The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo ranked ahead of the Minnesota State Fair, which is often regarded as one of the largest fairs in the country.
People wander around the carnival midway under bright sunny skies at the Houston Livestock Show and rodeo Sunday, March 13, 2022 in Houston. The rodeo recently ranked second most attended fair in the state last year after the State Fair of Texas.
Houston Chronicle StaffThe Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo may come first among state fairs in Houstonian’s hearts, but the annual event just ranked second in popularity among all fairs that took place in 2022 across the country. A recent study from industry news source Carnival Warehouse shows the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which is the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world, had the second highest attendance of all fairs in 2022 with 2.4 million attendees. The rodeo ranked behind the State Fair of Texas, which took first place at 2.5 million attendees at Dallas’ Fair Park in 2022.
The Houston Rodeo beat out the Minnesota State Fair, which is often regarded as one of the biggest state fairs in the country and ranked the third most popular in 2022 with 1.8 million attendees. Chris Boleman, president and CEO of the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show, credited 2022’s high attendance numbers to a rebound following the COVID-19 pandemic, especially after the rodeo was canceled in 2021 and cut short in 2020 due to the ongoing health situation.
“Preliminary numbers show that per cap spending proved that fans spent more time on the grounds enjoying activities and events that they have not seen in two years,” Boleman told Carnival Warehouse. “As a staff, we’re not focused on records, but much more on hosting a successful and full event.”
Still, in 2016, 2017 and 2018, the Houston Rodeo had slightly higher numbers of attendees than the State Fair of Texas, according to the Dallas Morning News. The highest attended Houston Rodeo was in 2017, with 2.6 million attendees, per official rodeo attendance records. Attendance rates were up among the top 50 fairs in 2022 except for 18 on the list that recorded declines in attendance, Carnival Warehouse notes. Only two fairs had a record year, including the debut of the newly conjoined Wilson County Fair/Tennessee State Fair and the Illinois State Fair.
The 2023 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is only a few weeks away, so we’ll have to wait and see if it can outrank Dallas’ fair taking place in fall. This year’s rodeo will start on Feb. 28 and run through Sunday, March 19 at NRG Stadium.