Athens County, Ohio: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Ohio by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 5 deaths in 3 fatal crashes in Athens County in 2024.

FARS records 78 deaths in 67 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 12.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Ohio in the same years is 10.1.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Athens County was number 43 of 88 counties of Ohio.

Deaths in Athens County fell by 14.3% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (91) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (78).

In the counties of Ohio the deaths rose by 5.9% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 66.7% of the fatal crashes in Athens County with a known setting were rural, against 42.3% in Ohio.

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 Athens County by year, 2015 to 2024

1 or 2

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.Athens County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	5	3	1 or 2
2023	10	9	4
2022	7	7	0
2021	12	12	5
2020	12	9	4
2019	8	6	1 or 2
2018	12	11	1 or 2
2017	1 or 2	1 or 2	0
2016	6	4	1 or 2
2015	5	5	1 or 2
2015 to 2024	78	67	20

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 18 (1990)2024: 5

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

Table 2.Athens County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	5	3
2023	10	9
2022	7	7
2021	12	12
2020	12	9
2019	8	6
2018	12	11
2017	1 or 2	1 or 2
2016	6	4
2015	5	5
2014	13	12
2013	7	7
2012	6	6
2011	8	6
2010	6	6
2009	10	8
2008	13	11
2007	6	5
2006	10	10
2005	12	11
2004	10	8
2003	10	9
2002	4	4
2001	11	11
2000	10	9
1999	7	6
1998	8	7
1997	6	6
1996	15	10
1995	9	9
1994	10	9
1993	13	11
1992	3	3
1991	8	8
1990	18	14
1989	16	14
1988	7	6
1987	13	12
1986	7	7
1985	8	8
1984	6	5
1983	10	9
1982	10	9
1981	14	12
1980	6	5
1979	13	13
1978	7	7
1977	8	8
1976	9	9
1975	7	6

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.Athens County beside Ohio and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Athens County	Ohio	United States
2024	7.9	9.8	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	12.2	10.1	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. Athens County had 63,080 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Athens County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Ohio
A driver recorded as drinkingof 67 fatal crashes	20	67 fatal crashes	29.9%	31.7%
A speeding-related driverof 67 fatal crashes	22	67 fatal crashes	32.8%	22.7%
No restraint usedof 54 occupant deaths with restraint use known	29	54 occupant deathswith restraint use known	53.7%	55.4%
Pedestriansof 78 deaths	7	78 deaths	9.0%	11.7%
Bicyclistsof 78 deaths	1 or 2	78 deaths	1.3%	1.8%
Motorcyclistsof 78 deaths	13	78 deaths	16.7%	16.3%
On a rural roadof 66 fatal crashes with the condition reported	44	66 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	66.7%	42.3%
In the darkof 67 fatal crashes with the condition reported	26	67 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	38.8%	45.0%

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.Athens 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	3	1 or 2	3	4	11
Monday	1 or 2	1 or 2	4	1 or 2	8
Tuesday	1 or 2	1 or 2	4	3	9
Wednesday	0	1 or 2	3	3	7
Thursday	1 or 2	1 or 2	6	1 or 2	10
Friday	3	1 or 2	4	6	15
Saturday	4	0	1 or 2	1 or 2	7
All days	13	7	25	22	67

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.Athens County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Ohio
Interstate	0	0.0%	11.6%
Other freeways and expressways	4	6.1%	3.4%
Other principal arterial	21	31.8%	19.5%
Minor arterial	8	12.1%	21.6%
Major collector	14	21.2%	24.5%
Minor collector	1 or 2	3.0%	4.2%
Local	17	25.8%	15.2%
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.Athens County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	39
Dark, not lighted	23
Dark, lighted	3
Dawn	0
Dusk	1 or 2
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Athens County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	35
Cloudy	22
Rain	3
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 Athens County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Athens	In all of Ohio
State Route 13	State highway	3	44
US Route 33	US highway	11	98
US Route 50	US highway	12	76

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 Ohio

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Athens County on the county map of Ohio

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

Fewer than 1022 counties
10 to 14.929 counties
15 to 19.927 counties
20 to 29.99 counties
30 or more1 county
Athens County: 12.2

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 Ohio

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Athens County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Hocking County	Ohio	7	49	17.4
Meigs County	Ohio	4	51	22.7
Morgan County	Ohio	5	39	27.6
Perry County	Ohio	11	58	16.2
Vinton County	Ohio	3	35	27.3
Washington County	Ohio	5	71	11.9
Wood County	West Virginia	14	100	11.9

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Ohio have a population nearest to that of Athens 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.
Ohio Traffic Safety OfficeThe highway safety office of Ohio.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Athens County, Ohio: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/oh/athens/. 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.

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 Athens in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 91 deaths in Athens County from 2005 to 2014. It records 78 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Athens in 2024?

The rate of Athens County in 2024 was 7.9 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Ohio was 9.8. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 20 of 67 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 Athens?

FARS records 3 fatal crashes on State Route 13 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 11 fatal crashes on US Route 33 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 12 fatal crashes on US Route 50 in the county from 2015 to 2024.