St. Joseph County, Indiana: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Indiana by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 23 deaths in 23 fatal crashes in St. Joseph County in 2024.

FARS records 259 deaths in 235 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 9.5 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, St. Joseph County was number 5 of 92 counties of Indiana.

Deaths in St. Joseph County rose by 30.8% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (198) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (259).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 36.6% of the fatal crashes in St. Joseph County with a known setting were rural, against 57.5% 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 St. Joseph 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.St. Joseph County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	23	23	4
2023	31	28	7
2022	26	23	1 or 2
2021	31	30	6
2020	32	27	6
2019	27	25	4
2018	28	21	5
2017	27	24	4
2016	22	22	4
2015	12	12	3
2015 to 2024	259	235	45

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 48 (1975)2024: 23

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

Table 2.St. Joseph County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	23	23
2023	31	28
2022	26	23
2021	31	30
2020	32	27
2019	27	25
2018	28	21
2017	27	24
2016	22	22
2015	12	12
2014	23	23
2013	20	17
2012	19	18
2011	19	19
2010	15	15
2009	14	14
2008	26	21
2007	15	14
2006	20	20
2005	27	24
2004	24	21
2003	30	27
2002	25	23
2001	31	28
2000	30	27
1999	31	29
1998	22	21
1997	22	21
1996	39	37
1995	36	29
1994	25	20
1993	23	22
1992	21	20
1991	41	36
1990	40	35
1989	40	36
1988	40	36
1987	41	36
1986	34	33
1985	28	28
1984	31	31
1983	30	29
1982	24	21
1981	46	40
1980	33	29
1979	48	41
1978	39	37
1977	37	32
1976	31	29
1975	48	40

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.St. Joseph County beside Indiana and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	St. Joseph County	Indiana	United States
2024	8.4	12.0	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	9.5	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. St. Joseph County had 272,936 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.St. Joseph County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Indiana
A driver recorded as drinkingof 235 fatal crashes	45	235 fatal crashes	19.1%	19.6%
A speeding-related driverof 235 fatal crashes	76	235 fatal crashes	32.3%	25.7%
No restraint usedof 142 occupant deaths with restraint use known	67	142 occupant deathswith restraint use known	47.2%	45.9%
Pedestriansof 259 deaths	37	259 deaths	14.3%	11.3%
Bicyclistsof 259 deaths	10	259 deaths	3.9%	2.2%
Motorcyclistsof 259 deaths	47	259 deaths	18.1%	14.9%
On a rural roadof 235 fatal crashes with the condition reported	86	235 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	36.6%	57.5%
In the darkof 231 fatal crashes with the condition reported	123	231 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	53.2%	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.St. Joseph 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	14	6	7	9	36
Monday	3	6	7	13	29
Tuesday	6	8	9	6	29
Wednesday	3	4	8	6	21
Thursday	7	9	7	15	38
Friday	6	6	8	15	35
Saturday	16	7	10	13	46
All days	55	46	56	77	234

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.St. Joseph County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Indiana
Interstate	12	5.1%	11.1%
Other freeways and expressways	7	3.0%	1.6%
Other principal arterial	83	35.3%	27.4%
Minor arterial	58	24.7%	20.7%
Major collector	39	16.6%	20.2%
Minor collector	5	2.1%	4.0%
Local	31	13.2%	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.St. Joseph County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	92
Dark, not lighted	67
Dark, lighted	56
Dawn	7
Dusk	9
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	4

Table 8.St. Joseph County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	161
Cloudy	57
Rain	11
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in St. Joseph County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In St. Joseph	In all of Indiana
Interstate 80	Interstate	12	117
State Route 2	State highway	12	37
US Route 20	US highway	14	114
US Route 31	US highway	4	116

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.St. Joseph 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
St. Joseph County: 9.5

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 St. Joseph County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Elkhart County	Indiana	32	278	13.5
LaPorte County	Indiana	22	185	16.7
Marshall County	Indiana	10	85	18.3
Starke County	Indiana	1 or 2	47	20.3
Berrien County	Michigan	17	191	12.4
Cass County	Michigan	8	115	22.3

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 St. Joseph 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. St. Joseph County, Indiana: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/in/st-joseph/. 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 St. Joseph in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 198 deaths in St. Joseph County from 2005 to 2014. It records 259 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of St. Joseph in 2024?

The rate of St. Joseph County in 2024 was 8.4 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 St. Joseph had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 45 of 235 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 St. Joseph?

4 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 42 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.