A visitor plays a carnival game at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 19, 2021. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
An economic impact study commissioned by the Iowa State Fair shows it drew in $629 million in 2024 — comparable to Taylor Swift's three-day New Orleans Era's tour run, per the fair.
Zoom in: Johnson Consulting firm, which was hired to conduct the study, based the dollar amount on revenue earned by events held year-round at the fairgrounds, as well as attendance at those events.
The dollar amount does not include money earned by food concessions and carnivals, but it does include rent revenue the fair received.
The big picture: In 2024, the Iowa State Fair also broke several attendance records, including the all-time single-day attendance record with 128,298 attendees.
But maybe they can break that next if they can get Taylor Swift to the grandstand?
