DeSoto County, Mississippi: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Mississippi by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 21 deaths in 18 fatal crashes in DeSoto County in 2024.

FARS records 223 deaths in 205 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 12.0 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Mississippi in the same years is 23.8.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, DeSoto County was number 4 of 82 counties of Mississippi.

Deaths in DeSoto County fell by 6.3% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (238) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (223).

In the counties of Mississippi the deaths fell by 3.1% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 41.7% of the fatal crashes in DeSoto County with a known setting were rural, against 69.8% in Mississippi.

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 DeSoto 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.DeSoto County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	21	18	5
2023	20	18	1 or 2
2022	13	13	1 or 2
2021	29	28	7
2020	23	21	3
2019	16	15	3
2018	31	26	7
2017	22	21	3
2016	24	24	1 or 2
2015	24	21	3
2015 to 2024	223	205	36

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 36 (1995)2024: 21

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

Table 2.DeSoto County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	21	18
2023	20	18
2022	13	13
2021	29	28
2020	23	21
2019	16	15
2018	31	26
2017	22	21
2016	24	24
2015	24	21
2014	19	16
2013	17	16
2012	11	10
2011	20	20
2010	18	17
2009	31	29
2008	30	27
2007	35	30
2006	31	29
2005	26	23
2004	33	28
2003	18	17
2002	31	23
2001	31	29
2000	31	28
1999	32	26
1998	27	26
1997	27	24
1996	23	17
1995	36	33
1994	17	16
1993	26	21
1992	29	23
1991	25	20
1990	19	16
1989	22	21
1988	8	8
1987	20	18
1986	18	12
1985	12	11
1984	20	13
1983	14	12
1982	9	7
1981	17	14
1980	13	10
1979	16	16
1978	7	7
1977	18	14
1976	6	6
1975	12	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.DeSoto County beside Mississippi and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	DeSoto County	Mississippi	United States
2024	10.7	25.5	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	12.0	23.8	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. DeSoto County had 196,848 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.DeSoto County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Mississippi
A driver recorded as drinkingof 205 fatal crashes	36	205 fatal crashes	17.6%	18.5%
A speeding-related driverof 205 fatal crashes	46	205 fatal crashes	22.4%	14.8%
No restraint usedof 143 occupant deaths with restraint use known	74	143 occupant deathswith restraint use known	51.7%	53.0%
Pedestriansof 223 deaths	34	223 deaths	15.2%	11.6%
Bicyclistsof 223 deaths	0	223 deaths	0.0%	1.3%
Motorcyclistsof 223 deaths	33	223 deaths	14.8%	6.7%
On a rural roadof 204 fatal crashes with the condition reported	85	204 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	41.7%	69.8%
In the darkof 200 fatal crashes with the condition reported	98	200 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	49.0%	46.7%

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.DeSoto 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	9	1 or 2	10	6	26
Monday	4	6	8	9	27
Tuesday	3	5	5	7	20
Wednesday	3	5	9	11	28
Thursday	8	10	9	9	36
Friday	8	7	8	11	34
Saturday	8	7	8	11	34
All days	43	41	57	64	205

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.DeSoto County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Mississippi
Interstate	45	22.0%	12.3%
Other freeways and expressways	9	4.4%	0.4%
Other principal arterial	57	27.8%	27.9%
Minor arterial	31	15.1%	22.1%
Major collector	23	11.2%	19.3%
Minor collector	9	4.4%	6.5%
Local	31	15.1%	11.4%
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.DeSoto County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	95
Dark, not lighted	61
Dark, lighted	36
Dawn	6
Dusk	1 or 2
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	5

Table 8.DeSoto County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	153
Cloudy	29
Rain	16
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	4

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in DeSoto County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In DeSoto	In all of Mississippi
Interstate 22	Interstate	1 or 2	52
Interstate 55	Interstate	34	299
State Route 178	State highway	6	31
State Route 302	State highway	30	47
US Route 51	US highway	7	81
US Route 61	US highway	12	169
US Route 78	US highway	15	36

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 Mississippi

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.DeSoto County on the county map of Mississippi

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

Fewer than 100 counties
10 to 14.95 counties
15 to 19.98 counties
20 to 29.936 counties
30 or more33 counties
DeSoto County: 12.0

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 Mississippi

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with DeSoto County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Crittenden County	Arkansas	16	145	30.2
Marshall County	Mississippi	20	176	50.6
Tate County	Mississippi	9	97	34.2
Tunica County	Mississippi	6	56	57.6
Shelby County	Tennessee	218	1,909	20.6

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Mississippi have a population nearest to that of DeSoto 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.
Governors Highway Safety Association: State Highway Safety OfficesThe list of the highway safety offices of the states.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. DeSoto County, Mississippi: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/ms/desoto/. 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 DeSoto in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 238 deaths in DeSoto County from 2005 to 2014. It records 223 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of DeSoto in 2024?

The rate of DeSoto County in 2024 was 10.7 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Mississippi was 25.5. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 36 of 205 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 DeSoto?

7 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 106 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.