Number of visitors to the Statue of Liberty National Monument in the U.S. 2008-2023
Iconic U.S. national monument the Statue of Liberty was visited by 3.74 million people in 2023. Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the monument attracted only around 576 thousand attendees in 2020, significantly less than pre-pandemic levels of attendance. Visitation reached a similarly dramatic low in 2013 due to the closure of the monument as a result of damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.
A national treasure becomes a national monument
The U.S. government granted the statue national monument status in 1924. Around 10 years later it was entrusted to the care of the National Parks Service – it has remained in its care to this day. Along with Liberty Island, Ellis island (famous for its past as a federal immigration station) also joined as part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. Since then, visitors to Ellis Island are included in the visitor count of The Statue of Liberty.
Not the only popular attraction…
The popularity of the Statue of Liberty is undeniable, with other attractions often failing to reach similar visitation figures. Due to the global health crisis, however, the monument was not able to welcome as many visitors as usual. During this period, other famous attractions in the U.S. managed to fare much better. One of these attractions was Mount Rushmore, located in South Dakota, which attracted roughly four times the number of visitors as the Statue of Liberty in 2020. More recently, in 2022, the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC garnered over twice the number of visitors as the Statue of Liberty.
