The 2025 Minnesota State Fair was the fifth most attended overall, beating out last year.

Labor Day’s attendance of 150,442 brought this year’s total to 1,940,869, according to the fair. That bests last year’s total of 1,925,904.

It’s still short of the fair’s peak: Attendance in 2019 holds out as the highest to date, at 2,126,551.

But the fair can take this as reassuring news, since it was pricier this year, with at-gate admission rising to $20 per adult, up from last year’s $18.

Looking at daily records, last year remains more impressive. Fairgoers set five daily attendance records in 2024, and this year they set only one: On the first Monday, a record-setting 145,022 visitors strolled through. (Last year, that figure was 80,546; in 2023, it was 134,146.)

The most-attended day this year was the second Saturday, when 222,800 entered the gates. That day last year saw 207,708. Last year’s high watermark came the second Sunday, with 256,015 visitors, a new daily record.

The fair tends to issue annual reports the summer following, so we’ll see a revenue breakdown then. (Last year, the fair’s operating revenue was $71,223,041, up about $1 million from the year prior.)

Its close marks a time for reflection in multiple ways. In a news release Tuesday afternoon, CEO Renee Alexander took a moment to “remember the tragedy at Annunciation school” that took place August 27 “and the devastating loss of others in our community who were victims of violence.”