The Biggest Fairs in North Carolina

The NC State Fair in Raleigh is the largest single event in North Carolina by attendance — 998,926 visitors across 11 days in October 2024, the sixth-largest crowd in the fair's 156-year history. Senior Day alone drew 85,738 people, setting a single-Tuesday record. Held at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh since 1853, it ranks among the top 10 state fairs in the country and is the defining event of the fall fair calendar in the Southeast.

Held each September at the WNC Agricultural Center in Fletcher — just south of Asheville — the NC Mountain State Fair is the state's second state fair and the largest annual event in western North Carolina. The 2025 edition drew 161,059 visitors, the largest crowd in years, with the community's resilience following Hurricane Helene cited as a factor in strong attendance. The fair celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2024.

The Cleveland County Fair in Shelby is the largest county fair in North Carolina, drawing over 100,000 visitors annually to its late-September run. The fair celebrated its centennial in 2024 — a milestone disrupted when Hurricane Helene forced cancellation of opening day. A livestock and agricultural tradition in the Piedmont foothills, it draws visitors from across Gaston, Rutherford, and Lincoln counties.

The Wilson County Fair has run continuously since 1933, making it one of the oldest county fairs in eastern North Carolina. The 2024 edition drew 23,000 visitors across its week-long September run — strong attendance for a county fair in a region where the larger state fairs dominate the calendar. Located in Wilson, it draws from across the coastal plain.