Union County, New Jersey: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 38 deaths in 34 fatal crashes in Union County in 2024.

FARS records 302 deaths in 290 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 5.3 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, Union County was number 10 of 21 counties of New Jersey.

Deaths in Union County fell by 5.0% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (318) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (302).

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

From 2015 to 2024, pedestrians were 40.4% of the deaths in Union 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 Union 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.Union County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	38	34	7
2023	37	35	8
2022	29	29	3
2021	29	27	4
2020	30	29	5
2019	23	23	5
2018	27	27	6
2017	34	33	8
2016	26	25	13
2015	29	28	7
2015 to 2024	302	290	66

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 64 (1980)2024: 38

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

Table 2.Union County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	38	34
2023	37	35
2022	29	29
2021	29	27
2020	30	29
2019	23	23
2018	27	27
2017	34	33
2016	26	25
2015	29	28
2014	30	27
2013	18	18
2012	28	28
2011	26	24
2010	29	28
2009	41	38
2008	38	35
2007	31	29
2006	37	33
2005	40	39
2004	45	43
2003	46	37
2002	49	46
2001	49	47
2000	51	44
1999	32	31
1998	27	23
1997	31	30
1996	35	33
1995	48	43
1994	25	25
1993	53	50
1992	43	41
1991	34	32
1990	52	48
1989	47	47
1988	51	46
1987	50	48
1986	42	39
1985	35	33
1984	32	29
1983	38	37
1982	40	39
1981	48	46
1980	64	57
1979	54	51
1978	48	44
1977	42	38
1976	57	53
1975	47	46

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.Union County beside New Jersey and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Union County	New Jersey	United States
2024	6.3	7.0	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	5.3	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. Union County had 598,743 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Union County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in New Jersey
A driver recorded as drinkingof 290 fatal crashes	66	290 fatal crashes	22.8%	22.0%
A speeding-related driverof 290 fatal crashes	86	290 fatal crashes	29.7%	23.0%
No restraint usedof 110 occupant deaths with restraint use known	48	110 occupant deathswith restraint use known	43.6%	45.5%
Pedestriansof 302 deaths	122	302 deaths	40.4%	29.4%
Bicyclistsof 302 deaths	8	302 deaths	2.6%	3.2%
Motorcyclistsof 302 deaths	40	302 deaths	13.2%	13.3%
On a rural roadof 287 fatal crashes with the condition reported	0	287 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	0.0%	11.0%
In the darkof 289 fatal crashes with the condition reported	159	289 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	55.0%	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.Union 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	17	7	5	12	41
Monday	10	9	6	10	35
Tuesday	3	7	13	14	37
Wednesday	9	9	11	11	40
Thursday	9	8	9	16	42
Friday	10	11	9	11	41
Saturday	13	9	6	26	54
All days	71	60	59	100	290

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.Union County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in New Jersey
Interstate	34	11.8%	10.2%
Other freeways and expressways	25	8.7%	10.2%
Other principal arterial	107	37.3%	34.6%
Minor arterial	61	21.3%	22.5%
Major collector	25	8.7%	10.7%
Minor collector	1 or 2	0.3%	0.8%
Local	34	11.8%	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.Union County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	112
Dark, not lighted	31
Dark, lighted	117
Dawn	6
Dusk	12
Dark, lighting unknown	11
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Union County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	237
Cloudy	14
Rain	31
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	4
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Union County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Union	In all of New Jersey
Interstate 78	Interstate	20	90
Interstate 95	Interstate	14	163
State Route 27	State highway	31	78
State Route 28	State highway	10	21
US Route 1	US highway	40	173
US Route 22	US highway	12	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.Union 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
Union County: 5.3

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 Union County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Essex County	New Jersey	47	470	5.7
Hudson County	New Jersey	20	234	3.4
Middlesex County	New Jersey	60	532	6.3
Morris County	New Jersey	21	234	4.6
Somerset County	New Jersey	19	196	5.8
Richmond County	New York	13	133	2.7

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

FARS records 318 deaths in Union County from 2005 to 2014. It records 302 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Union in 2024?

The rate of Union County in 2024 was 6.3 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 Union had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 66 of 290 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 Union?

6 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 127 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.