052,528 32 23 Michigan 308,338 9,877,143 32 24 Florida 574,176 18,838,613 33 25 West Virginia 56,210 1,854,368 33 26 Kansas 81,354 2,859,143 35 27 Oregon 108,313 3,838,332 35 28 Nebraska 51,371 1,830,141 36 29 Arizona 178,890 6,413,158 36 30 Connecticut 97,960 3,575,498 36 31 Illinois 350,193 12,841,980 37 32 Alabama 127,255 4,785,401 38 33 Tennessee 168,408 6,357,436 38 34 Arkansas 76,293 2,921,588 38 35 Nevada 68,951 2,704,283 39 36 Virginia 195,722 8,023,953 41 37 Massachusetts 159,000 6,555,466 41 38 Missouri 140,936 5,995,715 43 39 North Carolina 223,209 9,560,234 43 40 South Carolina 107,864 4,637,106 43 41 Kentucky 98,475 4,347,223 44 42 Hawaii 30,098 1,363,359 45 43 California 801,803 37,338,198 47 44 Utah 59,355 2,775,479 47 45 Maryland 120,069 5,785,681 48 46 Georgia 199,586 9,712,157 49 47 New York 345,816 19,395,206 56 48 Texas 438,551 25,253,466 58 49 Louisiana 67,486 4,545,343 67 50 Mississippi 28,067 2,970,072 106 51 Dist. of Col. 3,523 604,912 172

[Source: Fool.com]