Measuring Up: Statistics and Figures from The 2024 Great New York State Fair Reveal a Hugely Successful 13-Day Run

From an Increase in Agricultural Competitions, Surging Concert Attendance, and Record-Setting Sales at the Midway, the 2024 Fair Set a New Bar

Fairgoers are Encouraged to Complete Survey to Help Inform Future Programming

 

With the 2024 Great New York State Fair in the books, the Department of Agriculture and Markets and the New York State Fair are proud to reveal a number of fun facts, statistics, and figures that demonstrate the Fair’s hugely successful 13-day run. With several exciting new agricultural exhibits and activities, the Fair was able to offer even more opportunities to bring fairgoers closer to New York agriculture, while providing an inclusive, diverse, family-friendly space for fairgoers that was packed with record-setting entertainment and concerts, an increased number of food and beverage options, dozens of new rides on the Midway, and more.

“The Fair is part of the fabric of New York State and has been for nearly two centuries,” said State Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Richard A. Ball. “As one of our state’s most cherished traditions, The Fair is the perfect backdrop for educating visitors on the importance of agriculture to our communities and to our economy while also providing top-notch entertainment, workforce development initiatives, culinary delights, and so much more. The 2024 New York State Fair was one of the most successful Fair’s we’ve ever had, serving as a place where families were able to come together to make unforgettable memories, experience things they may not have an opportunity to try elsewhere, and come together to enjoy the very best of New York all while learning about New York agriculture.”

“I’m so grateful to everyone that played a part in making this year’s Fair a memorable experience,” said Fair Director Julie LaFave. “We heard so many anecdotal stories from fairgoers, vendors, partner agencies, and staff that highlighted the success of our agricultural competitions, exhibits, concerts, grounds entertainment, and more. These statistics and figures not only support those stories, but they also tell us that fairgoers truly enjoyed all that The Great New York State Fair had to offer.”

AGRICULTURE, EDUCATION, AND SO MUCH MORE

As the oldest state fair in the nation, The Great New York State Fair is deeply rooted in agriculture, and we are proud to say it is still one of the biggest draws for fairgoers. From the Butter Sculpture to the Maple Booth, from the 4-H for Horses Exhibit to the brand-new Mobile Dairy Experience, agriculture continues to be front and center at the New York State Fair, giving its more than 868,000 visitors an opportunity to connect directly with farmers and learn more about the animals that are essential to the industry.

As part of Agriculture Career Day, 163 youths ages 10-18 joined FFA and 4-H student members for an educational scavenger hunt with interactive exhibits to learn more about workforce development initiatives and to gain awareness of potential career paths in the agricultural industry.

The Fair also worked hard in 2024 to increase the number of agricultural competitions offered and the results speak for themselves. The Agriculture Office at The Fair filed a total of 11,652 total entries for youth, animals, flower, produce, wine, and fine art competitions – up from 10,000, which is an increase of over 11% compared to 2023.

Other highlights include:

• The New York State Milk Bar, operated by Cornell Cooperative Extension, poured 14,785 gallons of milk inside the Dairy Products Building over The Fair’s 13 days, including 11,775 gallons of chocolate milk, 1,570 gallons of white milk, and 1,440 gallons of strawberry milk, which was sold over The Fair’s final three days. In all, 270,354 cups of milk were sold in 2024. In addition, 40 4-H students helped run the Milk Bar, gaining exciting workforce experience and opportunities for a first-hand look at how dairy farms operate and how milk gets from cow to consumer. In fact, this year, the Milk Bar was so popular with our young people that they had 51 more applications than slots available. Check out Cornell’s video on the Milk Bar program for youth.
• Now in its second year, the Voice of the Farmer Garden significantly expanded its programming to include nearly 10 presentations on various agricultural topics as industry professionals reached more than 2,700 fairgoers over 13 days. Additionally, the garden was expanded to include new crops, such as hops, demonstrations, videos, children’s activities, and more.
• The Dairy Cattle Birthing Center had 38 “udder miracles,” or baby calves born, in 2024. Through 11 years, the Birthing Center has now welcomed nearly 400 calves into the world while connecting fairgoers to industry professionals and educational resources.
• The newly launched Mobile Dairy Experience – a 53-foot immersive educational experience that demonstrates the processes behind dairy production, the importance of environmental stewardship in agriculture, the economic impact of the dairy industry, and so much more – welcomed more than 16,000 fairgoers through its doors over 13 days.
• 4-H for Horses celebrated its debut at The Fair in 2024 and provided collaborative learning experiences for thousands of fairgoers, offering them a comprehensive look at the equine industry through educational and interactive experiences.
• The Taste NY Pop-Up Market, in its second year across from the Pure New York Maple Center, showcased 332 products from 87 vendors. Fairgoers were able to shop State Fair staples such as speidie sauce, wine gummies, and local cheeses, and find new favorites. The market saw over an 18% increase in transactions tracked at the Pop-Up Market, selling $28,883 worth of product over the 13-day run.
• Shoppers also had the opportunity to sample and purchase from over 30 food and beverage businesses in the Taste NY Vendor Marketplace. Taste NY also welcomed back the Tasting Yard positioned at Suburban Park. In The Fair’s 13-days, 13 breweries and cideries from around the state had the opportunity to pour NYS craft beverages for concertgoers.
• The New York Pure Maple Booth was a popular destination for fairgoers this year with sales figures up across the board when compared to 2023. In total, 7,600 maple ice cream cones were sold – roughly one per minute – while 5,000 milkshakes and slushies were crafted. The booth sold 2,000 bags of maple popcorn and 5,300 bags of maple cotton candy - – an increase of 900 combined bags sold compared to 2023. The booth more than doubled its sales of maple sugar soft bites having sold more than 1,500 pounds more in 2024 for a total of 2,500 pounds. In addition, 650 packages of maple dog biscuits, 1,000 lollipops, 330 pounds of maple hard candy, and 200 dozen maple donuts were enjoyed by fairgoers.
• The Mobile Maple Classroom was on hand all 13 days of The Fair in 2024 with close to 8,000 fairgoers stopping by to learn more about the processes behind New York’s thriving maple industry.

 

“ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?”

The Fair always prides itself on having a diverse entertainment lineup that appeals to fans of all ages and musical tastes. With multiple Grammy winners, Hall-of-Famers, family-friendly acts, and more, this year’s lineup was no exception. In all, The Chevrolet Music Series featured 39 national recording acts in Chevy Court and Suburban Park, including two shows geared toward a younger audience. Kidz Bop performed in front of nearly 4,000 fans while Blippi: The Wonderful World Tour entertained 15,000 fairgoers – the largest crowd of The Fair inside Chevy Court.

Additionally, this year’s lineup had three crowds rank within the top seven largest concerts in Suburban Park’s history. On August 26, Megan Moroney nearly toppled Lainey Wilson’s record after serenading 47,000 fans – the second largest concert ever at Suburban Park – while Flo Rida packed in 42,000 fairgoers, which is the fourth most ever in that venue. Rick Ross’s performance tied for the seventh largest concert in Suburban Park after 39,000 watched him perform live on stage. In addition, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Dropkick Murphys, Warren Zeiders, and Chevelle all drew crowds in excess of 15,000 to Suburban Park this year.

Still, there’s more to The Fair’s musical offerings and performances than what is seen at Chevy Court and Suburban Park stages:

• Factoring in ground entertainment acts, plus scheduled acts at Asian Village, Pan African Village, Latino Village, Indian Village and a variety of live music acts scheduled at permanent food stands, The Fair hosted over 575 unique events over 13 days, or roughly 135 scheduled performances each day.
• The grounds entertainment acts were also a big success this year. With newer additions like Nerveless Nocks and Ally Walker Chalk Artist, The Fair featured something for everyone. One act went viral on social media as Rock It Robot’s performance at The Fair has racked up nearly 20 million views on TikTok alone.
• The above number also includes 82 performances in the Empire Theater, 37 performances in the Grange Building, and 18 competitions held on the Talent Showcase Stage. There were 27 events in the Wegmans Demo Kitchen, 173 events inside the Agriculture and Carriage Museums, and 74 Flower Show talks, demonstrations, and competitions inside the Horticulture Building.

 

MIDWAY MOMENTUM

Wade Shows’ Midway, featuring dozens of new rides this year, also proved to be a big draw for families. According to Wade Shows, if all equipment were to be stacked end-to-end, it would span 1.5 miles in length. Additionally, nearly a half of a mile of wire was used to power the rides, vendor stands, ticket booths, and trailers at the Midway.

Ridership was also at an all-time high with 1.5 million riders having enjoyed themselves. From a revenue perspective, the Midway enjoyed a record year with both advance sales and online sales seeing significant growth from 2023. Wade Shows also reports awarding the equivalent of 50, 48-foot semi-trucks worth of prizes and close to 50,000 turkey legs, friend dough, and corn dogs having been sold.

The Fair continues to collect feedback on fair experiences and welcomes perspective from all who attended this year’s run. A link to participate in the survey is provided here. Participants will have an opportunity to win lifetime admission to the Fair and one of several $100 Amazon gift cards. Feedback provided will help Fair staff inform future programming and events.

MOBILITY MATTERS

Centro Bus, which provides shuttle service to and from The Fair from Downtown Syracuse and two Park-N-Ride locations, and The Fair’s tram service, which offers 10 stops positioned around the perimeter of the grounds, helped hundreds of thousands of patrons navigate transportation, avoid traffic jams, and travel safely to and from The Fair each day.

• More Fairgoers used Centro Park-N-Ride services to get to The Fair in 2024. Centro provided 155,820 one-way trips to and from its three locations at Destiny USA, the Centro Transit Hub in downtown Syracuse, and Long Branch Park. That’s up 15% from 2023 where Centro provided 135,271 rides in total.
• The Fair’s Tram Service, which added a stop in 2024 behind the Regional Talent Showcase, carried approximately 18,726 fairgoers over 13 days and traversed the equivalent of 3,744 miles. To put this into perspective, this is the equivalent of driving from Syracuse to Miami nearly three times!

 

Now just 330 days away, The Great New York State Fair returns for its 2025 presentation – and 177th occurrence – on Wednesday, August 20. Founded in 1841, The Great New York State Fair showcases the best of New York agriculture, provides top-quality entertainment and is a key piece of the state’s CNY Rising strategy of growing the Central New York economy through tourism. It is the oldest state fair in the United States, and consistently ranks among the Top Five state fairs in the country.

The New York State Fairgrounds is a 375-acre exhibit and entertainment complex that operates all year. Audiences are encouraged to learn more about The Great New York State Fair online, and follow the fun on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Guests are invited to see photos from the Fair on Flickr.

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