This Is Now the Only State Fair Bigger Than Minnesota’s
Minnesotans get a little defensive of our state fair but the numbers are in, and it's true: There IS one state fair that is bigger than the Minnesota State Fair.
The Minnesota State Fair is nearing the end of its 12-day run for 2024 and is on-pace to be one of the better-attended fairs. After setting new attendance records on Thursday, August 22nd and Friday, August 23, that oppressive heat and severe storms caused attendance to drop on Monday, August 26th. But did you know there's only one other state fair out there that's bigger than ours?
A trip to the Great Minnesota Get-Together is an annual tradition for many Minnesotans as summer winds down and gives way to fall. It's a tradition that goes all the way back to 1859 when the very first Minnesota State Fair was first held, which was just a year after Minnesota itself first became a state.
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Since that first fair 165 years ago, the Minnesota State Fair has become not just one of the best state fairs in the Midwest, but one of the best state fairs in the entire country. In fact, this survey from Wide Open Country says the Minnesota State Fair IS the best in the U.S., as did this new survey from business site, Morning Brew.
And while I agree, it's always a little tough to objectively define why a certain fair is better than another, right? (It's that whole 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' thing.) But, according to the number of visitors, did you know there is only one other state fair that's larger than the Minnesota State Fair?
According to this 9 Largest State Fairs in the Country survey from AZ Animals, only the State Fair of Texas attracts more folks than the Minnesota State Fair. According to the story, 2.25 million visitors went to the State Fair of Texas last year, which is located in Dallas and was first started back in 1886.
The Great Minnesota Get-Together is ranked second in their survey, with the story noting that 2 million visitors attend the Minnesota State Fair every year. Now, there *is* a bit of a disagreement on this figure. According to the Minnesota State Fair website, the Fair set an all-time attendance record in 2019 with 2,126,551 visitors.
However, thanks to the pandemic, the Fair wasn't held in 2020 and attendance has been down the past few years, coming in at just 1,301,584 in 2021. Attendance in 2022 was 1,842,222, and 1,835,826 in 2023. Final attendance figures for 2024 will be released next week.
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So while that 2.126 attendance number in 2019 is impressive (and could be reached again this year-- final numbers have yet to be released), it's still below the 2.25 million folks who went to the State Fair of Texas in 2022.
But it also should be noted that the run of the Texas State Fair is also twice as long as the Minnesota State Fair. The Minnesota State Fair runs for 12 days each year, from the third Thursday in August through Labor Day. Meanwhile, the State Fair of Texas is set to run from September 27th through October 20th, 2024-- for a whopping 24 days.
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New Foods, Drinks, and Vendors for the 2024 Minnesota State Fair
Gallery Credit: Carly Ross
