Through Saturday, September 5, 2026, the fair had drawn 792,165 people, 49,295 more than at the same point in 2025. Wednesday, September 2, the only fair day with an inch of rain at Syracuse Hancock airport, drew 29,771, the smallest crowd of the year.
The 2026 Great New York State Fair closes tonight, Monday, September 7, 2026, running ahead of last year. Through Saturday, September 5, 2026, it had drawn 792,165 people over 11 of its 13 days, per the fair’s daily attendance table: 49,295 more than the first 11 days of the 2025 fair, a gain of 6.6 percent.
This story came from public records we pulled ourselves
Get the next one, plus overnight incidents, in your inbox at 6 AM. Free, no spam.
One day went hard the other way. Wednesday, September 2, 2026 drew 29,771 people. The same day of the 2025 fair, day eight, drew 60,614. The gap of 30,843 people, or 50.9 percent, is by far the largest swing of this fair in either direction, and September 2 was the smallest single day of 2026.
What the weather record shows for September 2
NOAA daily records for Syracuse Hancock International Airport (station SYR) show September 2, 2026 was the wettest day of the fair by a wide margin: 1.00 inch of rain, with a high of 85 degrees. Every other fair day through September 5 recorded 0.45 inch or less, and seven of the 11 days recorded zero or only a trace.
So the record shows this much: the fair’s smallest day was also its wettest day. CNY Signal found no statement from the fair or the state attributing the number to weather. The fair’s press release list, checked September 7, 2026, contains no release on attendance for any day.
Rain does not explain every soft day, either. Monday, August 31 (a trace of rain) and Tuesday, September 1 (0.15 inch) both came in below their 2025 counterparts, by 2,470 and 5,846 people. Saturday, September 5 had no rain at all and still finished 2,434 behind a 2025 Saturday that drew 100,396.
What was scheduled that Wednesday, per the fair’s Special Days page: Women’s Day, Sensory Friendly Day and a $30 Wacky Wednesday wristband for unlimited Midway rides. The same wristband deal ran on opening day, August 26.
Where the 49,295 lead came from
| Day | Date (2026) | 2025 | 2026 | Change | Rain at SYR (inches) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wed., Aug. 26 | 32,736 | 66,898 | +34,162 | 0.00 |
| 2 | Thu., Aug. 27 | 58,372 | 56,511 | -1,861 | 0.45 |
| 3 | Fri., Aug. 28 | 75,726 | 76,126 | +400 | trace |
| 4 | Sat., Aug. 29 | 88,060 | 114,644 | +26,584 | 0.00 |
| 5 | Sun., Aug. 30 | 60,028 | 94,059 | +34,031 | 0.01 |
| 6 | Mon., Aug. 31 | 55,972 | 53,502 | -2,470 | trace |
| 7 | Tue., Sept. 1 | 60,116 | 54,270 | -5,846 | 0.15 |
| 8 | Wed., Sept. 2 | 60,614 | 29,771 | -30,843 | 1.00 |
| 9 | Thu., Sept. 3 | 65,419 | 61,858 | -3,561 | 0.00 |
| 10 | Fri., Sept. 4 | 85,431 | 86,564 | +1,133 | 0.00 |
| 11 | Sat., Sept. 5 | 100,396 | 97,962 | -2,434 | 0.00 |
| 12 | Sun., Sept. 6 | 104,893 | not posted | ||
| 13 | Mon., Sept. 7 | 78,226 | not posted |
Attendance: the fair’s Daily Attendance table, checked September 7, 2026. Rain: NOAA/NWS via ACIS, station SYR. The 2025 column is the same day of the 2025 fair, which ran on different calendar dates.
Three days built the lead. Opening day, Wednesday, August 26, 2026, drew 66,898, more than double the 32,736 on opening day 2025. Saturday, August 29 drew 114,644, the biggest day of the fair, up 26,584. Sunday, August 30 drew 94,059, up 34,031. Together those three days added 94,777 people over 2025.
The other eight days, taken together, gave back 45,482. The rainy Wednesday accounts for 30,843 of that, about two-thirds.
Nothing on the fair’s Special Days page explains opening day. It lists the same $30 ride wristband for August 26 that ran on September 2, and no admission discount. General admission this year was $8 in advance ($8.32 with fees), with children 12 and under and adults 65 and older free every day, per the fair’s admission page.
The two biggest days of 2026 were both Saturdays: 114,644 on August 29 and 97,962 on September 5. For scale, the record column of the fair’s own table shows the best day eight in its history drew 112,774, in 1972. This year’s day eight drew about a quarter of that.
Can 2026 still beat 2025’s total?
The 2025 fair finished at 925,989 over 13 days. To pass that, 2026 needs 133,824 people across Sunday, September 6 and today, Monday, September 7. In 2025, those final two days drew 104,893 and 78,226, a combined 183,119. Put another way, the fair can finish its last two days 49,295 short of last year’s pace and still beat 2025.
Sunday’s count had not been posted when CNY Signal checked the fair’s table on September 7, 2026, and today’s cannot exist until the gates close. The table has empty rows waiting for both, and this article does not guess at either.
The all-time record, 1,329,275 in 2019, is out of reach. It would take 537,110 people over two days. The biggest two-day stretch of this fair, Saturday, August 29 and Sunday, August 30, drew 208,703.
Closing day hours and prices, September 7, 2026
From the fair’s Directions & Hours page and its admission page:
– Gates: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Labor Day, with no entry or re-entry after 8 p.m. Every other day ran 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., with no entry after 9 p.m.
– Buildings: all close at 8 p.m. on Labor Day.
– Midway: closes at 9 p.m. on Labor Day, two hours earlier than other days.
– Last pour of alcohol: 8:30 p.m. on Labor Day.
– Admission: $8.32 online with fees; parking vouchers $12.41 per vehicle; free for children 12 and under and adults 65 and older.
– Labor Day program, per the Special Days page: parade at 10:30 a.m., fireworks to follow.
– Concerts listed for September 7 on the fair’s venue pages: Yacht Rock Gold Experience at noon and Voyage at 4 p.m. at Chevy Court, near Gate 1; Wyclef Jean at 6 p.m. at Suburban Park, on the western end of the grounds beyond the Midway. All are free with admission.
The fairgrounds are at 581 State Fair Blvd. in the town of Geddes, just west of Syracuse.
Sources
- Daily Attendance, The Great New York State Fair (New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets), checked September 7, 2026. https://nysfair.ny.gov/about/press/attendance/
- Daily precipitation and maximum temperature, station SYR (Syracuse Hancock International Airport), NOAA/NWS via the Applied Climate Information System (xmACIS2), Regional Climate Centers, August 26 to September 5, 2026. https://xmacis.rcc-acis.org
- Directions & Hours, The Great New York State Fair, 2026. https://nysfair.ny.gov/your-visit/plan-your-trip/directions-hours/
- Admission Tickets and Parking, The Great New York State Fair, 2026. https://nysfair.ny.gov/admission/
- Fair Special Days, The Great New York State Fair, 2026. https://nysfair.ny.gov/your-visit/special/
- Press Releases, The Great New York State Fair, checked September 7, 2026. https://nysfair.ny.gov/about/press/fair-stories/category/press-releases/
- Chevy Court Concerts, The Great New York State Fair, 2026. https://nysfair.ny.gov/venue/chevy-court/
- Suburban Park Concerts, The Great New York State Fair, 2026. https://nysfair.ny.gov/venue/suburban-park/
- Governor Hochul Celebrates the Opening of the 2026 Great New York State Fair, Office of Governor Kathy Hochul, August 26, 2026. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-celebrates-opening-2026-great-new-york-state-fair
Every figure in this story is drawn from the records above. Links go to the primary documents.
