Mercer County, New Jersey: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 36 deaths in 35 fatal crashes in Mercer County in 2024.

FARS records 266 deaths in 259 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 7.0 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, Mercer County was number 11 of 21 counties of New Jersey.

Deaths in Mercer County rose by 0.4% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (265) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (266).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 59.1% of the fatal crashes in Mercer County with known light were in the dark, against 51.3% 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 Mercer 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.Mercer County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	36	35	9
2023	28	28	5
2022	26	26	5
2021	39	36	8
2020	21	20	4
2019	21	21	4
2018	29	28	5
2017	26	26	7
2016	21	21	4
2015	19	18	5
2015 to 2024	266	259	56

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 48 (1984)2024: 36

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

Table 2.Mercer County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	36	35
2023	28	28
2022	26	26
2021	39	36
2020	21	20
2019	21	21
2018	29	28
2017	26	26
2016	21	21
2015	19	18
2014	26	25
2013	36	28
2012	23	23
2011	22	22
2010	20	18
2009	22	21
2008	22	20
2007	27	23
2006	33	32
2005	34	31
2004	31	30
2003	35	29
2002	36	33
2001	33	30
2000	30	26
1999	23	21
1998	28	27
1997	23	22
1996	37	34
1995	21	20
1994	30	30
1993	28	25
1992	30	30
1991	32	30
1990	25	24
1989	34	32
1988	27	27
1987	35	32
1986	39	37
1985	27	25
1984	48	45
1983	39	36
1982	25	25
1981	43	41
1980	36	36
1979	46	43
1978	27	25
1977	45	40
1976	35	29
1975	38	36

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.Mercer County beside New Jersey and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Mercer County	New Jersey	United States
2024	9.1	7.0	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	7.0	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. Mercer County had 397,329 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Mercer County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in New Jersey
A driver recorded as drinkingof 259 fatal crashes	56	259 fatal crashes	21.6%	22.0%
A speeding-related driverof 259 fatal crashes	67	259 fatal crashes	25.9%	23.0%
No restraint usedof 121 occupant deaths with restraint use known	56	121 occupant deathswith restraint use known	46.3%	45.5%
Pedestriansof 266 deaths	93	266 deaths	35.0%	29.4%
Bicyclistsof 266 deaths	13	266 deaths	4.9%	3.2%
Motorcyclistsof 266 deaths	29	266 deaths	10.9%	13.3%
On a rural roadof 256 fatal crashes with the condition reported	9	256 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	3.5%	11.0%
In the darkof 254 fatal crashes with the condition reported	150	254 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	59.1%	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.Mercer 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	8	6	9	18	41
Monday	6	5	11	15	37
Tuesday	9	3	15	9	36
Wednesday	8	7	8	15	38
Thursday	7	6	12	16	41
Friday	4	4	4	14	26
Saturday	13	7	7	13	40
All days	55	38	66	100	259

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.Mercer County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in New Jersey
Interstate	47	18.3%	10.2%
Other freeways and expressways	17	6.6%	10.2%
Other principal arterial	93	36.2%	34.6%
Minor arterial	64	24.9%	22.5%
Major collector	11	4.3%	10.7%
Minor collector	6	2.3%	0.8%
Local	19	7.4%	10.9%
Not reported	1 or 2	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.Mercer County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	91
Dark, not lighted	58
Dark, lighted	76
Dawn	6
Dusk	7
Dark, lighting unknown	16
Other or unknown	5

Table 8.Mercer County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	215
Cloudy	12
Rain	25
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	4
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Mercer County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Mercer	In all of New Jersey
Interstate 95	Interstate	23	163
Interstate 195	Interstate	9	21
Interstate 295	Interstate	15	90
State Route 27	State highway	3	78
State Route 31	State highway	5	30
State Route 33	State highway	19	50
US Route 1	US highway	24	173
US Route 130	US highway	11	111
US Route 206	US highway	6	51

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.Mercer 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
Mercer County: 7.0

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 New Jersey

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Mercer County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Burlington County	New Jersey	45	445	9.7
Hunterdon County	New Jersey	9	75	5.9
Middlesex County	New Jersey	60	532	6.3
Monmouth County	New Jersey	49	413	6.5
Somerset County	New Jersey	19	196	5.8
Bucks County	Pennsylvania	45	513	8.1

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

FARS records 265 deaths in Mercer County from 2005 to 2014. It records 266 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Mercer in 2024?

The rate of Mercer County in 2024 was 9.1 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 Mercer had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 56 of 259 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 Mercer?

9 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 115 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.