This Popular State Fair is the Only Fair Bigger Than Minnesota’s

Get our free mobile app

The Minnesota State Fair just wrapped up its 12-day run for 2023, 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.

Since that first fair 164 years ago, the Minnesota State Fair has grown to become not only 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.)

And while I don't disagree, it's always a little tough to 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 that there is only one other state fair that's larger than the Minnesota State Fair?

READ MORE: Which Popular Act Had The Largest Crowd Ever at the MN State Fair?

According to this 9 Largest State Fairs in the Country survey from AZ Animals, only the Texas State Fair 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 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 and 1,842,222 in 2022. Final attendance figures from 2023 will be released later this week.

READ MORE: This Popular Group Played Its Last Show EVER at MN State Fair

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 29th through October 22nd, 2023-- for a whopping 24 days.

Listen to Curt St. John in the Morning
Weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. on Quick Country 96.5