Elkhart County, Indiana: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Indiana by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 32 deaths in 29 fatal crashes in Elkhart County in 2024.

FARS records 278 deaths in 255 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 13.5 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Indiana in the same years is 13.0.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Elkhart County was number 4 of 92 counties of Indiana.

Deaths in Elkhart County fell by 7.0% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (299) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (278).

In the counties of Indiana the deaths rose by 8.8% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 36.5% of the occupants killed in Elkhart County with restraint use known had no restraint, against 45.9% in Indiana.

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 Elkhart 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.Elkhart County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	32	29	7
2023	20	18	3
2022	46	39	13
2021	32	26	6
2020	30	29	6
2019	25	25	4
2018	18	18	5
2017	26	24	4
2016	16	16	1 or 2
2015	33	31	7
2015 to 2024	278	255	56

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 49 (1987)2024: 32

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

Table 2.Elkhart County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	32	29
2023	20	18
2022	46	39
2021	32	26
2020	30	29
2019	25	25
2018	18	18
2017	26	24
2016	16	16
2015	33	31
2014	20	20
2013	21	20
2012	27	25
2011	34	23
2010	24	23
2009	25	22
2008	28	25
2007	47	37
2006	35	29
2005	38	31
2004	29	28
2003	21	20
2002	30	29
2001	32	31
2000	26	24
1999	20	20
1998	31	29
1997	37	33
1996	41	32
1995	39	37
1994	31	26
1993	34	30
1992	26	20
1991	25	25
1990	36	31
1989	30	28
1988	32	29
1987	49	41
1986	42	40
1985	30	28
1984	25	23
1983	25	21
1982	23	18
1981	27	23
1980	27	22
1979	26	24
1978	33	29
1977	27	25
1976	29	25
1975	20	18

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.Elkhart County beside Indiana and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Elkhart County	Indiana	United States
2024	15.4	12.0	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	13.5	13.0	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. Elkhart County had 208,196 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Elkhart County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Indiana
A driver recorded as drinkingof 255 fatal crashes	56	255 fatal crashes	22.0%	19.6%
A speeding-related driverof 255 fatal crashes	84	255 fatal crashes	32.9%	25.7%
No restraint usedof 148 occupant deaths with restraint use known	54	148 occupant deathswith restraint use known	36.5%	45.9%
Pedestriansof 278 deaths	27	278 deaths	9.7%	11.3%
Bicyclistsof 278 deaths	10	278 deaths	3.6%	2.2%
Motorcyclistsof 278 deaths	65	278 deaths	23.4%	14.9%
On a rural roadof 255 fatal crashes with the condition reported	154	255 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	60.4%	57.5%
In the darkof 255 fatal crashes with the condition reported	100	255 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	39.2%	44.6%

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.Elkhart 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	13	3	5	12	33
Monday	7	6	10	10	33
Tuesday	3	7	16	9	35
Wednesday	8	5	14	8	35
Thursday	5	5	18	9	37
Friday	10	10	16	10	46
Saturday	7	7	11	11	36
All days	53	43	90	69	255

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.Elkhart County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Indiana
Interstate	7	2.7%	11.1%
Other freeways and expressways	3	1.2%	1.6%
Other principal arterial	101	39.6%	27.4%
Minor arterial	38	14.9%	20.7%
Major collector	51	20.0%	20.2%
Minor collector	11	4.3%	4.0%
Local	44	17.3%	14.9%
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.Elkhart County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	147
Dark, not lighted	80
Dark, lighted	20
Dawn	4
Dusk	4
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Elkhart County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	172
Cloudy	60
Rain	13
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	8
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Elkhart County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Elkhart	In all of Indiana
Interstate 80	Interstate	7	117
State Route 15	State highway	15	35
State Route 19	State highway	14	33
State Route 120	State highway	9	20
US Route 6	US highway	15	56
US Route 20	US highway	17	114
US Route 33	US highway	17	39

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 Indiana

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Elkhart County on the county map of Indiana

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

Fewer than 107 counties
10 to 14.926 counties
15 to 19.934 counties
20 to 29.923 counties
30 or more2 counties
Elkhart County: 13.5

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 Indiana

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Elkhart County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Kosciusko County	Indiana	17	137	17.2
LaGrange County	Indiana	9	71	17.7
Marshall County	Indiana	10	85	18.3
Noble County	Indiana	6	63	13.3
St. Joseph County	Indiana	23	259	9.5
Cass County	Michigan	8	115	22.3
St. Joseph County	Michigan	11	116	19.1

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Indiana have a population nearest to that of Elkhart 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.
Indiana Criminal Justice InstituteThe highway safety office of Indiana.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Elkhart County, Indiana: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/in/elkhart/. 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 Elkhart in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 299 deaths in Elkhart County from 2005 to 2014. It records 278 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Elkhart in 2024?

The rate of Elkhart County in 2024 was 15.4 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Indiana was 12.0. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 56 of 255 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 Elkhart?

7 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 94 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.