Jefferson County, Alabama: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Alabama by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 101 deaths in 95 fatal crashes in Jefferson County in 2024.

FARS records 959 deaths in 904 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 14.4 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Alabama in the same years is 19.3.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Jefferson County was number 1 of 67 counties of Alabama.

Deaths in Jefferson County rose by 4.9% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (914) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (959).

In the counties of Alabama the deaths rose by 0.3% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 15.8% of the fatal crashes in Jefferson County with a known setting were rural, against 59.4% in Alabama.

To qualify as a FARS case, the crash had to involve a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and must have resulted in the death of a motorist or a non-motorist within 30 days of the crash.
The set of first files, known as the Annual Report File (ARF), is released following the crash year. The ARF is replaced about a year later with a final file, which contains additional cases or updates to cases that had become available after the ARF was released.
NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

This page rests on the FARS 2024 annual file. NHTSA released it on 1 Apr 2026. NHTSA can revise the counts in the final file. Release dates

Figure 1.Deaths in Jefferson County by year, 2015 to 2024

110

108

112

101

Table 1 has the numbers. Go to the table

Since the last update: no figure of this county has a change on record.

Deaths and fatal crashes by year

Table 1.Jefferson County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	101	95	4
2023	112	103	13
2022	98	94	8
2021	108	101	14
2020	110	106	10
2019	85	80	8
2018	92	84	13
2017	83	79	12
2016	90	88	17
2015	80	74	10
2015 to 2024	959	904	109

Each year from 1975

Figure 2.Deaths in Jefferson County by year, 1975 to 2024

Tallest column: 128 (1989)2024: 101

The columns with a stronger shade are the years 2015 to 2024.

Table 2.Jefferson County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	101	95
2023	112	103
2022	98	94
2021	108	101
2020	110	106
2019	85	80
2018	92	84
2017	83	79
2016	90	88
2015	80	74
2014	77	74
2013	92	80
2012	111	101
2011	109	101
2010	89	80
2009	83	78
2008	104	91
2007	98	91
2006	80	77
2005	71	67
2004	99	93
2003	81	76
2002	92	90
2001	92	85
2000	72	69
1999	90	83
1998	118	109
1997	112	98
1996	92	85
1995	91	83
1994	107	96
1993	86	81
1992	110	99
1991	104	95
1990	102	95
1989	128	113
1988	117	112
1987	111	97
1986	106	96
1985	85	80
1984	82	77
1983	80	71
1982	89	83
1981	106	105
1980	105	93
1979	111	101
1978	122	115
1977	109	106
1976	116	98
1975	112	99

Note: a count of 1 or 2 is written "1 or 2". A death is in FARS when it occurs in 30 days or less after the crash.

Rate for each 100,000 residents

Table 3.Jefferson County beside Alabama and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Jefferson County	Alabama	United States
2024	15.2	18.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	14.4	19.3	11.8

Note: the rate divides the deaths in the county by its residents. Persons who do not live in the county are in the deaths, not in the residents.

Population: Census Bureau estimates, vintage 2025. Jefferson County had 666,585 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Jefferson County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Alabama
A driver recorded as drinkingof 904 fatal crashes	109	904 fatal crashes	12.1%	25.4%
A speeding-related driverof 904 fatal crashes	163	904 fatal crashes	18.0%	26.7%
No restraint usedof 506 occupant deaths with restraint use known	275	506 occupant deathswith restraint use known	54.3%	57.6%
Pedestriansof 959 deaths	182	959 deaths	19.0%	12.0%
Bicyclistsof 959 deaths	11	959 deaths	1.1%	0.9%
Motorcyclistsof 959 deaths	106	959 deaths	11.1%	9.5%
On a rural roadof 903 fatal crashes with the condition reported	143	903 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	15.8%	59.4%
In the darkof 896 fatal crashes with the condition reported	491	896 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	54.8%	47.8%

Note: FARS records a driver as drinking when police reported alcohol involvement or a test of the driver was positive for alcohol. It is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure, which uses a blood alcohol concentration of .08 g/dL or higher. One crash can be in two or more rows. NHTSA's definitions

Note that alcohol data is often missing. For that reason, this data element may under-count the actual number of drinking drivers.

NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

Weekday, time and road class

Table 5.Jefferson County: fatal crashes by weekday and time of day, 2015 to 2024
Weekday	Midnight to 6 a.m.	6 a.m. to noon	Noon to 6 p.m.	6 p.m. to midnight	All
Sunday	62	21	34	40	157
Monday	16	31	33	43	123
Tuesday	14	27	26	37	104
Wednesday	18	29	28	32	107
Thursday	19	29	32	46	126
Friday	26	18	38	51	133
Saturday	51	10	28	58	147
All days	206	165	219	307	897

Note: a cell with a stronger shade has a larger count. The table has the fatal crashes with a known hour and weekday.

Table 6.Jefferson County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Alabama
Interstate	263	29.1%	13.1%
Other freeways and expressways	1 or 2	0.2%	0.4%
Other principal arterial	202	22.4%	27.4%
Minor arterial	206	22.8%	23.1%
Major collector	115	12.7%	21.1%
Minor collector	1 or 2	0.1%	3.0%
Local	114	12.6%	12.0%
Not reported	1 or 2	n/a	n/a

Note: the classes are those of the Federal Highway Administration. The shares are of the crashes with a reported class. Road function classes

Light condition and weather

Table 7.Jefferson County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	360
Dark, not lighted	214
Dark, lighted	265
Dawn	23
Dusk	22
Dark, lighting unknown	12
Other or unknown	8

Table 8.Jefferson County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	623
Cloudy	154
Rain	110
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	8
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	8

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Jefferson County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Jefferson	In all of Alabama
Interstate 20	Interstate	18	97
Interstate 22	Interstate	13	63
Interstate 59	Interstate	111	262
Interstate 65	Interstate	69	437
Interstate 459	Interstate	52	52
State Route 3	State highway	8	32
State Route 5	State highway	23	69
State Route 25	State highway	1 or 2	43
State Route 75	State highway	10	68
State Route 79	State highway	23	60
State Route 269	State highway	4	22
US Route 11	US highway	7	31
US Route 31	US highway	10	104
US Route 78	US highway	7	29
US Route 280	US highway	7	60

Note: the table has each route with a page that has a fatal crash in the county, in name order. Local streets and county roads have no page. Their crashes are in the county totals. All routes in Alabama

Adjacent counties

These lists are for navigation. They are in name order.

Figure 3.Jefferson County on the county map of Alabama

Deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year, 2015 to 2024

Fewer than 101 county
10 to 14.96 counties
15 to 19.913 counties
20 to 29.928 counties
30 or more19 counties
Jefferson County: 14.4

The limits of the classes are the same for every state. A county with few residents can show a high rate from few deaths. A class is not a judgement of a county. The full map and the table of counties of Alabama

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Jefferson County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Bibb County	Alabama	5	51	22.9
Blount County	Alabama	16	152	25.9
Shelby County	Alabama	12	209	9.4
St. Clair County	Alabama	18	196	21.5
Tuscaloosa County	Alabama	35	381	17.1
Walker County	Alabama	22	195	30.2

Source of the list: Census Bureau county adjacency file, 2026 edition.

Counties of similar population

These counties of Alabama have a population nearest to that of Jefferson County. The list is for navigation and is in name order. The number is the deaths from 2015 to 2024.

Official channels

NHTSA Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST)NHTSA's query tool for FARS counts.
NHTSA FARS EncyclopediaNHTSA's tables of FARS data.
Alabama Department of Economic and Community AffairsThe highway safety office of Alabama.

These links go to the sites of the agencies. They were checked on 2 Oct 2026.

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Jefferson County, Alabama: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/al/jefferson/. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, FARS 2024 annual file. Data to 31 Dec 2024.

The address of this page does not change.

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Source of the figures

Counts: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, national files of 1975 to 2024. The factors use the vehicle and person files from 2015. Residents: Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, vintage 2025. Map: Census Bureau cartographic boundary file, 2021 edition. Data to 31 Dec 2024. The figures are totals. No page of this site is about one crash or one person.

How the figures are made. Data sources and licences. Corrections.

Questions

How many deaths did FARS record in Jefferson in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 914 deaths in Jefferson County from 2005 to 2014. It records 959 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Jefferson in 2024?

The rate of Jefferson County in 2024 was 15.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Alabama was 18.6. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

How many fatal crashes in Jefferson had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 109 of 904 fatal crashes from 2015 to 2024. This count is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure. NHTSA says that alcohol data is often missing, so the count may be too low.

How many fatal crashes did FARS record on signed routes in Jefferson?

15 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 363 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.