Essex County, New Jersey: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 47 deaths in 46 fatal crashes in Essex County in 2024.

FARS records 470 deaths in 442 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 5.7 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, Essex County was number 2 of 21 counties of New Jersey.

Deaths in Essex County rose by 1.5% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (463) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (470).

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

From 2015 to 2024, pedestrians were 46.8% of the deaths in Essex County and 29.4% 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 Essex 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.Essex County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	47	46	11
2023	53	49	8
2022	57	51	7
2021	61	60	9
2020	45	39	6
2019	36	35	6
2018	45	43	3
2017	40	39	9
2016	46	42	8
2015	40	38	3
2015 to 2024	470	442	70

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 102 (1975)2024: 47

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

Table 2.Essex County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	47	46
2023	53	49
2022	57	51
2021	61	60
2020	45	39
2019	36	35
2018	45	43
2017	40	39
2016	46	42
2015	40	38
2014	40	33
2013	40	37
2012	41	40
2011	52	50
2010	41	40
2009	42	40
2008	48	42
2007	49	47
2006	52	50
2005	58	53
2004	71	64
2003	61	58
2002	64	59
2001	56	54
2000	68	63
1999	73	67
1998	75	69
1997	72	65
1996	87	80
1995	77	73
1994	60	55
1993	74	66
1992	66	59
1991	58	56
1990	87	81
1989	78	71
1988	81	78
1987	83	73
1986	84	78
1985	80	77
1984	74	68
1983	69	65
1982	98	88
1981	80	73
1980	91	82
1979	80	77
1978	76	72
1977	80	79
1976	76	67
1975	102	91

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.Essex County beside New Jersey and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Essex County	New Jersey	United States
2024	5.3	7.0	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	5.7	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. Essex County had 891,241 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Essex County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in New Jersey
A driver recorded as drinkingof 442 fatal crashes	70	442 fatal crashes	15.8%	22.0%
A speeding-related driverof 442 fatal crashes	97	442 fatal crashes	21.9%	23.0%
No restraint usedof 127 occupant deaths with restraint use known	59	127 occupant deathswith restraint use known	46.5%	45.5%
Pedestriansof 470 deaths	220	470 deaths	46.8%	29.4%
Bicyclistsof 470 deaths	12	470 deaths	2.6%	3.2%
Motorcyclistsof 470 deaths	52	470 deaths	11.1%	13.3%
On a rural roadof 439 fatal crashes with the condition reported	1 or 2	439 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	0.5%	11.0%
In the darkof 440 fatal crashes with the condition reported	253	440 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	57.5%	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.Essex 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	29	1 or 2	6	22	59
Monday	12	11	11	21	55
Tuesday	14	11	20	26	71
Wednesday	8	9	23	17	57
Thursday	7	9	10	25	51
Friday	12	21	17	22	72
Saturday	37	9	10	20	76
All days	119	72	97	153	441

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.Essex County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in New Jersey
Interstate	57	13.0%	10.2%
Other freeways and expressways	39	8.9%	10.2%
Other principal arterial	145	33.0%	34.6%
Minor arterial	92	21.0%	22.5%
Major collector	37	8.4%	10.7%
Minor collector	3	0.7%	0.8%
Local	66	15.0%	10.9%
Not reported	3	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.Essex County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	171
Dark, not lighted	52
Dark, lighted	186
Dawn	9
Dusk	7
Dark, lighting unknown	15
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Essex County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	383
Cloudy	10
Rain	36
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	3
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	7

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Essex County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Essex	In all of New Jersey
Interstate 78	Interstate	17	90
Interstate 80	Interstate	1 or 2	108
Interstate 95	Interstate	18	163
Interstate 280	Interstate	20	35
State Route 21	State highway	29	39
State Route 23	State highway	1 or 2	37
State Route 27	State highway	12	78
US Route 1	US highway	21	173
US Route 22	US highway	1 or 2	43

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.Essex 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
Essex County: 5.7

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 Essex County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Bergen County	New Jersey	42	368	3.9
Hudson County	New Jersey	20	234	3.4
Morris County	New Jersey	21	234	4.6
Passaic County	New Jersey	33	262	5.1
Union County	New Jersey	38	302	5.3

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 Essex 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. Essex County, New Jersey: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/nj/essex/. 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 Essex in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 463 deaths in Essex County from 2005 to 2014. It records 470 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Essex in 2024?

The rate of Essex County in 2024 was 5.3 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 Essex had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 70 of 442 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 Essex?

9 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 122 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.