Between one and four million people will likely journey to the Great American Eclipse, making it the most significant travel event of the year. The upcoming Total Solar Eclipse on April 8, 2024, will cast a shadow across the United States from Texas to Maine, plunging millions of Americans into darkness. Presently, 31 million Americans reside within the path of totality, with millions more anticipated to venture there on the eclipse day to witness this remarkable natural spectacle.
It will likely be the most-viewed astronomical event in American history. When you combine the populations of Mexico, USA, and Canada that live inside the path of totality, and add all of those who will travel on eclipse day, a total of 50 million North Americans witnessing totality is possible.
Michael Zeiler, expert eclipse cartographer and co-founder of Great American Eclipse.
Anticipating the potential influx of visitors and identifying where they are likely to congregate is crucial information for the communities, first responders, and businesses within the path. Great American Eclipse has formulated a geographical model to estimate the number of individuals who will journey to witness the Total Solar Eclipse on April 8, 2024. According to this model, Texas will receive the highest number of visitors, followed by Indiana, Ohio, New York, Arkansas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Oklahoma, Maine, and New Hampshire.
Great American Eclipse co-founder Polly White likened the event to 50 simultaneous Super Bowls taking place across the country. The Super Bowl typically attracts a total of 80,000 attendees. Multiplying that figure by 50 gives us our high-range estimate for eclipse tourism, not even factoring in potential visitors from Mexico or Canada.
Texas is projected to host the highest number of eclipse visitors, with an estimated one million people expected to flock to the state. Indiana and Ohio are next in line, anticipating around half a million visitors each. The influx of visitors is expected to lead to heavy traffic, particularly from nearby cities such as San Antonio, Houston, Memphis, St. Louis, Louisville, Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit, and Pittsburgh.
One notable area that could experience a significant surge in visitors is the vicinity near Kerrville, Texas, located northwest of San Antonio, where an estimated 488,000 visitors may gather.
For a comprehensive experience, you can explore 8 detailed regional maps that delve into the visitation patterns on the full web page at greatamericaneclipse.com/visitation.
