Minnesota State Fair by the Numbers
The Great Minnesota Get-Together is more than fried pickles and giant slides — it’s a tradition that draws millions of visitors every year, rain or shine.
To discover the trends, we built a dashboard that tracks daily attendance and temperatures across 2023–2025, helping us see how weather and weekends shape the fair.
(Click on the twin arrows at the dashboard’s lower right for the full screen experience!)
Here’s what the data tells us:
2023: Nearly 1.84 million attendees. Saturdays and Sundays consistently pulled the biggest crowds, even when the thermometer pushed into the 90s.
2024: A new high — 1.93 million people. Once again, weekends and Labor Day stood out with noticeable spikes, making 2024 the busiest fair in recent memory.
2025: So far, 1.07 million visitors through Wednesday, August 27. Attendance looks steady across weekdays, with weekends trending slightly higher. With Labor Day weekend still ahead, this year is poised for a major jump.
The weather in 2025 has been mild compared to previous years (mostly 70s–80s), making for comfortable fair days. If history is any guide, that final weekend should see some of the largest daily crowds of the year.
The big takeaway? Weekends rule the fairgrounds — crowds swell noticeably on Saturdays and Sundays — and no amount of heat has stopped Minnesotans from showing up. The real question: will 2025 catch up with the record-setting totals of 2023 and 2024?
At Vertical Circle, we are inspired every day by making data meaningful in all kinds of ways.
This dashboard is part of our mission to bring data to life in fresh, engaging ways. Stay tuned for more stories, insights, and interactive experiences that spark curiosity and bring data to life.
To learn more, contact us at info@verticalcircle.com
And have a great holiday — hopefully with a bucket of warm Sweet Martha’s Cookies in hand!