Hardee County, Florida: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Florida by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 13 deaths in 13 fatal crashes in Hardee County in 2024.

FARS records 100 deaths in 92 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 37.9 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Florida in the same years is 15.1.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Hardee County was number 49 of 67 counties of Florida.

Deaths in Hardee County rose by 14.9% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (87) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (100).

In the counties of Florida the deaths rose by 17.6% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 68.5% of the fatal crashes in Hardee County with a known setting were rural, against 23.6% in Florida.

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 Hardee County by year, 2015 to 2024

1 or 2

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.Hardee County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	13	13	1 or 2
2023	15	14	5
2022	7	7	1 or 2
2021	16	15	3
2020	8	8	5
2019	13	10	1 or 2
2018	9	8	4
2017	12	10	1 or 2
2016	5	5	1 or 2
2015	1 or 2	1 or 2	0
2015 to 2024	100	92	26

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 19 (2001)2024: 13

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

Table 2.Hardee County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	13	13
2023	15	14
2022	7	7
2021	16	15
2020	8	8
2019	13	10
2018	9	8
2017	12	10
2016	5	5
2015	1 or 2	1 or 2
2014	10	9
2013	5	4
2012	7	7
2011	11	10
2010	14	13
2009	8	8
2008	10	9
2007	7	7
2006	6	6
2005	9	9
2004	10	9
2003	9	8
2002	9	8
2001	19	12
2000	10	9
1999	16	13
1998	10	9
1997	4	4
1996	13	11
1995	9	8
1994	7	7
1993	13	9
1992	9	9
1991	4	4
1990	12	11
1989	7	7
1988	5	5
1987	8	8
1986	5	5
1985	17	14
1984	6	5
1983	4	3
1982	8	6
1981	6	6
1980	6	4
1979	5	5
1978	7	7
1977	6	6
1976	10	7
1975	10	10

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.Hardee County beside Florida and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Hardee County	Florida	United States
2024	49.8	13.5	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	37.9	15.1	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. Hardee County had 26,107 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Hardee County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Florida
A driver recorded as drinkingof 92 fatal crashes	26	92 fatal crashes	28.3%	20.7%
A speeding-related driverof 92 fatal crashes	7	92 fatal crashes	7.6%	9.8%
No restraint usedof 70 occupant deaths with restraint use known	36	70 occupant deathswith restraint use known	51.4%	45.3%
Pedestriansof 100 deaths	15	100 deaths	15.0%	21.7%
Bicyclistsof 100 deaths	1 or 2	100 deaths	2.0%	5.4%
Motorcyclistsof 100 deaths	11	100 deaths	11.0%	19.0%
On a rural roadof 92 fatal crashes with the condition reported	63	92 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	68.5%	23.6%
In the darkof 92 fatal crashes with the condition reported	47	92 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	51.1%	55.3%

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.Hardee 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	5	1 or 2	4	6	16
Monday	1 or 2	5	1 or 2	1 or 2	9
Tuesday	5	3	6	1 or 2	16
Wednesday	0	1 or 2	5	0	6
Thursday	0	3	0	5	8
Friday	3	5	6	8	22
Saturday	5	3	5	1 or 2	15
All days	19	21	27	25	92

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.Hardee County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Florida
Interstate	0	0.0%	9.5%
Other freeways and expressways	0	0.0%	3.4%
Other principal arterial	65	70.7%	40.4%
Minor arterial	8	8.7%	19.0%
Major collector	6	6.5%	11.8%
Minor collector	7	7.6%	3.1%
Local	6	6.5%	12.9%
Not reported	0	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.Hardee County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	39
Dark, not lighted	42
Dark, lighted	5
Dawn	3
Dusk	3
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Hardee County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	72
Cloudy	14
Rain	1 or 2
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	4
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Hardee County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Hardee	In all of Florida
State Route 54	State highway	1 or 2	98
State Route 62	State highway	7	21
State Route 64	State highway	23	71
US Route 17	US highway	28	506

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 Florida

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Hardee County on the county map of Florida

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

Fewer than 101 county
10 to 14.917 counties
15 to 19.918 counties
20 to 29.912 counties
30 or more19 counties
Hardee County: 37.9

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 Florida

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Hardee County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
DeSoto County	Florida	8	134	37.1
Highlands County	Florida	22	253	24.2
Manatee County	Florida	61	649	15.9
Polk County	Florida	113	1,328	18.0

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Florida have a population nearest to that of Hardee 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.
Florida State Safety OfficeThe highway safety office of Florida.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Hardee County, Florida: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/fl/hardee/. 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 Hardee in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 87 deaths in Hardee County from 2005 to 2014. It records 100 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Hardee in 2024?

The rate of Hardee County in 2024 was 49.8 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Florida was 13.5. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 26 of 92 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 Hardee?

4 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 59 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.