Jefferson County, Oregon: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Oregon by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 7 deaths in 7 fatal crashes in Jefferson County in 2024.

FARS records 75 deaths in 64 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 30.7 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Oregon in the same years is 12.4.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Jefferson County was number 22 of 36 counties of Oregon.

Deaths in Jefferson County fell by 1.3% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (76) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (75).

In the counties of Oregon the deaths rose by 34.7% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 84.4% of the fatal crashes in Jefferson County with a known setting were rural, against 55.2% in Oregon.

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 Jefferson 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.Jefferson County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	7	7	3
2023	5	5	1 or 2
2022	10	8	3
2021	7	7	1 or 2
2020	9	8	3
2019	5	5	1 or 2
2018	9	6	1 or 2
2017	8	7	5
2016	9	5	0
2015	6	6	4
2015 to 2024	75	64	25

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 20 (1988)2024: 7

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

Table 2.Jefferson County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	7	7
2023	5	5
2022	10	8
2021	7	7
2020	9	8
2019	5	5
2018	9	6
2017	8	7
2016	9	5
2015	6	6
2014	10	9
2013	9	7
2012	4	4
2011	5	5
2010	8	5
2009	4	4
2008	8	7
2007	10	7
2006	4	4
2005	14	12
2004	7	6
2003	14	11
2002	12	8
2001	7	4
2000	14	10
1999	15	9
1998	9	7
1997	5	5
1996	16	12
1995	13	10
1994	8	6
1993	9	6
1992	4	4
1991	9	7
1990	5	5
1989	6	5
1988	20	14
1987	7	4
1986	7	7
1985	6	6
1984	4	4
1983	9	9
1982	16	13
1981	14	10
1980	12	12
1979	10	8
1978	6	4
1977	10	9
1976	8	7
1975	11	9

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.Jefferson County beside Oregon and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Jefferson County	Oregon	United States
2024	27.3	12.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	30.7	12.4	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. Jefferson County had 25,685 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Jefferson County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Oregon
A driver recorded as drinkingof 64 fatal crashes	25	64 fatal crashes	39.1%	31.0%
A speeding-related driverof 64 fatal crashes	18	64 fatal crashes	28.1%	30.1%
No restraint usedof 55 occupant deaths with restraint use known	18	55 occupant deathswith restraint use known	32.7%	35.0%
Pedestriansof 75 deaths	6	75 deaths	8.0%	16.2%
Bicyclistsof 75 deaths	0	75 deaths	0.0%	2.3%
Motorcyclistsof 75 deaths	4	75 deaths	5.3%	13.9%
On a rural roadof 64 fatal crashes with the condition reported	54	64 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	84.4%	55.2%
In the darkof 60 fatal crashes with the condition reported	25	60 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	41.7%	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.Jefferson 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	1 or 2	3	1 or 2	9
Monday	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	6	9
Tuesday	0	1 or 2	6	3	11
Wednesday	0	1 or 2	3	5	9
Thursday	0	0	6	1 or 2	8
Friday	3	1 or 2	1 or 2	5	10
Saturday	0	1 or 2	3	1 or 2	6
All days	8	8	23	23	62

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.Jefferson County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Oregon
Interstate	0	0.0%	8.4%
Other freeways and expressways	0	0.0%	0.8%
Other principal arterial	36	56.3%	39.6%
Minor arterial	5	7.8%	22.1%
Major collector	10	15.6%	18.9%
Minor collector	3	4.7%	3.9%
Local	10	15.6%	6.3%
Not reported	0	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.Jefferson County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	33
Dark, not lighted	19
Dark, lighted	4
Dawn	0
Dusk	1 or 2
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	4

Table 8.Jefferson County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	34
Cloudy	10
Rain	1 or 2
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	15

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Jefferson County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Jefferson	In all of Oregon
US Route 20	US highway	3	150
US Route 26	US highway	14	165
US Route 97	US highway	22	156

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 Oregon

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Jefferson County on the county map of Oregon

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

Fewer than 104 counties
10 to 14.910 counties
15 to 19.95 counties
20 to 29.97 counties
30 or more10 counties
Jefferson County: 30.7

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 Oregon

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Jefferson County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Crook County	Oregon	1 or 2	34	13.8
Deschutes County	Oregon	17	209	10.7
Linn County	Oregon	25	242	18.9
Marion County	Oregon	39	428	12.4
Wasco County	Oregon	9	86	32.7
Wheeler County	Oregon	1 or 2	15	107.5

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Oregon have a population nearest to that of Jefferson 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.
Oregon Transportation Safety OfficeThe highway safety office of Oregon.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Jefferson County, Oregon: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/or/jefferson/. 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 Jefferson in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 76 deaths in Jefferson County from 2005 to 2014. It records 75 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Jefferson in 2024?

The rate of Jefferson County in 2024 was 27.3 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Oregon was 12.6. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 25 of 64 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 Jefferson?

FARS records 3 fatal crashes on US Route 20 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 14 fatal crashes on US Route 26 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 22 fatal crashes on US Route 97 in the county from 2015 to 2024.