There’s something for everyone at the Houston rodeo—but introverts may find it a little harder to join in on the festivities. In 2024, a whopping total of 2,553,185 people attended the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, decked out in their cowboy finest. The carnival grounds are always crawling with people, and the crush on NRG Stadium’s zigzagging exit ramp after a concert makes even the densest of cattle drives look like experiments in social distancing.

But even if you’re the quiet type, there’s a way to join in on the fun by minimizing contact with the crowds. It just takes a little strategy and analytical work—and we’ve already crunched the numbers for you. Using the rodeo’s attendance data and averages from six years (2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024), here are some takeaways for the best days to visit for a calmer experience.

Weekdays are better than weekends (duh).

This is an obvious one, but it bears repeating. If you have some free time off work during the week (or perhaps you could…ahem…“fall ill”), this is the best time to go. On average, 136,664 people visit the rodeo on a weekend day versus 103,114 on a weekday.

Okay, but which weekday is best to attend?

Not all weekdays are created equal, from fun-loving Fridays to hermit Mondays. Fridays are the worst with an average of 115,134 people descending onto the grounds with TGIF gusto, followed by Wednesdays (112,315) and Thursdays (105,655). Unsurprisingly, Mondays (94,675) and Tuesdays (84,979) are the calmest weekdays.

Looking even more closely at the data, it appears that the first Tuesday is on average the least busy day (68,218 people)—that’s opening day, on March 4 this year. If you missed the boat today, 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 year, respectively.

If you have to wait until later in the week, the least busy Friday is typically the first one (March 7 this year) with an average of 99,075 attending. Curious about the worst? The third Wednesday (March 19 this year) is the busiest weekday on average, with 148,162 visitors.

If you must go on a weekend.

We know the realities of many people’s schedules, and a weekday jaunt to the rodeo may not be in the cards. If you’re only able to visit on a weekend, Sunday (129,983 on average) is better than Saturday (143,345), and the least busy weekend day historically has been the first Sunday (110,132 on average)—that’s March 9 this year. The worst? The second Saturday, with 157,394 people getting their rodeo on. Maybe do something else on March 15.

What about the best week?

Whether you’re going on a weekday or weekend, the best overall time to go is the first week (March 4–9 this year), with an average of 91,556 people coming in daily. The second week sees a 111,404 daily average attendance and the third week sees 133,489.

And the best times to visit the rodeo?

While the rodeo doesn’t release granular attendance data by time of day, we can recommend from personal experience getting there around opening time at 9am and dipping out by lunchtime. Come 2pm, when crowds begin to come in for the evening rodeo and concerts in the stadium, it’s a zoo. Avoid.