Fayette County, Kentucky: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Kentucky by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 37 deaths in 34 fatal crashes in Fayette County in 2024.

FARS records 369 deaths in 340 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 11.5 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Kentucky in the same years is 17.1.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Fayette County was number 2 of 120 counties of Kentucky.

Deaths in Fayette County rose by 39.8% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (264) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (369).

In the counties of Kentucky the deaths fell by 2.9% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 27.9% of the fatal crashes in Fayette County with a known setting were rural, against 66.4% in Kentucky.

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 Fayette 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.Fayette County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	37	34	9
2023	49	49	11
2022	38	35	7
2021	42	36	17
2020	26	25	9
2019	33	25	11
2018	32	30	6
2017	35	34	10
2016	50	48	11
2015	27	24	8
2015 to 2024	369	340	99

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 50 (2016)2024: 37

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

Table 2.Fayette County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	37	34
2023	49	49
2022	38	35
2021	42	36
2020	26	25
2019	33	25
2018	32	30
2017	35	34
2016	50	48
2015	27	24
2014	28	27
2013	18	17
2012	25	25
2011	32	30
2010	24	24
2009	23	22
2008	31	28
2007	26	24
2006	23	23
2005	34	30
2004	28	28
2003	30	29
2002	32	31
2001	31	27
2000	23	19
1999	19	17
1998	40	37
1997	19	18
1996	25	24
1995	21	19
1994	21	20
1993	34	31
1992	25	23
1991	27	21
1990	29	25
1989	28	24
1988	37	34
1987	35	31
1986	40	36
1985	34	30
1984	26	22
1983	23	22
1982	36	31
1981	20	19
1980	49	42
1979	30	28
1978	25	22
1977	32	29
1976	33	31
1975	39	34

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.Fayette County beside Kentucky and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Fayette County	Kentucky	United States
2024	11.3	15.4	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	11.5	17.1	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. Fayette County had 327,071 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Fayette County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Kentucky
A driver recorded as drinkingof 340 fatal crashes	99	340 fatal crashes	29.1%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 340 fatal crashes	66	340 fatal crashes	19.4%	16.2%
No restraint usedof 229 occupant deaths with restraint use known	102	229 occupant deathswith restraint use known	44.5%	52.5%
Pedestriansof 369 deaths	86	369 deaths	23.3%	11.1%
Bicyclistsof 369 deaths	9	369 deaths	2.4%	1.2%
Motorcyclistsof 369 deaths	42	369 deaths	11.4%	13.1%
On a rural roadof 340 fatal crashes with the condition reported	95	340 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	27.9%	66.4%
In the darkof 340 fatal crashes with the condition reported	192	340 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	56.5%	40.5%

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.Fayette 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	21	5	9	19	54
Monday	7	14	9	11	41
Tuesday	11	15	8	10	44
Wednesday	11	9	16	15	51
Thursday	5	8	9	18	40
Friday	12	11	17	13	53
Saturday	14	6	13	24	57
All days	81	68	81	110	340

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.Fayette County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Kentucky
Interstate	40	11.8%	10.8%
Other freeways and expressways	24	7.1%	2.2%
Other principal arterial	132	38.8%	22.3%
Minor arterial	34	10.0%	20.4%
Major collector	36	10.6%	18.9%
Minor collector	6	1.8%	10.5%
Local	68	20.0%	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.Fayette County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	130
Dark, not lighted	62
Dark, lighted	127
Dawn	9
Dusk	9
Dark, lighting unknown	3
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Fayette County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	204
Cloudy	86
Rain	40
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	7
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Fayette County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Fayette	In all of Kentucky
Interstate 64	Interstate	13	157
Interstate 75	Interstate	27	166
State Route 4	State highway	33	33
US Route 25	US highway	40	141
US Route 27	US highway	29	173
US Route 60	US highway	42	253
US Route 68	US highway	13	165
US Route 421	US highway	8	79

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 Kentucky

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Fayette County on the county map of Kentucky

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

Fewer than 106 counties
10 to 14.919 counties
15 to 19.922 counties
20 to 29.957 counties
30 or more16 counties
Fayette County: 11.5

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 Kentucky

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Fayette County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Bourbon County	Kentucky	4	59	29.3
Clark County	Kentucky	9	67	18.3
Jessamine County	Kentucky	3	65	12.1
Madison County	Kentucky	9	109	11.7
Scott County	Kentucky	14	85	14.9
Woodford County	Kentucky	4	56	20.9

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Kentucky have a population nearest to that of Fayette 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.
Kentucky Office of Highway SafetyThe highway safety office of Kentucky.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Fayette County, Kentucky: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/ky/fayette/. 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 Fayette in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 264 deaths in Fayette County from 2005 to 2014. It records 369 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Fayette in 2024?

The rate of Fayette County in 2024 was 11.3 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Kentucky was 15.4. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 99 of 340 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 Fayette?

8 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 205 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.