Here's Where Everyone's Traveling to See the 2024 Solar Eclipse
As many as four million Americans will make the trek to see the astronomical event.
We already know that the 2024 total solar eclipse is going to be a big deal—Airbnb searches are surging and you can even book a cruise to witness the rare celestial event. There's even a risk of some of these hotels and lodgings selling out. With new data from Great American Eclipse, we've got even more information to glean out just how big of an event the springtime eclipse will be for the travel industry.
According to Great American Eclipse, 31 million Americans already live inside the path of totality—and between one and four million more are expected to travel to see the eclipse on April 8, 2024. GAE has created a geographic model to estimate which states will see the most eclipse tourists, to help you best prepare for the 2024 event.
Right now, these are the states that are expected to receive the most eclipse travelers:
1. Texas
2. Indiana
3. Ohio
4. New York
5. Arkansas
6. Illinois
7. Pennsylvania
8. Vermont
9. Oklahoma
10. Maine
"It will likely be the most-viewed astronomical event in American history," Michael Zeiler, expert eclipse cartographer and co-founder of Great American Eclipse, said in a statement. “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."
GAE expects the total solar eclipse on April 4 to be 50 times larger than the Super Bowl, in terms of tourism. Texas will receive the lion share of those guests, with a projection of over a million visitors. One town in particular—Kerrville, Texas—could see as many as 488,000 visitors for the eclipse. GAE says that in multiple states you can expect major eclipse-related traffic in major cities. Kerrville is just north of San Antonio, so there will definitely be traffic there—but you can also bet on dealing with congestion in Houston, Memphis, St. Louis, Louisville, Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit, and Pittsburgh.
Check out the map below for an even more in-depth look at Great American Eclipse's eclipse tourism projections. You can visit its website to get more details on which locations along the eclipse's path of totality are expected to be the most and least crowded to help you plan your trip.
Ready to go stargazing?
Here are all the best stargazing events that you can get out and see this month or you could stay in and stream the northern lights from home. If you're just getting started, check out our guide to astronomy for beginners or easy stargazing road trips from big US cities.