The Longest-Running State Fairs in America

1. 1
   New York State FairSyracuse, New York

   Running since 1841 — 185 yearsvia nysfair.ny.gov (official)

   The New York State Fair was the first state fair held anywhere in the United States, debuting in 1841 under the New York State Agricultural Society. It moved among 11 different cities before settling permanently in Syracuse in 1890.

2. 2
   Vermont State FairRutland, Vermont

   Running since 1846 — 180 yearsvia vermontstatefair.org (official)

   The Vermont State Fair has been held in Rutland since 1846, though it paused during both World Wars and the 2020 pandemic. It was known as the Rutland State Fair until being renamed in 1972, and is distinct from the larger, non-state-affiliated Champlain Valley Fair in Essex Junction.

3. 3
   Ohio State FairColumbus, Ohio

   Running since 1850 — 176 yearsvia Ohio State Fair (official)

   The Ohio State Fair began in 1850 near Cincinnati and settled permanently at its current Columbus fairgrounds in 1886. Aside from World War II and the 2020 pandemic, it has run every year since, and in 1896 it became the first state fair in the country to use electric lighting.

4. 4
   Wisconsin State FairWest Allis, Wisconsin

   Running since 1851 — 175 yearsvia Wisconsin Farmer

   The Wisconsin State Fair began in 1851 in Janesville and moved among several cities before settling permanently in West Allis in 1892. It marked its 175th anniversary in 2026.

5. 5
   Indiana State FairIndianapolis, Indiana

   Running since 1852 — 174 yearsvia Encyclopedia of Indianapolis

   The Indiana State Fair held its first edition in 1852 at Military Park in Indianapolis. It moved to its permanent 38th Street fairgrounds in 1892 and has run nearly every year since, with wartime interruptions in 1861, 1917-18, and a scaled-down run from 1942-44.

6. 6
   Illinois State FairSpringfield, Illinois

   Running since 1853 — 173 yearsvia Illinois State Fair (official)

   The Illinois State Fair held its first exposition in Springfield in 1853. For its first four decades it traveled among a dozen Illinois cities, including Chicago and Peoria, before settling permanently in Springfield in 1894.

7. 7
   North Carolina State FairRaleigh, North Carolina

   Running since 1853 — 173 yearsvia NC Dept. of Agriculture

   The N.C. State Fair has run in Raleigh since 1853, one of the oldest state fairs in the South. It's operated today by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

8. 8
   California State FairSacramento, California

   Running since 1854 — 172 yearsvia Wikipedia

   California's first state fair was held in 1854 in San Francisco, just four years after statehood. It moved to a different city each year until Sacramento became its permanent home in 1861, where it remains today at Cal Expo.

9. 9
   Iowa State FairDes Moines, Iowa

   Running since 1854 — 172 yearsvia Wikipedia

   The Iowa State Fair was first held in Fairfield in 1854 with a budget of $323. It has missed only three years since — 1898, 1942-45 during World War II, and 2020 during the pandemic.

10. 10
    Utah State FairSalt Lake City, Utah

    Running since 1856 — 170 yearsvia Deseret News

    The Utah State Fair traces to 1856, when the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society held Salt Lake City's first agricultural exposition — four decades before Utah became a state. It moved to its present fairgrounds, then called Agriculture Park, in 1902.

11. 11
    Mississippi State FairJackson, Mississippi

    Running since 1858 — 168 yearsvia Wikipedia

    The Mississippi State Fair traces to 1858, when the first fair was held at the Old Capitol building in Jackson. In the 1950s it became a site of civil rights activism when Medgar Evers led efforts to integrate the previously segregated event.

12. 12
    Oregon State FairSalem, Oregon

    Running since 1858 — 168 yearsvia Wikipedia

    The Oregon State Fair dates to 1858, with its first official incarnation in 1861 before settling permanently in Salem in 1862, where it's been held nearly every year since.

13. 13
    Minnesota State FairFalcon Heights, Minnesota

    Running since 1859 — 167 yearsvia Minnesota State Fair (official)

    The Minnesota State Fair dates to 1859, the year after statehood, growing out of the Minnesota Territorial Agricultural Society founded in 1854. It's been held nearly every year since, with a handful of exceptions including Civil War-era cancellations and the 2020 pandemic.

14. 14
    Nebraska State FairGrand Island, Nebraska

    Running since 1859 — 167 yearsvia Nebraska State Historical Society

    The Nebraska State Fair traces to 1859, when the first Nebraska Territorial Fair was held in Nebraska City — the first territorial fair held anywhere in the United States. It moved to Grand Island in 2011 after more than a century in Lincoln.

15. 15
    South Carolina State FairColumbia, South Carolina

    Running since 1869 — 157 yearsvia Wikipedia

    The South Carolina State Fair has run in Columbia since 1869, missing only 1918 due to the Spanish flu epidemic. It now draws roughly 400,000 visitors annually.

16. 16
    Colorado State FairPueblo, Colorado

    Running since 1872 — 154 yearsvia Colorado State Fair (official)

    The Colorado State Fair officially dates to October 9, 1872, in Pueblo, where it has been held for its entire history. It was formally incorporated in 1886 and received its first state funding in 1903.

17. 17
    Maryland State FairTimonium, Maryland

    Running since 1878 — 148 yearsvia Maryland State Fair (official)

    The Maryland State Fair traces to 1878, when Baltimore-area businessmen incorporated the Agricultural Society of Baltimore County. The U.S. Army leased the fairgrounds during World War II, closing the fair from 1943-45; it reopened in 1946 and has run continuously since.

18. 18
    Arizona State FairPhoenix, Arizona

    Running since 1884 — 142 yearsvia Arizona State Fair (official)

    The Arizona State Fair traces its roots to 1884, one of the oldest continuously recognized state fairs in the West, predating Arizona statehood by nearly three decades.

19. 19
    South Dakota State FairHuron, South Dakota

    Running since 1885 — 141 yearsvia Wikipedia

    The South Dakota State Fair was established by the territorial legislature in 1885 and has been held in Huron since 1905, after rotating among several towns in its early years.

20. 20
    State Fair of TexasDallas, Texas

    Running since 1886 — 140 yearsvia bigtex.com (official)

    The State Fair of Texas has run in Dallas's Fair Park since 1886, interrupted only for WWI and WWII military use of the fairgrounds and the 2020 pandemic. It drew over 2 million visitors in 2025.

21. 21
    Washington State FairPuyallup, Washington

    Running since 1900 — 126 yearsvia thefair.com (official)

    The Washington State Fair began in 1900 as the 'Valley Fair,' a small agricultural event financed through local stock sales by Puyallup Valley farmers. It's grown into one of the largest fairs in the country, still held on its original fairgrounds.

22. 22
    Missouri State FairSedalia, Missouri

    Running since 1901 — 125 yearsvia Missouri State Fair (official)

    The Missouri State Fair has run since 1901, when the first fair was held in Sedalia. It's held every August and remains both an agricultural showcase and an economic bellwether for the state.

23. 23
    Kentucky State FairLouisville, Kentucky

    Running since 1902 — 124 yearsvia Filson Historical Society

    The Kentucky State Fair was created by an act of the state legislature in 1902, with its first fair held that year at Churchill Downs. It moved to its current home, the Kentucky Exposition Center, in 1956.

24. 24
    Florida State FairTampa, Florida

    Running since 1904 — 122 yearsvia Florida State Fairgrounds (official)

    The Florida State Fair traces back to 1904 as a small exhibition tied to Tampa's Tampa Bay Hotel, though it wasn't formally designated the state's official fair until the legislature created the Florida State Fair Authority in 1975.

25. 25
    Wyoming State FairDouglas, Wyoming

    Running since 1905 — 121 yearsvia Wikipedia

    The Wyoming State Fair traces its roots to an 1886 territorial fair near Cheyenne that moved among several towns before Douglas won permanent hosting rights in 1905. It went dark during the Depression and World War II but has run in Douglas ever since.

26. 26
    Louisiana State FairShreveport, Louisiana

    Running since 1906 — 120 yearsvia statefairoflouisiana.com (official)

    The State Fair of Louisiana was founded in 1906 by a group of Shreveport civic leaders aiming to boost the region’s agricultural and industrial development. It has run continuously since, with a single exception in 1918 for the influenza pandemic.

27. 27
    State Fair of VirginiaDoswell, Virginia

    Running since 1906 — 120 years *via Richmond Magazine

    This fair traces its roots to 1854, but closed entirely in 1896 after the original Virginia State Agricultural Society fell into heavy debt. It didn't reopen until 1906, under a newly formed Virginia State Fair Association — a genuine decade-long gap that makes 1906, not 1854, the honest date for an unbroken “running since” claim.

28. 28
    State Fair of OklahomaOklahoma City, Oklahoma

    Running since 1907 — 119 yearsvia State Fair of Oklahoma (official)

    The State Fair of Oklahoma has run in Oklahoma City since 1907 and holds the state's official fair designation. It's a separate event from the larger, privately organized Tulsa State Fair, which didn't gain “state fair” status until 1935 and isn't the state-recognized fair.

29. 29
    Kansas State FairHutchinson, Kansas

    Running since 1913 — 113 yearsvia Kansas State Fair (official)

    The Kansas State Fair traces its official founding to 1913, when the legislature funded Hutchinson as the fair's permanent home. Its roots go back further, to an 1873 Reno County Agricultural Society fair, but 1913 marks the start of the state-sanctioned event.

30. 30
    Delaware State FairHarrington, Delaware

    Running since 1920 — 106 yearsvia Delaware State Fair (official)

    The Delaware State Fair began in 1920 as the Kent and Sussex County Fair, drawing 15,000 people to its first edition. It was renamed the Delaware State Fair in 1962 to reflect its statewide reach.

31. 31
    State Fair of West VirginiaLewisburg, West Virginia

    Running since 1921 — 105 years *via WV Explorer

    This fair began in 1921 as the Greenbrier Valley Fair near Lewisburg, and was formally designated the state fair by the legislature in 1941. World War II forced a four-year cancellation, which is why it marked its 100th annual event in 2025 despite being 104 years old.

32. 32
    North Dakota State FairMinot, North Dakota

    Running since 1922 — 104 years *via Wikipedia

    This fair traces its roots to a Minot fair association founded in 1922, though it wasn't designated the state's single official fair by the legislature until 1966. It has run in Minot ever since, aside from wartime, flood, and pandemic interruptions.

33. 33
    New Jersey State Fair / Sussex County Farm and Horse ShowAugusta, New Jersey

    Running since 1923 — 103 yearsvia Wikipedia

    This fair traces back to a small horse show organized in 1923 by the Branchville Riding Club. It grew into the Sussex County Farm and Horse Show, and in 1999 the organization acquired the “New Jersey State Fair” name, making it the state's officially designated fair.

34. 34
    Montana State FairGreat Falls, Montana

    Running since 1931 — 95 years *via MontanaRightNow

    This fair runs today in Great Falls, with roots dating to 1931 and full designation as the state fair by 1939. It's a successor to, not a direct continuation of, an earlier Montana state fair tradition held in Helena that lapsed during the Depression.

35. 35
    Alaska State FairPalmer, Alaska

    Running since 1936 — 90 yearsvia Anchorage Daily News

    The Alaska State Fair began in 1936 as the Matanuska Valley Fair, a harvest festival organized by Matanuska Colony settlers. It's still held in Palmer today and is famous for its giant vegetables, grown in the long summer daylight of the valley.

36. 36
    Arkansas State FairLittle Rock, Arkansas

    Running since 1938 — 88 yearsvia Encyclopedia of Arkansas

    The Arkansas State Fair began in 1938 as the Arkansas Livestock Show, launched to promote the state's growing livestock industry. It later expanded into the general-interest fair held each October in Little Rock.

37. 37
    New Mexico State FairAlbuquerque, New Mexico

    Running since 1938 — 88 years *via KRQE

    This fair has run continuously at Albuquerque's Expo New Mexico grounds since 1938, when WPA-funded construction gave it a permanent home after a 22-year hiatus following an earlier territorial fair that folded in 1916.

38. 38
    Wilson County Fair & Tennessee State FairLebanon, Tennessee

    Running since 1979 — 47 years *via Tennessee Dept. of Agriculture

    Since 2021, the Tennessee State Fair designation has been held by the Wilson County Fair in Lebanon, one of the largest county fairs in the country, founded in 1979. The original Tennessee State Fair ran in Nashville from the early 1900s until 2019, when it was discontinued for stadium redevelopment and the state title transferred to Wilson County's existing event — a genuine institutional break, not a continuous 170-year run.

39. 39
    Georgia National FairPerry, Georgia

    Running since 1990 — 36 years *via Georgia.gov

    Georgia's state-sponsored fair isn't called “Georgia State Fair” — it's the Georgia National Fair in Perry, run by the Georgia Agricultural Exposition Authority, a state instrumentality created by the legislature in 1985. First held in 1990, it set an all-time attendance record of 612,706 visitors in October 2025.

40. 40
    Michigan State FairNovi, Michigan

    Running since 2012 — 14 years *via Michigan State Fair LLC (official)

    The Michigan State Fair began in Detroit in 1849, one of the earliest state fairs in the country, but the state discontinued its funding and shut it down in 2009, with no fair held in 2010 or 2011. A private company revived it in 2012 at a new venue in Novi — a genuine ownership break that makes an unbroken “1849 to today” claim misleading.

* Ranked by the year continuous operation actually began, not just the earliest date the fair advertises — these entries have a documented closure, funding cut, or ownership change somewhere in their history. See each entry’s description for what happened.