Lorain County, Ohio: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Ohio by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 26 deaths in 25 fatal crashes in Lorain County in 2024.

FARS records 270 deaths in 248 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 8.6 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, Lorain County was number 9 of 88 counties of Ohio.

Deaths in Lorain County rose by 15.4% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (234) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (270).

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

From 2015 to 2024, a driver was recorded as drinking in 38.7% of fatal crashes in Lorain County and 31.7% 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 Lorain 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.Lorain County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	26	25	6
2023	21	20	11
2022	21	20	8
2021	39	35	11
2020	17	15	9
2019	20	18	6
2018	21	20	6
2017	33	31	14
2016	38	35	13
2015	34	29	12
2015 to 2024	270	248	96

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 59 (1980)2024: 26

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

Table 2.Lorain County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	26	25
2023	21	20
2022	21	20
2021	39	35
2020	17	15
2019	20	18
2018	21	20
2017	33	31
2016	38	35
2015	34	29
2014	10	9
2013	14	12
2012	29	26
2011	24	22
2010	24	21
2009	30	24
2008	30	29
2007	26	24
2006	29	26
2005	18	17
2004	18	16
2003	24	22
2002	26	25
2001	33	26
2000	21	20
1999	27	26
1998	31	30
1997	32	32
1996	35	28
1995	27	25
1994	40	36
1993	32	32
1992	31	30
1991	29	29
1990	38	36
1989	37	32
1988	42	31
1987	41	34
1986	35	31
1985	34	30
1984	36	33
1983	40	37
1982	36	34
1981	46	36
1980	59	52
1979	52	49
1978	55	42
1977	52	43
1976	40	37
1975	28	27

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.Lorain County beside Ohio and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Lorain County	Ohio	United States
2024	8.1	9.8	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	8.6	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. Lorain County had 321,159 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Lorain County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Ohio
A driver recorded as drinkingof 248 fatal crashes	96	248 fatal crashes	38.7%	31.7%
A speeding-related driverof 248 fatal crashes	72	248 fatal crashes	29.0%	22.7%
No restraint usedof 174 occupant deaths with restraint use known	94	174 occupant deathswith restraint use known	54.0%	55.4%
Pedestriansof 270 deaths	23	270 deaths	8.5%	11.7%
Bicyclistsof 270 deaths	8	270 deaths	3.0%	1.8%
Motorcyclistsof 270 deaths	48	270 deaths	17.8%	16.3%
On a rural roadof 246 fatal crashes with the condition reported	89	246 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	36.2%	42.3%
In the darkof 248 fatal crashes with the condition reported	113	248 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	45.6%	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.Lorain 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	11	5	7	13	36
Monday	9	3	6	7	25
Tuesday	5	6	16	11	38
Wednesday	3	5	12	7	27
Thursday	8	7	11	14	40
Friday	8	3	12	12	35
Saturday	11	6	20	10	47
All days	55	35	84	74	248

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.Lorain County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Ohio
Interstate	17	6.9%	11.6%
Other freeways and expressways	10	4.0%	3.4%
Other principal arterial	52	21.1%	19.5%
Minor arterial	79	32.0%	21.6%
Major collector	46	18.6%	24.5%
Minor collector	0	0.0%	4.2%
Local	43	17.4%	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.Lorain County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	124
Dark, not lighted	53
Dark, lighted	59
Dawn	3
Dusk	8
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Lorain County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	157
Cloudy	56
Rain	22
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	10
Fog, smog or smoke	0
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Lorain County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Lorain	In all of Ohio
Interstate 80	Interstate	12	111
Interstate 90	Interstate	5	99
State Route 2	State highway	8	67
State Route 10	State highway	3	21
State Route 18	State highway	10	51
State Route 57	State highway	21	27
State Route 82	State highway	1 or 2	25
State Route 83	State highway	5	35
State Route 303	State highway	5	27
US Route 6	US highway	9	121
US Route 20	US highway	11	114

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.Lorain 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
Lorain County: 8.6

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 Ohio

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Lorain County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Ashland County	Ohio	7	75	14.2
Cuyahoga County	Ohio	118	949	7.6
Erie County	Ohio	10	100	13.4
Huron County	Ohio	4	76	13.0
Medina County	Ohio	19	122	6.7

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 Lorain 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. Lorain County, Ohio: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/oh/lorain/. 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 Lorain in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 234 deaths in Lorain County from 2005 to 2014. It records 270 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Lorain in 2024?

The rate of Lorain County in 2024 was 8.1 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 Lorain had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 96 of 248 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 Lorain?

11 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 91 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.