Every Wisconsin State Fair brings something new – whether that be a new headliner act, a new feature, a new crop of barnyard creatures to say hello to, a new culinary test on a stick for your arteries or a new memory. And this year's edition kept that tradition going, historically so, delivering a brand new attendance record for the summer staple.

According to the Wisconsin State Fair, this year's extravaganza brought in 1,136,805 people through its gates throughout its 11-day run – clearing the fair's previous attendance record of 1,130,572, set back in 2019.

To be technical, the all-time State Fair attendance record still belongs to 1948's edition, which celebrated Wisconsin's 100th anniversary with 1,786,818 attendees. In fairness, however, the 1948 State Fair was also a Sporkie calorie count-sized affair, running for 23 days – more than double the size of any other Wisconsin State Fair.

“I am so proud of the State Fair Park staff, and thankful for our sponsors, vendors, exhibitors and Fairgoers who helped make the 2024 Wisconsin State Fair so successful,” said Shari Black, Chief Executive Officer of State Fair Park, in a release. “The past few years we have focused on enhancing the State Fair Park experience and brand, as well as bringing additional value to our consumers. This year’s attendance and revenue are a testament to the hard work of everyone I mentioned, and I am truly grateful to work with such an amazing team."

"While the Wisconsin State Fair is often recognized as one of the top fairs in North America, breaking our own attendance record proves that we truly deserve this recognition," said Chairman of the Board John Yingling, in the release. "I believe we are the BEST State Fair in the country, and I’d like to thank the Fairgoers who joined us for the best 11 days of summer and congratulate the State Fair Park Board and staff. It is their passion and dedication that made this a record-breaking year.”

If you think that new State Fair's attendance record is impressive, just imagine how big the total number of calories consumed is. Thankfully, the Wisconsin State Fair can't tally that specific stat, but it was able to report some other crazy cardiac-busting culinary numbers for 2024, such as the fact that visitors ordered up 352,000 cream puffs throughout the fair – not including 21,000 specialty flavored versions. And in case that wasn't enough on our hearts, attendees also ordered more than 28,000 servings of Saz's Sporkie-conquering deep-fried lemonade bites – plus more than 9,000 Drinkie-winning Fairway Fusions to wash it all down.

While we all try to digest all the fun and deep-fried food we had this past year, the Wisconsin State Fair is already looking ahead to 2025, looking to set another attendance record when it comes back July 31 through Aug. 10 next year. 

For more information on the State Fair, click here – and for more great Milwaukee summer fun in these final weeks, check out our festival guide and live outdoor music series guide. And we'll see you again at the fair next year, Wisconsin!