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By the Numbers: $680M economic impact of the State Fair of Texas

See how the State Fair of Texas tickets, food, employment, and more add up to a major financial contributor to the DFW economy.

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Get a load of these sky-high numbers.

Photo by FTWtoday

It’s not news that the State Fair of Texas can get pricey pretty quickly. Between admission, rides, and snacking your way across Fair Park, the typical local visitor spends an average of $106 to attend the fair — not to mention the transportation + hotel costs for out-of-towners.

How does all of that add up, you may ask?

A new study by Michael C. Carroll and the Economic Research group at the University of North Texas analyzed the financial data from the State Fair of Texas in 2023 and compared it to numbers from 2016, to show how the 24-day festival contributes to DFW’s economy.

Keep reading for a quick breakdown of some Big Tex-sized numbers.

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The State Fair of Texas employed over 4,400 people last year.

Photo by FTWtoday

Show me the money

In 2023, the fair generated a whopping $680 million in total economic impact — approximately $180 million more than it did seven years prior. This includes:

  • Core revenue | A combination of operations, capital spending, visitors spending, and vendor employee spending | $422.2 million in 2023 vs. $307.6 million in 2016
  • Secondary activities | Sales from vendors | $196.2 million in 2023 vs. $192.3 million in 2016
  • Labor | Salaries and wages for full-time and temporary employees | 4,486 jobs in 2023 vs. ~6,000 jobs in 2016
  • Taxes | Federal, state, and local | $70.5 million in 2023 vs. $14.8 million in 2016

Additionally, football games held at Cotton Bowl Stadium added $62.1 million to DFW’s economy — the Red River Rivalry between the University of Texas and Oklahoma University generated ~$51 million + the State Fair Classic between Grambling State and Prairie View A&M raked in ~$11.1 million last year.

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The Big Texas Youth Livestock Auction has an impact far bigger than this guy’s horns — and that’s saying something.

Photo by FTWtoday

Giving back

In 2023, the fair contributed $15.8 million to educational programs, local nonprofits, scholarships, and historic preservation efforts for Fair Park and South Dallas.

It also awarded a record-breaking $2.2 million in scholarship money during the Big Tex Youth Livestock Auction — bringing the auction’s total awards to $24 million over the last 75 years.

Additionally, the fair gave out 2.1 million free tickets to students, teachers, and members of local nonprofits last year.

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Look at all those folks who came from across the state.

The out-of-town impact

Last year, 2.34 million visitors attended the fair, but only 1.84 million of them were local to North Texas. Over 260,000 traveled across the Lone Star State and 240,000 came from further afield.

The report revealed that spending from out-of-towners creates a $268.7 million impact on DFW and contributes $8.7 million in local taxes.

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We went for a classic corny dogs but there are lots of flavors to try.

Photo by FTWtoday

Fun money

After the closing of this year’s State Fair of Texas on Sunday, Oct. 20, the fair released its numerical recap of 2024.

Congratulations to the 82% of people who bet “over” in our Over-Under poll a few weeks ago. Approximately 550,000 Fletcher’s Original Corny Dogs were sold in 24 days — 32,000 more corny dogs than in 2023. Your prize is getting to read about these other Big Tex-sized numbers:

  • Admission | 2.4 million fairgoers attended the fair.
  • Community | 180,000+ canned food items were donated to the North Texas Food Bank.
  • Education | $1.3 million in new college scholarships were awarded to Texas students.
  • Entertainment | 100,000+ rides were taken on the Texas Star Ferris Wheel.
  • Food | 1,800 gallons of mustard and 850 gallons of ketchup were consumed with the corny dogs.
  • Agriculture | The Grand Champion Market Steer sold for $180,000, breaking the Big Tex Youth Livestock Auction record
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