After 173 years, the Wisconsin State Fair just had its biggest fair yet.
In 2024, a record 1,136,805 people came out to the State Fair grounds, up from the previous record of 1,130,572 in 2019.
“I am so proud of the State Fair Park staff, and thankful for our sponsors, vendors, exhibitors and fairgoers who helped make the 2024 Wisconsin State Fair so successful,” said Shari Black, chief executive officer of State Fair Park, in a press release.
The State Fair was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic and then returned in 2021 with significantly lower attendance – 841,074. The 2022 and 2023 fairs both brought attendance up above one million again, hitting 1,003,450 and 1,043,350 respectively. This year’s fair ran from Aug. 1-11.
“While the Wisconsin State Fair is often recognized as one of the top fairs in North America, breaking our own attendance record proves that we truly deserve this recognition,” said John Yingling, the fair’s chairman of the board, in a press release, “I believe we are the best state fair in the country.”
On top of the record-breaking attendance, the State Fair also released other stats from its 2024 event:
- 352,000 original cream puffs served
- 28,000 orders of the Sporkies winner deep-fried lemonade bites sold
- 90,000 trips taken on the SkyGlider
- 35,000 potatoes served in the Wisconsin Products Pavilion
Next year’s State Fair will take place July 31-Aug. 10, 2025.
