Highlights

The Iowa State Fair annually attracts a million visitors - more than any other single event in Iowa - and is one of the oldest agricultural and industrial expositions in the nation. The development of the Fair, first held in Fairfield, Iowa, in 1854, is a series of historic comparisons. It has grown from a six-acre tract of land to a more than 450-acre Fairgrounds (including 160 acres of rolling green campgrounds); from a first Fair attendance of 10,000 to more than 1 million; from a three-day event to an eleven-day spectacular; from a local livestock show to one of the world's largest livestock exhibitions, offering hundreds of thousands of dollars in premiums.

Fair Dates

• 2013: August 8-18
• 2014: August 7-17
• 2015: August 13-23

Attendance

• 2002: 1,008,000
• 2003: 1,012,000
• 2004: 1,054,000
• 2005: 1,005,000
• 2006: 1,013,000
• 2007: 1,003,000
• 2008: 1,109,150
• 2009: 1,006,501
• 2010: 967,381
• 2011: 1,080,959
• 2012: 1,097,142