Cape May County, New Jersey: fatal crash statistics

Counties of New Jersey by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 9 deaths in 9 fatal crashes in Cape May County in 2024.

FARS records 114 deaths in 110 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 12.1 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of New Jersey in the same years is 6.7.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Cape May County was number 19 of 21 counties of New Jersey.

Deaths in Cape May County fell by 5.8% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (121) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (114).

In the counties of New Jersey the deaths fell by 2.2% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 29.1% of the fatal crashes in Cape May County with a known setting were rural, against 11.0% in New Jersey.

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 Cape May 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.Cape May County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	9	9	3
2023	7	7	1 or 2
2022	15	14	5
2021	12	12	3
2020	9	8	0
2019	12	12	1 or 2
2018	10	10	6
2017	16	15	5
2016	12	11	5
2015	12	12	1 or 2
2015 to 2024	114	110	32

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 29 (1984)2024: 9

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

Table 2.Cape May County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	9	9
2023	7	7
2022	15	14
2021	12	12
2020	9	8
2019	12	12
2018	10	10
2017	16	15
2016	12	11
2015	12	12
2014	12	11
2013	5	5
2012	11	10
2011	9	8
2010	5	4
2009	8	8
2008	11	11
2007	21	18
2006	15	14
2005	24	20
2004	15	15
2003	14	14
2002	15	14
2001	13	13
2000	12	12
1999	12	10
1998	8	7
1997	24	21
1996	11	10
1995	16	16
1994	10	10
1993	27	19
1992	18	16
1991	18	16
1990	17	14
1989	16	14
1988	23	20
1987	26	24
1986	22	19
1985	24	20
1984	29	24
1983	13	13
1982	25	24
1981	21	16
1980	26	24
1979	21	16
1978	20	19
1977	27	24
1976	17	15
1975	20	15

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.Cape May County beside New Jersey and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Cape May County	New Jersey	United States
2024	9.6	7.0	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	12.1	6.7	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. Cape May County had 94,094 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Cape May County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in New Jersey
A driver recorded as drinkingof 110 fatal crashes	32	110 fatal crashes	29.1%	22.0%
A speeding-related driverof 110 fatal crashes	22	110 fatal crashes	20.0%	23.0%
No restraint usedof 62 occupant deaths with restraint use known	32	62 occupant deathswith restraint use known	51.6%	45.5%
Pedestriansof 114 deaths	26	114 deaths	22.8%	29.4%
Bicyclistsof 114 deaths	7	114 deaths	6.1%	3.2%
Motorcyclistsof 114 deaths	17	114 deaths	14.9%	13.3%
On a rural roadof 110 fatal crashes with the condition reported	32	110 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	29.1%	11.0%
In the darkof 110 fatal crashes with the condition reported	44	110 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	40.0%	51.3%

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.Cape May 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	4	1 or 2	7	8	20
Monday	0	3	4	4	11
Tuesday	0	5	4	5	14
Wednesday	1 or 2	1 or 2	6	6	15
Thursday	3	3	8	1 or 2	15
Friday	0	1 or 2	6	5	13
Saturday	1 or 2	4	9	7	22
All days	10	20	44	36	110

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.Cape May County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in New Jersey
Interstate	0	0.0%	10.2%
Other freeways and expressways	13	11.8%	10.2%
Other principal arterial	17	15.5%	34.6%
Minor arterial	42	38.2%	22.5%
Major collector	24	21.8%	10.7%
Minor collector	0	0.0%	0.8%
Local	14	12.7%	10.9%
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.Cape May County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	63
Dark, not lighted	27
Dark, lighted	14
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	1 or 2
Dark, lighting unknown	3
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Cape May County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	89
Cloudy	8
Rain	11
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	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Cape May County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Cape May	In all of New Jersey
State Route 47	State highway	16	67
US Route 9	US highway	17	126

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 New Jersey

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Cape May County on the county map of New Jersey

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

Fewer than 1015 counties
10 to 14.94 counties
15 to 19.91 county
20 to 29.91 county
30 or more0 counties
Cape May County: 12.1

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 New Jersey

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Cape May County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Kent County	Delaware	30	275	15.1
Sussex County	Delaware	35	389	16.2
Atlantic County	New Jersey	56	385	14.2
Cumberland County	New Jersey	30	250	16.4

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of New Jersey have a population nearest to that of Cape May 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.
New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic SafetyThe highway safety office of New Jersey.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Cape May County, New Jersey: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/nj/cape-may/. 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 Cape May in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 121 deaths in Cape May County from 2005 to 2014. It records 114 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Cape May in 2024?

The rate of Cape May County in 2024 was 9.6 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of New Jersey was 7.0. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 32 of 110 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 Cape May?

FARS records 16 fatal crashes on State Route 47 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 17 fatal crashes on US Route 9 in the county from 2015 to 2024.