A regional fair is a competitive and recreational gathering on the local level in the United States. Each year, regional fairs occur within the counties or parishes of most states across the nation; these regional fairs typically take place during the summer, with the exception of Florida’s county fairs, which occur during the winter.
Once a state’s regional fairs have concluded, the winning exhibits will usually advance to the state fair. Most states have an annual state fair, which lasts 12 days on average, however, there are a few states that do not have a state fair, while a couple states have more than one. These state fairs normally happen in late summer to early fall, but Florida is the exception again with its state fair occurring in February.
One of the most unusual state fairs is the Eastern States Exhibition, which is also called the Big E. This fair is often regarded as a state fair, however, there are six states involved in the fair, which are the six New England states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
Here is a list of the top ten largest state fairs by 2022 attendance; I included an 11th state fair that would become the 10th largest fair if the Big E, which is truly six states combined, was excluded. I will also exclude any fair that does not possess the name of its state, since I wish to focus on one fair per state.
- Texas State Fair (2.5 million)
- Minnesota State Fair (1.8 million)
- The Big E (1.6 million)
- Arizona State Fair (1.4 million)
- Iowa State Fair (1.1 million)
- Wisconsin State Fair (1 million)
- Washington State Fair (1 million)
- North Carolina State Fair (960,000)
- Oklahoma State Fair (900,000)
- Ohio State Fair (886,000)
- New York State Fair (878,000)
While most of these state fairs have relatively similar attendances, the durations during which they occur can vary greatly, therefore, this list looks quite different if we consider the attendance per day, rather than the total attendance.
Here is a list of the top ten largest state fairs by approximate average attendance per day; I included an 11th state fair that would become the 10th largest fair by average attendance if the Big E, which is truly six states combined, was excluded.
- Minnesota State Fair (154,000)
- Texas State Fair (106,000)
- Iowa State Fair (102,000)
- The Big E (94,000)
- Wisconsin State Fair (91,000)
- North Carolina State Fair (87,000)
- Oklahoma State Fair (82,000)
- Tennessee State Fair (78,000)
- Ohio State Fair (74,000)
- New York State Fair (68,000)
- Arizona State Fair (60,000)
What is your favorite thing to do at the fair?
Onward American 