Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Pennsylvania by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 52 deaths in 49 fatal crashes in Lancaster County in 2024.

FARS records 503 deaths in 474 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 9.2 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, Lancaster County was number 4 of 67 counties of Pennsylvania.

Deaths in Lancaster County fell by 13.7% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (583) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (503).

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

From 2015 to 2024, a speeding-related driver was recorded in 35.0% of fatal crashes in Lancaster County and 40.2% 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 Lancaster 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.Lancaster County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	52	49	10
2023	51	49	14
2022	57	52	12
2021	73	69	21
2020	47	43	7
2019	44	43	12
2018	45	40	7
2017	42	40	6
2016	44	43	12
2015	48	46	14
2015 to 2024	503	474	115

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 73 (2021)2024: 52

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

Table 2.Lancaster County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	52	49
2023	51	49
2022	57	52
2021	73	69
2020	47	43
2019	44	43
2018	45	40
2017	42	40
2016	44	43
2015	48	46
2014	62	57
2013	45	41
2012	47	42
2011	51	48
2010	65	57
2009	49	44
2008	66	62
2007	64	60
2006	63	60
2005	71	62
2004	54	47
2003	58	52
2002	59	53
2001	54	51
2000	61	56
1999	57	48
1998	55	49
1997	65	61
1996	49	43
1995	60	47
1994	51	47
1993	65	53
1992	48	44
1991	51	48
1990	55	53
1989	63	61
1988	62	60
1987	70	63
1986	70	63
1985	59	52
1984	47	39
1983	49	48
1982	50	45
1981	67	59
1980	70	64
1979	70	60
1978	66	61
1977	69	56
1976	55	48
1975	57	52

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.Lancaster County beside Pennsylvania and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Lancaster County	Pennsylvania	United States
2024	9.3	8.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	9.2	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. Lancaster County had 562,062 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Lancaster County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Pennsylvania
A driver recorded as drinkingof 474 fatal crashes	115	474 fatal crashes	24.3%	25.4%
A speeding-related driverof 474 fatal crashes	166	474 fatal crashes	35.0%	40.2%
No restraint usedof 287 occupant deaths with restraint use known	152	287 occupant deathswith restraint use known	53.0%	57.8%
Pedestriansof 503 deaths	60	503 deaths	11.9%	14.3%
Bicyclistsof 503 deaths	9	503 deaths	1.8%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 503 deaths	88	503 deaths	17.5%	17.3%
On a rural roadof 472 fatal crashes with the condition reported	218	472 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	46.2%	45.3%
In the darkof 474 fatal crashes with the condition reported	202	474 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	42.6%	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.Lancaster 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	12	7	20	30	69
Monday	10	22	15	11	58
Tuesday	5	15	24	22	66
Wednesday	3	14	20	15	52
Thursday	14	12	18	24	68
Friday	3	22	28	29	82
Saturday	19	14	21	25	79
All days	66	106	146	156	474

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.Lancaster County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Pennsylvania
Interstate	15	3.2%	9.9%
Other freeways and expressways	38	8.2%	3.2%
Other principal arterial	102	21.9%	28.1%
Minor arterial	129	27.7%	22.4%
Major collector	64	13.7%	13.1%
Minor collector	32	6.9%	4.2%
Local	86	18.5%	19.1%
Not reported	8	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.Lancaster County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	245
Dark, not lighted	145
Dark, lighted	56
Dawn	12
Dusk	15
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Lancaster County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	277
Cloudy	25
Rain	34
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	6
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	130

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Lancaster County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Lancaster	In all of Pennsylvania
Interstate 76	Interstate	15	123
State Route 10	State highway	1 or 2	22
State Route 23	State highway	20	32
State Route 72	State highway	14	26
State Route 272	State highway	24	28
State Route 462	State highway	10	20
State Route 501	State highway	7	25
State Route 1010	State highway	1 or 2	20
State Route 1011	State highway	1 or 2	20
State Route 2009	State highway	1 or 2	30
State Route 2029	State highway	5	23
State Route 3017	State highway	4	26
State Route 4001	State highway	1 or 2	28
State Route 4002	State highway	1 or 2	25
US Route 11	US highway	1 or 2	144
US Route 30	US highway	32	200
US Route 222	US highway	32	73
US Route 322	US highway	21	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.Lancaster 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
Lancaster County: 9.2

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 Pennsylvania

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Lancaster County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Cecil County	Maryland	24	218	21.0
Harford County	Maryland	13	190	7.4
Berks County	Pennsylvania	47	440	10.3
Chester County	Pennsylvania	24	319	6.0
Dauphin County	Pennsylvania	26	295	10.4
Lebanon County	Pennsylvania	20	190	13.4
York County	Pennsylvania	41	377	8.3

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 Lancaster 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. Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/pa/lancaster/. 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 Lancaster in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 583 deaths in Lancaster County from 2005 to 2014. It records 503 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Lancaster in 2024?

The rate of Lancaster County in 2024 was 9.3 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 Lancaster had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 115 of 474 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 Lancaster?

18 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 193 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.