Delaware County, Pennsylvania: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Pennsylvania by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 32 deaths in 27 fatal crashes in Delaware County in 2024.

FARS records 264 deaths in 247 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 4.6 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Pennsylvania in the same years is 9.0.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Delaware County was number 13 of 67 counties of Pennsylvania.

Deaths in Delaware County rose by 7.3% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (246) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (264).

In the counties of Pennsylvania the deaths fell by 14.8% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 8.2% of the fatal crashes in Delaware County with a known setting were rural, against 45.3% in Pennsylvania.

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 Delaware 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.Delaware County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	32	27	4
2023	26	26	6
2022	27	24	7
2021	25	23	1 or 2
2020	29	28	10
2019	31	30	6
2018	19	18	4
2017	25	24	8
2016	29	28	7
2015	21	19	6
2015 to 2024	264	247	60

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 83 (1977)2024: 32

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

Table 2.Delaware County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	32	27
2023	26	26
2022	27	24
2021	25	23
2020	29	28
2019	31	30
2018	19	18
2017	25	24
2016	29	28
2015	21	19
2014	26	26
2013	27	25
2012	27	27
2011	20	19
2010	23	22
2009	20	20
2008	21	21
2007	22	20
2006	29	25
2005	31	31
2004	34	33
2003	48	45
2002	28	28
2001	41	36
2000	29	29
1999	31	26
1998	40	37
1997	42	37
1996	32	28
1995	48	45
1994	44	38
1993	38	36
1992	47	44
1991	44	42
1990	43	42
1989	48	45
1988	45	42
1987	66	60
1986	59	56
1985	58	51
1984	50	49
1983	36	34
1982	53	47
1981	50	47
1980	53	50
1979	59	52
1978	48	43
1977	83	78
1976	73	63
1975	61	58

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.Delaware County beside Pennsylvania and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Delaware County	Pennsylvania	United States
2024	5.5	8.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	4.6	9.0	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. Delaware County had 581,416 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Delaware County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Pennsylvania
A driver recorded as drinkingof 247 fatal crashes	60	247 fatal crashes	24.3%	25.4%
A speeding-related driverof 247 fatal crashes	94	247 fatal crashes	38.1%	40.2%
No restraint usedof 139 occupant deaths with restraint use known	87	139 occupant deathswith restraint use known	62.6%	57.8%
Pedestriansof 264 deaths	59	264 deaths	22.3%	14.3%
Bicyclistsof 264 deaths	3	264 deaths	1.1%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 264 deaths	39	264 deaths	14.8%	17.3%
On a rural roadof 245 fatal crashes with the condition reported	20	245 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	8.2%	45.3%
In the darkof 247 fatal crashes with the condition reported	117	247 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	47.4%	43.6%

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.Delaware 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	13	8	9	6	36
Monday	6	8	8	3	25
Tuesday	4	9	9	16	38
Wednesday	4	8	12	13	37
Thursday	11	4	11	9	35
Friday	6	13	4	11	34
Saturday	12	8	9	13	42
All days	56	58	62	71	247

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.Delaware County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Pennsylvania
Interstate	47	19.3%	9.9%
Other freeways and expressways	4	1.6%	3.2%
Other principal arterial	119	49.0%	28.1%
Minor arterial	39	16.0%	22.4%
Major collector	11	4.5%	13.1%
Minor collector	1 or 2	0.8%	4.2%
Local	21	8.6%	19.1%
Not reported	4	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.Delaware County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	123
Dark, not lighted	36
Dark, lighted	81
Dawn	4
Dusk	3
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Delaware County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	129
Cloudy	4
Rain	25
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	3
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	83

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Delaware County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Delaware	In all of Pennsylvania
Interstate 95	Interstate	29	102
Interstate 476	Interstate	14	51
State Route 3	State highway	11	29
State Route 291	State highway	13	20
State Route 1001	State highway	1 or 2	31
State Route 1010	State highway	1 or 2	20
State Route 2006	State highway	6	26
State Route 2009	State highway	1 or 2	30
State Route 2016	State highway	1 or 2	27
State Route 3001	State highway	1 or 2	23
State Route 3003	State highway	1 or 2	20
State Route 3007	State highway	1 or 2	43
State Route 3009	State highway	1 or 2	32
State Route 3015	State highway	1 or 2	23
State Route 3017	State highway	5	26
US Route 1	US highway	17	135
US Route 13	US highway	22	85
US Route 30	US highway	4	200
US Route 202	US highway	5	43
US Route 322	US highway	1 or 2	101

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 Pennsylvania

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Delaware County on the county map of Pennsylvania

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

Fewer than 1019 counties
10 to 14.928 counties
15 to 19.917 counties
20 to 29.92 counties
30 or more1 county
Delaware County: 4.6

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 Pennsylvania

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Delaware County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
New Castle County	Delaware	61	623	11.0
Gloucester County	New Jersey	32	362	12.1
Chester County	Pennsylvania	24	319	6.0
Montgomery County	Pennsylvania	50	420	5.0
Philadelphia County	Pennsylvania	137	1,196	7.6

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Pennsylvania have a population nearest to that of Delaware 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.
Pennsylvania Department of TransportationThe highway safety office of Pennsylvania.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Delaware County, Pennsylvania: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/pa/delaware/. 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 Delaware in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 246 deaths in Delaware County from 2005 to 2014. It records 264 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Delaware in 2024?

The rate of Delaware County in 2024 was 5.5 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Pennsylvania was 8.6. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 60 of 247 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 Delaware?

20 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 143 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.