NC State Fair sees lowest attendance numbers in 5 years

RALEIGH, NC (WNCN/WWAY) — The North Carolina State Fair recorded declining attendance numbers for the second year in a row and lowest overall attendance since 2014.

A total of 938,029 people attended the fair this year – down from 977,256 in 2018 and 1,014,487 in 2017.

2019 daily attendance numbers:

• Oct. 17: 42,898
• Oct. 18: 78,019
• Oct. 19: 111,438
• Oct. 20: 68,538
• Oct. 21: 80,167
• Oct. 22: 50,653
• Oct. 23: 82,311
• Oct. 24: 116,017
• Oct. 25: 94,491
• Oct. 26: 136,448
• Oct. 27: 77,049

In 2018, the fair was closed on its first day due to the threat of Hurricane Michael but went on to set all-time daily attendance records on the final Friday and Sunday.

The 2019 fair did not set any attendance records.

The fair recorded three-straight years of more than 1 million visitors starting in 2015 but those numbers have steadily gone down since 2016.

The 2020 NC State Fair is scheduled to run Oct. 15-25.