Statistics
Bay Area Kids Party and Bounce House Statistics
The nine Bay Area counties had an estimated 787,073 children under 10 in 2020-2024. Of the 25 Bay Area cities and park districts whose park rules we read, 7 do not currently allow bounce houses at their park picnic areas, and at San Francisco International Airport 67.9% of June weekend party hours had wind or gusts above 15 mph.
Key numbers
- 787,073
- children under 10 in the nine counties, 9.7% fewer than in 2015-2019.U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Study
- 7 of 25
- cities and park districts do not currently allow bounce houses at their park picnic areas; the other 18 need a reservation, permit or approval.Park rules read November 12, 2026. Study
- 67.9%
- of June weekend party hours at SFO had wind or gusts above 15 mph.NOAA, 2016-2024. Study
- More than 18,000
- bounce house injuries treated in US emergency departments in 2018 (CPSC estimate).CPSC, 2019
The data
All the statistics
Every figure links to the study or source it comes from, with its period. The three Bay Area studies publish their full data as CSV files.
Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., 2016-2024. Source: NOAA NCEI Local Climatological Data; full monthly figures in the wind study.
| Topic | Figure | What it is | Source | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children | 787,073 | children under 10 lived in the nine Bay Area counties | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year | 2020-2024 |
| Children | 9.7% fewer | children under 10 than in 2015-2019 (871,660) | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year | 2015-2019 to 2020-2024 |
| Children | 281 | children under 10 per 1,000 households, down from 319 | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year, B01001 and B11001 | 2020-2024 |
| Children | 104,005 | children under 10 in San Jose, the most of any Bay Area city | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year | 2020-2024 |
| Children | 63,821 | children under 10 in San Francisco | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year | 2020-2024 |
| Children | 45,791 | children under 10 in Oakland | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year | 2020-2024 |
| Children | 33 of 101 | Bay Area cities and towns had a clear drop in children under 10 (6 had a clear rise) | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year, 90% margins of error | 2015-2019 to 2020-2024 |
| Park rules | 7 of 25 | Bay Area cities and park districts do not currently allow bounce houses at their park picnic areas | Published park rules of 25 Bay Area cities and park districts | read November 12, 2026 |
| Park rules | 18 of 25 | allow one only with a picnic reservation, a permit or the parks department’s approval | Published park rules of 25 Bay Area cities and park districts | read November 12, 2026 |
| Park rules | 8 of 18 | of those name the only parks or picnic sites where one can go | Published park rules of 25 Bay Area cities and park districts | read November 12, 2026 |
| Park rules | 6 of 18 | require a bounce house company from the agency’s approved list | Published park rules of 25 Bay Area cities and park districts | read November 12, 2026 |
| Park rules | $1,000,000 | most common insurance minimum (6 of the 8 that state an amount) | Published park rules of 25 Bay Area cities and park districts | read November 12, 2026 |
| Park rules | 9 of 18 | say there is no park power for a bounce house, or that it must run on a generator | Published park rules of 25 Bay Area cities and park districts | read November 12, 2026 |
| Wind | 67.9% | of June weekend party hours at San Francisco International Airport had wind or gusts above 15 mph, the windiest month at any of 5 Bay Area airports | NOAA Local Climatological Data, weekends 10 a.m.-6 p.m. | 2016-2024 |
| Wind | 44.1% | of weekend party hours all year at SFO were above 15 mph (San José airport: 14.9%) | NOAA Local Climatological Data, weekends 10 a.m.-6 p.m. | 2016-2024 |
| Wind | 16.5% vs 59.8% | of SFO readings above 15 mph at 10 a.m. vs 4 p.m.; all 5 airports were calmest in the 10 a.m. hour | NOAA Local Climatological Data, weekends 10 a.m.-6 p.m. | 2016-2024 |
| Wind | 4 of 5 | Bay Area airports had the most party hours above 25 mph in February | NOAA Local Climatological Data, weekends 10 a.m.-6 p.m. | 2016-2024 |
| Wind | 4 of 5 | Bay Area airports had the fewest party hours above 15 mph in November | NOAA Local Climatological Data, weekends 10 a.m.-6 p.m. | 2016-2024 |
| Safety (US) | More than 18,000 | bounce house injuries treated in US hospital emergency departments in 2018, a CPSC estimate | US Consumer Product Safety Commission, news release, August 8, 2019 | 2018 |
| Safety (US) | 12 | deaths associated with inflatables reported to the CPSC in 2003-2013 | US Consumer Product Safety Commission, news release, August 8, 2019 (citing its inflatables report) | 2003-2013 |
| Safety (US) | 15 to 25 mph | CPSC guidance: maximum wind speed should be no more than 15 to 25 mph when using a bounce house | US Consumer Product Safety Commission, news release, August 8, 2019 | 2019 |
Bay Area kids party and bounce house statistics, with source and period.
Download the full table (CSV), free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit to Bay Area Kids Rentals.
For parents
What this means for parents
- Check the park’s rules before you book a bounce house. 7 of 25 Bay Area cities and park districts do not currently allow one at their park picnic areas, and the rest ask for a reservation, permit or approval. See the park rules study.
- Plan around the wind. Mornings were calmest at every airport we studied, and at SFO more than half of weekend party hours from April to September topped 15 mph. See the wind study and how windy is too windy.
- Follow the safety basics. The CPSC advises staking and anchoring a bounce house on a flat, even surface, not using it when it is windy (maximum wind speed no more than 15 to 25 mph), and an adult supervising at all times (CPSC, 2019).
- Use the figures freely. Each study has a CSV under CC BY 4.0; cite Bay Area Kids Rentals and link the study.
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How we did it
Method, sources and limits
This page collects figures from our three Bay Area studies, each computed by a script from public data and checked by a second script against a different source, and three figures from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s 2019 bounce house release.
Independent check: a separate script compares every figure here with the values the studies’ checks recomputed from other sources (NOAA ISD hourly files, the Census subject tables, a recount of the park rules) and re-reads the CPSC release live.
Sources
- Bay Area Kids Rentals, Where the Bay Area’s Young Kids Live (U.S. Census Bureau ACS data), 2015-2019 and 2020-2024
- Bay Area Kids Rentals, park bounce house rules in 25 cities and park districts, read November 12, 2026
- Bay Area Kids Rentals, Bay Area wind by month (NOAA data), 2016-2024
- US Consumer Product Safety Commission, “Don’t Get Swept Away” (news release), August 8, 2019
Limits
- The injury estimate is national and for 2018, the latest the CPSC published in that release; there is no Bay Area figure.
- Wind figures come from airports and are planning odds, not a forecast; on the day, the bounce house’s own limit and the setup crew decide.
- Park rules change. Each row of the park study is dated and linked to its source.
- Census figures are survey estimates with margins of error, given in the kids study.
Free to use
Cite this study
Journalists, schools and parents are welcome to use these figures and the data, with credit to Bay Area Kids Rentals and a link to this page.
Bay Area Kids Rentals. (2026, November 12). Bay Area Kids Party and Bounce House Statistics. https://www.bayareakidsrentals.com/research/bay-area-kids-party-statistics/
Data: bay-area-kids-party-statistics.csv (21 rows), licensed CC BY 4.0. Questions about the data: Hello@bayareakidsrentals.com.
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