Winnebago County, Illinois: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Illinois by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 27 deaths in 26 fatal crashes in Winnebago County in 2024.

FARS records 308 deaths in 289 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 10.8 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Illinois in the same years is 9.0.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Winnebago County was number 8 of 102 counties of Illinois.

Deaths in Winnebago County rose by 9.6% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (281) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (308).

In the counties of Illinois the deaths rose by 8.4% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 16.3% of the fatal crashes in Winnebago County with a known setting were rural, against 33.6% in Illinois.

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 Winnebago County by year, 2015 to 2024

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.Winnebago County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	27	26	8
2023	30	30	11
2022	28	27	10
2021	49	47	15
2020	25	22	5
2019	29	27	10
2018	29	26	8
2017	23	22	5
2016	39	35	18
2015	29	27	11
2015 to 2024	308	289	101

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 56 (1980)2024: 27

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

Table 2.Winnebago County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	27	26
2023	30	30
2022	28	27
2021	49	47
2020	25	22
2019	29	27
2018	29	26
2017	23	22
2016	39	35
2015	29	27
2014	22	22
2013	35	33
2012	25	24
2011	25	20
2010	30	29
2009	28	27
2008	20	19
2007	30	30
2006	27	25
2005	39	35
2004	24	24
2003	35	32
2002	28	25
2001	21	20
2000	32	27
1999	47	40
1998	38	34
1997	45	41
1996	29	29
1995	50	48
1994	35	32
1993	32	30
1992	31	31
1991	30	29
1990	38	35
1989	37	34
1988	40	39
1987	33	30
1986	35	27
1985	38	37
1984	31	31
1983	31	28
1982	36	31
1981	34	32
1980	56	53
1979	55	43
1978	34	32
1977	39	36
1976	38	35
1975	38	37

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.Winnebago County beside Illinois and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Winnebago County	Illinois	United States
2024	9.5	9.3	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	10.8	9.0	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. Winnebago County had 282,965 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Winnebago County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Illinois
A driver recorded as drinkingof 289 fatal crashes	101	289 fatal crashes	34.9%	27.2%
A speeding-related driverof 289 fatal crashes	100	289 fatal crashes	34.6%	36.5%
No restraint usedof 149 occupant deaths with restraint use known	61	149 occupant deathswith restraint use known	40.9%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 308 deaths	61	308 deaths	19.8%	15.5%
Bicyclistsof 308 deaths	8	308 deaths	2.6%	2.5%
Motorcyclistsof 308 deaths	44	308 deaths	14.3%	13.3%
On a rural roadof 288 fatal crashes with the condition reported	47	288 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	16.3%	33.6%
In the darkof 287 fatal crashes with the condition reported	151	287 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	52.6%	48.7%

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.Winnebago 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	15	3	7	15	40
Monday	10	18	12	12	52
Tuesday	6	7	11	12	36
Wednesday	6	7	10	6	29
Thursday	3	5	14	13	35
Friday	5	7	12	15	39
Saturday	18	14	7	17	56
All days	63	61	73	90	287

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.Winnebago County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Illinois
Interstate	17	5.9%	14.2%
Other freeways and expressways	3	1.0%	0.7%
Other principal arterial	135	46.9%	29.1%
Minor arterial	60	20.8%	24.5%
Major collector	34	11.8%	17.0%
Minor collector	6	2.1%	2.0%
Local	33	11.5%	12.5%
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.Winnebago County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	130
Dark, not lighted	74
Dark, lighted	76
Dawn	3
Dusk	3
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Winnebago County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	249
Cloudy	8
Rain	21
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	5
Fog, smog or smoke	3
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Winnebago County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Winnebago	In all of Illinois
Interstate 39	Interstate	10	36
Interstate 90	Interstate	7	110
State Route 2	State highway	17	37
State Route 173	State highway	1 or 2	31
State Route 251	State highway	24	46
US Route 20	US highway	33	107

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 Illinois

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Winnebago County on the county map of Illinois

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

Fewer than 1016 counties
10 to 14.926 counties
15 to 19.927 counties
20 to 29.928 counties
30 or more5 counties
Winnebago County: 10.8

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 Illinois

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Winnebago County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Boone County	Illinois	6	65	12.2
Ogle County	Illinois	3	75	14.6
Stephenson County	Illinois	4	54	12.1
Green County	Wisconsin	3	49	13.3
Rock County	Wisconsin	16	210	12.9

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Illinois have a population nearest to that of Winnebago 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.
Illinois Department of TransportationThe highway safety office of Illinois.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Winnebago County, Illinois: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/il/winnebago/. 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 Winnebago in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 281 deaths in Winnebago County from 2005 to 2014. It records 308 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Winnebago in 2024?

The rate of Winnebago County in 2024 was 9.5 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Illinois was 9.3. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 101 of 289 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 Winnebago?

6 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 92 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.