NASJA Day 2: Snowmobile Ownership

I’ve already written about my morning on the second day of the NASJA convention, when I tried my hand at mushing a dog sled team. (For the record, I didn’t say “mush!”)

In the afternoon I opted for an activity that was more familiar, and which required less effort on my part: snowmobiling.

I will have some comments on the short expedition lately, but for now, here are some interesting facts about snowmobiling in the U.S.

Which state has the most number of registered snowmobiles?
No, it’s not Alaska, though that’s not a bad guess. It’s Michigan, with 350,000 sleds registered for use. I’m guessing that’s due in part to the motorized culture of the state, its large population, and its status as a relatively wealthy state. The presence of lake effect snow helps out a lot, too.

Other states surpassing the 100,000 mark are Minnesota (240,000), Wisconsin (220,000) and New York (128,000).

In which states is the snowmobile culture more common?
A good way to measure that is to compare the number of registered snowmobiles to the size of the population. And that’s where Alaska comes out on top. There is one snowmobile for every 12 people. That’s not surprising. The state has a small population, is rural and sparsely populated (making the snowmobile a form of transportation, not just recreation), and it’s covered with snow for a good part of the year.

The next four states are Maine, Vermont, Minnesota, and New Hampshire. Michigan, while holding the top spot for number of snowmobiles, is only ninth in per-capital ownership. I was surprised that Wisconsin ranks a bit lower (6th) than Minnesota (4th).

I’m not sure how important Manchester is to the New Hampshire population, but I suspect that Minnesota is the top “urban” state in the country. Roughly 60 percent of the state’s population lives in the seven-county metropolitan area anchored by the cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

(Source of statistics: U.S. Census Bureau and Snowmobile.org)