It was a record-breaking year for the Ohio State Fair.
The annual event, which ended Aug. 9, broke three records, according to a recap by the Ohio Expo Center & State Fair.
That includes all-time high spending both on the Midway and concessions, and attendance, which was 1,025,190.
- Midway revenue was more than $3.3 million, up 8.4% over 2025.
- Concession revenue was $9.2 million, a 12.6% increase over 2025.
- Attendance was 5.8% higher than attendance in 2025, and 2% higher than the previous fair attendance record set in 2023 of 1,006,228.
"The 2026 Ohio State Fair was a tremendous success, welcoming record numbers of Ohioans to celebrate all things Ohio," said Ohio Expo Center & State Fairgrounds Executive Director Adam Heffron.
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Ohio Expo Center
Some other final metrics include
- $396,500 in sales at the Sale of Champions from generous buyers, $267,500 of which goes to the Virgil L. Strickler Youth Reserve Program to be distributed among thousands of Ohio State Fair youth exhibitors.
- Approximately 26,000 rides on the new Ohio Children’s Carousel
- 200 pieces of art accepted from 142 artists in the Youth Arts exhibition, including 48 elementary students, 42 middle school students, and 52 high school students
- Tickets purchased by visitors from all 50 states and 23 countries outside of the U.S. according to Ticketmaster sales data.
Among just the concession stands contracted through the Ohio State Fair (not through the vendor Talley Amusements), over the course of the fair there were:
- 93,677 lemonades of all varieties purchased
- 62,116 orders of fries of all varieties purchased
- 46,631 foods on a stick purchased
- 36,622 orders of ice cream sold by the American Dairy Association Mideast
- 29,834 corn dogs purchased
- 36,747 deviled eggs purchased
- 18,940 funnel cakes of all varieties purchased
- 13,788 orders of bourbon chicken purchased
- 9,273 turkey legs purchased
- 9,949 cream puffs purchased
- 8,281 orders of mini donuts
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Ohio Expo Center
Next year, the Ohio State Fair will run July 28 through Aug. 8, 2027.
