There’s one thing for everybody at the Houston rodeo—however introverts might discover it a little bit more durable to hitch in on the festivities. In 2024, a whopping whole of two,553,185 folks attended the Houston Livestock Present and Rodeo, decked out in their cowboy best. The carnival grounds are all the time crawling with folks, and the crush on NRG Stadium’s zigzagging exit ramp after a live performance makes even the densest of cattle drives seem like experiments in social distancing.
However even if you happen to’re the quiet sort, there’s a approach to take part on the enjoyable by minimizing contact with the crowds. It simply takes a little bit technique and analytical work—and we’ve already crunched the numbers for you. Utilizing the rodeo’s attendance information and averages from six years (2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024), listed below are some takeaways for the very best days to go to for a calmer expertise.
Weekdays are higher than weekends (duh).
That is an apparent one, however it bears repeating. When you have some free time without work work through the week (or maybe you can…ahem…“fall unwell”), that is the very best time to go. On common, 136,664 folks go to the rodeo on a weekend day versus 103,114 on a weekday.
Okay, however which weekday is greatest to attend?
Not all weekdays are created equal, from fun-loving Fridays to hermit Mondays. Fridays are the worst with a median of 115,134 folks descending onto the grounds with TGIF gusto, adopted by Wednesdays (112,315) and Thursdays (105,655). Unsurprisingly, Mondays (94,675) and Tuesdays (84,979) are the calmest weekdays.
Wanting much more carefully on the information, it seems that the primary Tuesday is on common the least busy day (68,218 folks)—that’s opening day, on March 4 this 12 months. In case you missed the boat in the present day, the second and third least-busy days are the second Tuesday (72,494) and first Wednesday (75,426), which fall on March 11 and 5 this 12 months, respectively.
If you must wait till later within the week, the least busy Friday is usually the primary one (March 7 this 12 months) with a median of 99,075 attending. Curious in regards to the worst? The third Wednesday (March 19 this 12 months) is the busiest weekday on common, with 148,162 guests.
In case you should go on a weekend.
We all know the realities of many individuals’s schedules, and a weekday jaunt to the rodeo is probably not within the playing cards. In case you’re solely in a position to go to on a weekend, Sunday (129,983 on common) is best than Saturday (143,345), and the least busy weekend day traditionally has been the primary Sunday (110,132 on common)—that’s March 9 this 12 months. The worst? The second Saturday, with 157,394 folks getting their rodeo on. Perhaps do one thing else on March 15.
What about the very best week?
Whether or not you’re occurring a weekday or weekend, the very best general time to go is the primary week (March 4–9 this 12 months), with a median of 91,556 folks coming in each day. The second week sees a 111,404 each day common attendance and the third week sees 133,489.
And the very best instances to go to the rodeo?
Whereas the rodeo doesn’t launch granular attendance information by time of day, we will advocate from private expertise getting there round opening time at 9am and dipping out by lunchtime. Come 2pm, when crowds start to come back in for the night rodeo and live shows within the stadium, it’s a zoo. Keep away from.
