The Texas State Fair officially closed its gates this weekend after welcoming an estimated two million visitors during its 24 days in operation.
Although official numbers have not been released, the current estimate provided by the fair is that just over two million people visited the fair during its time open, marking a major decline in the number of visitors when compared to last year.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Texas State Fair broke its records for attendance last year, with 2,385,855 making the trip to the fair in 2024.
That total dropped significantly this year, with approximately 385,000 fewer visitors, marking a roughly 16% decrease in the number of fairgoers.
Texas State Fair spokesperson Karissa Condoianis said early during the opening that it is common for attendance to be low during the first few days open, but the expectation was that attendance would increase in the second half of its run.
“I know that may be some people’s experience, but the truth of the matter is attendance is fine at the State Fair of Texas this year,” she explained, per CBS News.
“The first eight days of the fair are usually our slowest days. Then as the fair carries on for the rest of the 24 days, that’s when you see the energy and traffic at the fair really pick up.”
However, attendance remained low during this year’s run, despite the fair extending the timeline in which students could receive free and discounted tickets, per Fox 4.
As previously reported by DX, elementary and middle school students received complimentary State Fair admission tickets while high school students received tickets at a discounted price.
The most attended day during the fair’s time open came on October 11, which was the same day as the Red River Rivalry featuring a marquee college football matchup between the Universities of Texas and Oklahoma.
This event drew an incredible 193,000 visitors to the Texas State Fair, which was still fewer than the 212,003 fairgoers that made the trip during the 2024 Red River Rivalry game.