(CBS News Texas) - The State Fair of Texas has come and gone for another year. This time, it saw hundreds of thousands fewer visitors compared to 2024, according to data released Monday by fair officials.

About 2 million people visited the fair, down by about 400,000 from last year. Fair officials said anywhere from 2 to 2.5 million visitors is typical.

Fairgoers said affordability was an issue this year

Across social media, posts circulated about families skipping the State Fair of Texas this year because they said they simply couldn’t afford it. Some families told CBS News Texas that even with discounted admission, once they added in food and games cost in the midway, it still was not in their budgets .

They said that kept people away this year, but fair spokesperson Karissa Cond

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