How does the Minnesota State Fair make money?
Visitors are spending tens of millions of dollars to experience all there is at the Minnesota State Fair. It's a 12-day production that costs tens of millions of dollars to put on.
"The majority of the income that comes to the Minnesota State Fair comes through producing the fair itself," said Renee Alexander, the fair's CEO. "About 50% of that is through sales of tickets, parking, and Grandstand tickets."
For the 2025 fair, admission tickets generated nearly $30.9 million. Parking on the grounds pulled in $2.1 million. The grandstand and its headlining shows took in $5.8 million.
"A lot of the ticket sales from the grandstand go to the artist, not necessarily to the fair," Alexander said. "But it helps create the entire fair experience and fair environment."
The next category is arguably what people spend most of their money on at the fair: the food and drinks. Those vendors pay 15% of their gross sales to the fair.
Non-food vendors and exhibitors, often found in places like the Grandstand or Education Building, pay a flat fee for their space depending on how much area they take up. For example, an educational exhibitor that isn't selling any products or services pays $95 for every front-facing foot of their booth. If the booth takes up 10 feet of space, the cost would be $950 to set up for all 12 days.
Altogether, vendors and exhibitors generated $17.5 million at last year's fair.
Then there's, of course, the rides from the Giant Slide to the Midway, pulling in another $10.8 million in 2025.
A majority of that money earned is already accounted for in the State Fair's budget. It pays for all the staff, free entertainment and other free services like the park-and-ride shuttles.
"The interesting thing with the fair is everything we make goes right back into the fair, so that's programming for next year's fair. It's about taking care of the infrastructure. We have 322 acres; we have buildings that are well over 100 years old," Alexander said.
One major project partially paid for with State Fair revenue was the renovation of the Lee and Rose Warner Coliseum. Costing more than $23 million, the venue has new seating, improved lighting and bathrooms, along with new ramps and railings to be more accessible. The project was also funded through bonds, another funding source for improvement projects.
The Minnesota State Fair Foundation is the third funding source for the fair. The nonprofit also helps pay for improvements on the fairgrounds.
"We're in the middle of a campaign right now, a significant campaign to renovate the 4-H Building, and the Minnesota State Fair Foundation, in partnership with 4-H Extension, is working on that project," Alexander said.
While the fair's 12 days are the main cash cow, there are several events on the grounds year-round generating income, like the Back to the 50's Weekend in June. Non-fair events and other income pull in more than $10 million in revenue.
The State Fair's 2025 annual report shows total revenue for the year was $76.6 million. Its expenses were $73 million. That gave it an operating income of $3.6 million.
