State Fair Attendance Rises in Du Quoin, Slips in Springfield

State Fairground Farris Wheel Ride with Multicolored Lights Spinning at Sunset along with Carnival Games, Carnival Rides in image.

The Du Quoin State Fair is celebrating another record year. Governor J.B. Pritzker’s office says the fair drew 287,058 visitors in 2026, topping last year’s mark of 282,202.

Meanwhile, the Illinois State Fair in Springfield posted its third-highest attendance ever, with 714,231 fairgoers. That’s a slight drop from more than 723,000 in 2025.

State officials say this year’s Springfield fair was expected to generate about 100 million dollars in economic impact, following nearly 190 million dollars in taxpayer-funded investments for infrastructure and programming.

The 2027 Illinois State Fair runs August 12 through 22. Du Quoin follows August 27 through September 6.