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Fairgoers walk by Big Tex at State Fair of Texas, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, at Fair Park in Dallas.<\/p>\n
Chitose Suzuki\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
State Fair of Texas <\/a>organizers set out to make this year\u2019s fair more affordable. After fairgoers complained about high costs, organizers cut prices across the fairgrounds, including parking and admission. But did the rollback on prices make a difference this year?<\/p>\n The change didn\u2019t do much for Isaiah and Haley Sigala\u2019s family of three.<\/p>\n Isaiah and Haley brought their 10-month-old daughter to the State Fair of Texas<\/a> on the final Friday of the season. They visited Fair Park<\/a> twice this year, the first on a discounted admission day and then with Isaiah\u2019s employer.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Getting into the fairgrounds cost less than the year before, Isaiah said. But prices still felt too high.<\/p>\n \u201cAny food that you get, it seems like it was still on the incline,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Fair attendance rose 3.1%<\/a> from 2025 to nearly 2.1 million this year. The slight spike in daily visitors followed familiar patterns as in previous years, with the Red River Rivalry drawing the biggest crowds and weather playing a role on slow days.<\/p>\n For its 140th anniversary, the fair lowered admission and parking prices in response to last year\u2019s criticism of overall affordability. But even with employer-provided tickets or cheaper entrance fees, fairgoers took the time to count up the coupons to determine if the fun came at a justifiable price.<\/p>\n Attendance makes a difference\u00a0<\/p>\n From 2017 through 2025, the fair averaged 2.29 million visitors per season, excluding 2020 when it was canceled because of COVID-19 precautions<\/a>. In 2025, fair attendance fell<\/a> to 2,020,064, the lowest in the time span.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Social media posts shared during the 2025 fair showed empty parking lots and sparse crowds. The posts blamed low turnout on high prices for parking, rides, food and admission. Although prices were not directly linked to the lower attendance, the decline validated the critics\u2019 concerns about affordability.<\/p>\n After last year’s extensive discourse on affordability, the fair rolled back<\/a> parking and admission prices for 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an event for families,\u201d fair spokeswoman Karissa Condoianis said. \u201cWe have generations of families who attend the fair and have this as part of their annual family traditions. We want to make sure that we’re keeping the State Fair an affordable family experience.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Related: More than fair food: Generational vendors preserve love, legacy at State Fair of Texas<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The fair lowered official parking lot prices by $5 to $25, and offered cheaper\u00a0admission<\/a>. Kids\u2019 tickets cost $10. Adults <\/a>paid between $15 and $25.<\/p>\n Adult admission also dipped in price based on the various discounts the fair provided this year, including an after-5 p.m. deal for $10 admission Monday through Thursday and $20 on weekends. \u00a0<\/p>\n The Allstate Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl on Oct. 10 drew in 203,280 to Fair Park, the fair\u2019s largest crowd of the season. The Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners have played at the fair for nearly 100 years. The game day historically has the highest turnout for the fair.<\/p>\n Rain made Oct. 1 the fair\u2019s slowest day. Severe weather and a flash flood warning delayed opening by two hours, and attendance fell to a season-low 30,478.<\/p>\n New prices, same complaints\u00a0<\/p>\n Isaiah, 29, said he appreciates the lowered price of getting into the fair, but his family still sticks to a budget or shares food.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Alexis Judie, 37, skipped the State Fair of Texas last year after deciding a day at Six Flags with her family would cost less.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s just a flat rate,\u201d Judie said. \u201cYou just have to pay for food and drinks and stuff like that. So I would say Six Flags is cheaper.\u201d<\/p>\n Judie returned this year on a job outing with her coworkers during the fair\u2019s last weekend. She only had to pay for parking, but said the discount days and changes to admission prices do make a difference.\u00a0<\/p>\n Still, she had one criticism: food, especially turkey legs, is too expensive. At the 2026 State Fair, a turkey leg<\/a> ran up to $24, or the equivalent of 24 coupons, at some booths.<\/p>\n \u201cThe coupon prices should definitely go down,\u201d Judie said. \u201cI’ve been coming since I was a kid. It used to be 25 cents a coupon or 50 cents a coupon, but it\u2019s now $1 a coupon.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Turkey legs sit in the sun on the grill on the last day of the State Fair of Texas on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, in Dallas.<\/p>\n El\u00edas Valverde II\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Coupons increased to $1 in 2021. At the time, State Fair of Texas President Mitchell Glieber emphasized costs did not double. Instead, he said, the change allowed the fair to print fewer coupons, making it more efficient.<\/p>\n Condoianis said the State Fair controls admissions and parking prices, while vendors and concessionaires set their own.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mini turkey legs were among this year\u2019s lower-priced options. Fairgoers could get the same smoky flavor but at a reduced price of $16. Officials worked with vendors to lower prices.<\/p>\n More stories: Plano festival celebrates North Texas cultural diversity, welcomes 100 new U.S. citizens<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cAnd we saw an incredible response from our vendors out here,\u201d Condoianis said.<\/p>\n Condoianis said some of the fair’s food and beverage vendors created new value menus with over 270 items priced at $10 or less.\u00a0<\/p>\n Howdy\u2019s Value Menu near the Children’s Aquarium changed their menu to include smaller popular fair treats for $6 or $8. Condoianis said. Big Tex Choice Award<\/a> items were also offered at discounted prices, including a half-size order of the Burger Chop Tater Tacos at $8.<\/p>\n (From left) Julie Ruiz, 21, Aban Garcia, 19, Kelly Robles, 29, and Claudio Robles, 30, react as Kelly launches a rubber chicken towards pots on the last day of the State Fair of Texas on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, in Dallas.<\/p>\n El\u00edas Valverde II\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n On the Midway, Condoianis said operators reduced ride prices \u00a0this year.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are so many things that keep people wanting to come back year after year and experience the fair,\u201d she said. \u201cWe just need to make sure that families can continue to afford to come to the State Fair of Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018There every day, like a war\u2019<\/p>\n Vegan Vibrationz co-owner Jovan Cole said the fair stepped up this year to keep prices affordable and the energy at the fairgrounds showed it.<\/p>\n Cole and his twin brother run the first all-vegan booth<\/a> at the fair and serve vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free food for $25 or less.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s definitely a better turnout than last year as far as people complaining about the pricing and everything,\u201d Cole said.<\/p>\n Judie said she understood why the fair attracted more people this year as she enjoyed a Fletcher\u2019s Corny Dog near Big Tex. Judie was one of the 107,933 people who visited on the last Friday<\/a> of the fair.<\/p>\n A popular stop for fairgoers was the food court, where Tommy G\u2019s booth had patrons from the minute the fair opened.<\/p>\n Tom Grace, 58, doesn\u2019t recall a day when his line wasn\u2019t trailing out the doors of the food court. Social media videos and posts led many to crave a slice of cheesy pickle or Flamin’ Hot Cheetos pizza from the booth.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe were literally in there every day, like a war,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n On some nights, the line remained so long by closing time, workers had to turn people away, Grace said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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