DES MOINES, IOWA (August 19, 2019) — Nothing compares to the Iowa State Fair and the 2019 Fair crushed attendance records on individual days and racked up a total of 1,170,375 attendees over the 11-day celebration.
The recipe for records, included unseasonably nice weather, an outstanding Grandstand lineup, competition from livestock to quilts, new-day time-programming, over 50 new foods, and a national stump-speech spotlight. An estimated 1,170,375 (unaudited) people visited the 2019 Iowa State Fair, besting the previous records of 1,130,260 set in 2018 and the 1,117,398 set in 2015. The Iowa State Fair ranks among the largest Fairs in the nation with consistent attendance over 1 million and has been recording attendance numbers over 1 million visitors since 2002. The 2019 Iowa State Fair was held August 8-18 and highlighted Fair Favorites.
A breakdown of daily attendance is listed below:
Thursday, August 8 — 84,928
Friday, August 9 — 103,096
Saturday, August 10 — 122,111
Sunday, August 11 — 108,283
Monday, August 12 — 97,682
Tuesday, August 13 — 102,953*
Wednesday, August 14 — 109,323*
Thursday, August 15 — 104,247
Friday, August 16 — 112,891*
Saturday, August 17 — 119,276
Sunday, August 18 — 105,585
*One day attendance record.
With the exception of Friday, August 9, each day in 2019 was above the same day in 2018. Three different one-day records were set in 2019 including: Tuesday, August 13; Wednesday, August 14; and Friday August 16. The attendance of 122,111 on the first Saturday, August 10, was the second-highest Saturday recorded, behind 127,277 recorded in 1991.
Following the Fair, daily-attendance estimates are set aside and an actual count of tickets, including daily sales, advance sales, exhibitors, concessionaires, campers, children, credentials, half-price, etc, is made to determine the final total attendance.
Frequently ranked as one of the top events in the country, the Iowa State Fair is the single largest event in the state of Iowa and one of the oldest and largest agricultural and industrial expositions in the country. Annually attracting more than a million people from all over the world, the Iowa State Fair located at East 30th and East University, just 10 minutes from downtown Des Moines is Iowa's greatest celebration with a salute to the best in agriculture, industry, entertainment and achievement. For more information, visit www.iowastatefair.org.
