How Many Skaters?

This guide contains specific formulas for calculating how many skaters exist in any community. How many skaters are in a community is a question that advocates will want to deliver again and again. In any given community, roughly 4.6% will be casual skateboarders and half of those will be weekly skaters. With only a general population and region, one can get an approximate number of skateboarders easily and quickly.

Smaller towns may have fewer skaters to support. Advocates may feel a little let down that they don’t have a large constituency to add massive numbers to their cause, but what they get in return is the ease of working with a smaller bureaucracy. The skatepark advocate in a city with 2-million people will have much more work to do than someone in a town of 12,000.

U.S. Census

The U.S. Census Web site is very easy to use. To find a target area’s population, simply go to www.census.gov, enter the city, county, or zip code in the Population Finder, select the State, and click “Go.” Within a few seconds, if it’s available, the page should return some general population statistics on the city or region you entered.