After the final hums of Luke Bryan's amplifiers faded and the scent of Bun B's chicken tendies wafted deliciously away, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo counted its gate receipts. The 2025 rodeo set an all-time attendance record over the course of its 23-day run with 2,735,695 visitors. If the rodeo were a U.S. state, it would be the 37th most populated after Mississippi. More people came to the rodeo this year than attended every San Diego Comic Con since 2000 combined. It's a lot of folks.
"The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo continues to represent the very best of our Texas traditions, bringing together our diverse community through exceptional entertainment, thrilling competitions, and educational experiences.” said Chris Boleman, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo president and CEO. “The incredible year 2025 has been a testament to what we can achieve together. None of this would be possible without the unwavering dedication and help from 35,000 volunteers across 109 committees, alongside our incredible donors and sponsors who share our vision of celebrating Western heritage while investing in the future of Texas youth and education. We are profoundly thankful for our community whose enthusiasm and support make this iconic celebration possible year after year.”
Nor was the gate the only place that the rodeo shattered records. At the annual school art auction, Sophie Zhou sold her painting "Nurture" for $276,000. The money raised in the auction goes to scholarship and education opportunities for those entering fields related to ranching and agriculture. Junior livestock auction sales totaled $29,652,317, another new record, which include new milestones in barrows, broilers, goats, lambs, steers, and turkeys.
The sports competitors also did well, though none walked away with a record-breaking purse. A combined $2,533,500 was awarded to various riders and ropers, with individual champions taking home between $69,000 and $73,500. The top winner was Riley Webb of Denton, Texas in the tie down roping event.
The sheer scale of the rodeo is hard to believe sometimes. For instance, the popular carnival was delivered by the RCS company by driving a combined total of 420,000 miles, more than 14 times the circumference of the Earth. The new Virtual Chuck Wagon game station hosted 12,600 players, meaning they traversed a digital distance nearly three times the length of the Mississippi River.
Now that it's over, all that's left is to plan the next year's records to break, proving that the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is truly as big as Texas.
