The Biggest Fairs in South Dakota

Held each August at the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds in Sioux Falls, the Sioux Empire Fair drew 298,598 visitors over its 10-day run in 2017, according to the Argus Leader — the most recent reported total available. Running since 1936, it's South Dakota's largest fair by attendance.

Aberdeen's Brown County Fair drew an estimated 279,451 visitors in 2017, up from 265,819 the year before, according to Aberdeen News. Since the fair is free to attend, the county calculates attendance using a traffic-count formula rather than ticket sales. Running since 1921, it's one of the state's largest county fairs.

South Dakota's official state fair, held each Labor Day week in Huron since 1885, drew 180,916 visitors in 2025, per gowatertown.net reporting — down slightly from 186,255 the year before. The fair generates roughly $3.2 million in fairgoer spending and hosts nearly 9,800 4-H and FFA youth participants each year.