Salem County, New Jersey: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 16 deaths in 14 fatal crashes in Salem County in 2024.

FARS records 145 deaths in 130 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 22.6 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, Salem County was number 17 of 21 counties of New Jersey.

Deaths in Salem County fell by 0.7% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (146) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (145).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 53.5% of the fatal crashes in Salem 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 Salem 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.Salem County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	16	14	4
2023	12	11	4
2022	20	19	3
2021	22	20	7
2020	14	11	5
2019	9	8	1 or 2
2018	9	7	0
2017	17	15	3
2016	15	14	1 or 2
2015	11	11	4
2015 to 2024	145	130	34

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 30 (1976)2024: 16

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

Table 2.Salem County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	16	14
2023	12	11
2022	20	19
2021	22	20
2020	14	11
2019	9	8
2018	9	7
2017	17	15
2016	15	14
2015	11	11
2014	19	15
2013	9	8
2012	9	8
2011	16	12
2010	12	10
2009	14	13
2008	16	14
2007	13	11
2006	19	14
2005	19	17
2004	22	17
2003	22	22
2002	15	15
2001	11	10
2000	20	17
1999	24	21
1998	11	10
1997	16	16
1996	14	11
1995	11	11
1994	17	16
1993	16	15
1992	14	11
1991	11	11
1990	24	18
1989	15	13
1988	15	15
1987	25	23
1986	28	23
1985	30	28
1984	19	17
1983	20	16
1982	21	21
1981	15	13
1980	27	20
1979	21	19
1978	18	16
1977	20	17
1976	30	21
1975	13	12

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.Salem County beside New Jersey and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Salem County	New Jersey	United States
2024	24.3	7.0	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	22.6	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. Salem County had 65,940 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Salem County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in New Jersey
A driver recorded as drinkingof 130 fatal crashes	34	130 fatal crashes	26.2%	22.0%
A speeding-related driverof 130 fatal crashes	31	130 fatal crashes	23.8%	23.0%
No restraint usedof 101 occupant deaths with restraint use known	35	101 occupant deathswith restraint use known	34.7%	45.5%
Pedestriansof 145 deaths	12	145 deaths	8.3%	29.4%
Bicyclistsof 145 deaths	4	145 deaths	2.8%	3.2%
Motorcyclistsof 145 deaths	22	145 deaths	15.2%	13.3%
On a rural roadof 129 fatal crashes with the condition reported	69	129 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	53.5%	11.0%
In the darkof 130 fatal crashes with the condition reported	51	130 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	39.2%	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.Salem 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	5	8	6	23
Monday	1 or 2	8	3	5	18
Tuesday	1 or 2	3	7	3	15
Wednesday	4	1 or 2	5	4	15
Thursday	4	6	5	5	20
Friday	1 or 2	4	6	5	17
Saturday	6	1 or 2	10	4	22
All days	24	30	44	32	130

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.Salem County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in New Jersey
Interstate	17	13.2%	10.2%
Other freeways and expressways	5	3.9%	10.2%
Other principal arterial	24	18.6%	34.6%
Minor arterial	25	19.4%	22.5%
Major collector	33	25.6%	10.7%
Minor collector	4	3.1%	0.8%
Local	21	16.3%	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.Salem County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	71
Dark, not lighted	30
Dark, lighted	18
Dawn	5
Dusk	3
Dark, lighting unknown	3
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Salem County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	108
Cloudy	5
Rain	15
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 Salem County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Salem	In all of New Jersey
Interstate 95	Interstate	3	163
Interstate 295	Interstate	14	90
State Route 49	State highway	9	34
State Route 55	State highway	1 or 2	62
US Route 40	US highway	13	76
US Route 130	US highway	6	111

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.Salem 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
Salem County: 22.6

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 Salem County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Kent County	Delaware	30	275	15.1
New Castle County	Delaware	61	623	11.0
Cumberland County	New Jersey	30	250	16.4
Gloucester County	New Jersey	32	362	12.1

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

FARS records 146 deaths in Salem County from 2005 to 2014. It records 145 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Salem in 2024?

The rate of Salem County in 2024 was 24.3 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 Salem had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 34 of 130 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 Salem?

6 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 46 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.