We have measured the fraction of bars in nearby spiral galaxies using near-infrared J , H , and K _ { s } images of 151 spiral galaxies from 2MASS .
This local sample provides an anchor for the study of the evolution of the bar fraction and bar properties with redshift .
We identify bars by analyzing the full two-dimensional light distribution and requiring a combined ellipticity and position angle signature .
The combined bar signature is found in 59 % of the galaxies .
The bar fraction increases to 67 % when we include “ candidate ” bars , where only the ellipticity signature is present .
We also measure the change in the bar fraction as a function of bar size ; the bar fraction drops to 36 % for bars with a semi-major axis larger than 4 kpc .
We find that infrared bars typically extend to one-third of the galactic disk , with a deprojected relative size of < a _ { bar } / R _ { 25 } > \sim 0.3 \pm 0.2 .
Early-type spirals host significantly larger bars , consistent with earlier studies .
The < a _ { bar } / R _ { 25 } > is two times larger in early-types than in late-types .
The typical bar axial ratio ( b/a ) is \sim 0.5 , with a weak trend of higher axial ratios for larger bars .