SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR) — If you noticed the state fair this year was more densely packed than previous years, it’s because it was.
The Illinois Department of Agriculture released attendance numbers for the 2022 state fair: 636,700 people attended. This shatters the 2019’s old record of 508,000 people attended to be the highest attended fair since officials started tracking attendance in 2014.
“We were blessed with 11 days of great weather, which meant large crowds and even larger smiles for our fairgoers,” said Illinois State Fair Manager Rebecca Clark. “While it is great to have these amazing numbers, it was even better seeing so many people enjoying the Illinois State Fair.”
Total revenue for the fair is tied for second place at $6.4 million, tying 2013 as the second most revenue for a state fair. The most was for 2019 with $6.5 million in revenue.
48,104 tickets were sold for Grandstand performances, which beat 2021’s numbers, but lower than pre-pandemic fairs from 2017, 2018, and 2019. According to previously released numbers from the fair, 10,401 of those tickets were for country duo Brooks & Dunn.
Governor J.B. Pritzker thanked attendees for making the fair a success.
“Once again, the Illinois State Fair was a resounding success,” Pritzker said. “Thanks to the leadership of [IDOA Director Jerry Costello II] and Fair Manager Clark, thousands of Illinoisans and people throughout the nation descended upon Springfield for eleven days of exciting exhibits, delicious food, and community fun—all while honoring our state’s legacy of strong agricultural traditions.”
Next year’s state fair will take place Aug. 10-20th. Due to construction on the fairgrounds, the Illinois State Fair Rodeo and the Bettenhausen 100 will be held later this year.
