The Biggest Fairs in Ohio

One of the country's oldest state fairs, running continuously since 1850, the Ohio State Fair draws nearly a million visitors to the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus across its 12-day August run. The 2024 fair drew 988,859 — just shy of the all-time record of 1,006,228 set in 2023.

Ohio's largest county fair by attendance, the Fulton County Fair set an all-time record in 2025 with 340,193 visitors over Labor Day week in Wauseon. Drawing from across Northwest Ohio and neighboring Michigan and Indiana, it has grown steadily for years on the strength of free grandstand shows, a large midway, and deep 4-H and agricultural programming.

The Mahoning County Fair — known universally as the Canfield Fair — drew 284,191 visitors in 2025, its highest total in years. Running each September in Canfield since 1846, it's one of Ohio's oldest and most-attended county fairs, known for its extensive livestock competitions and grandstand acts that rival many state fairs.

Held each September in Burton, the Geauga County Fair is unusually transparent about its numbers — the fair publishes a year-by-year attendance table going back to 2012 on its website. The 2024 fair drew 279,587 visitors, part of a consistent upward trend that has made it one of Northeast Ohio's most-visited events.

The Great Darke County Fair runs six days each August in Greenville and draws an estimated 190,000 visitors — one of the larger county fairs in western Ohio. Dating to 1848, it's deeply rooted in Darke County's agricultural heritage and consistently draws strong 4-H and open class participation.