Minnehaha County, South Dakota: fatal crash statistics

Counties of South Dakota by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 16 deaths in 14 fatal crashes in Minnehaha County in 2024.

FARS records 149 deaths in 133 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 7.6 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of South Dakota in the same years is 14.9.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Minnehaha County was number 1 of 66 counties of South Dakota.

Deaths in Minnehaha County rose by 16.4% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (128) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (149).

In the counties of South Dakota the deaths fell by 7.5% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 44.4% of the fatal crashes in Minnehaha County with a known setting were rural, against 81.7% in South Dakota.

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 Minnehaha 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.Minnehaha County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	16	14	5
2023	18	16	4
2022	20	18	4
2021	11	8	3
2020	23	20	7
2019	17	15	1 or 2
2018	13	12	6
2017	12	11	5
2016	9	9	1 or 2
2015	10	10	3
2015 to 2024	149	133	41

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 23 (2020)2024: 16

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

Table 2.Minnehaha County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	16	14
2023	18	16
2022	20	18
2021	11	8
2020	23	20
2019	17	15
2018	13	12
2017	12	11
2016	9	9
2015	10	10
2014	14	12
2013	11	8
2012	16	15
2011	10	10
2010	10	10
2009	10	9
2008	11	11
2007	12	10
2006	18	17
2005	16	14
2004	21	21
2003	19	15
2002	13	13
2001	15	15
2000	9	9
1999	5	5
1998	13	12
1997	9	8
1996	19	18
1995	12	10
1994	11	10
1993	10	10
1992	18	16
1991	18	16
1990	16	16
1989	8	7
1988	17	17
1987	5	5
1986	11	10
1985	20	13
1984	16	15
1983	6	6
1982	10	9
1981	10	10
1980	16	15
1979	12	10
1978	20	17
1977	16	14
1976	16	15
1975	10	10

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.Minnehaha County beside South Dakota and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Minnehaha County	South Dakota	United States
2024	7.6	15.7	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	7.6	14.9	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. Minnehaha County had 209,416 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Minnehaha County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in South Dakota
A driver recorded as drinkingof 133 fatal crashes	41	133 fatal crashes	30.8%	34.9%
A speeding-related driverof 133 fatal crashes	32	133 fatal crashes	24.1%	26.6%
No restraint usedof 81 occupant deaths with restraint use known	46	81 occupant deathswith restraint use known	56.8%	65.8%
Pedestriansof 149 deaths	17	149 deaths	11.4%	7.7%
Bicyclistsof 149 deaths	4	149 deaths	2.7%	0.7%
Motorcyclistsof 149 deaths	24	149 deaths	16.1%	16.9%
On a rural roadof 133 fatal crashes with the condition reported	59	133 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	44.4%	81.7%
In the darkof 133 fatal crashes with the condition reported	58	133 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	43.6%	36.4%

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.Minnehaha 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	5	0	4	4	13
Monday	1 or 2	1 or 2	9	6	18
Tuesday	4	3	6	11	24
Wednesday	1 or 2	4	6	5	16
Thursday	1 or 2	5	4	4	15
Friday	0	1 or 2	12	6	19
Saturday	7	9	5	7	28
All days	21	23	46	43	133

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.Minnehaha County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in South Dakota
Interstate	32	24.1%	14.7%
Other freeways and expressways	1 or 2	0.8%	3.2%
Other principal arterial	17	12.8%	25.5%
Minor arterial	40	30.1%	19.3%
Major collector	24	18.0%	21.8%
Minor collector	1 or 2	0.8%	2.4%
Local	18	13.5%	13.0%
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.Minnehaha County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	67
Dark, not lighted	31
Dark, lighted	27
Dawn	3
Dusk	5
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Minnehaha County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	100
Cloudy	17
Rain	5
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	6
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Minnehaha County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Minnehaha	In all of South Dakota
Interstate 29	Interstate	10	51
Interstate 90	Interstate	14	112

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 South Dakota

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Minnehaha County on the county map of South Dakota

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

Fewer than 109 counties
10 to 14.912 counties
15 to 19.910 counties
20 to 29.916 counties
30 or more17 counties
Count of 1 or 2, no rate shown2 counties
Minnehaha County: 7.6

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 South Dakota

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Minnehaha County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Lyon County	Iowa	1 or 2	15	12.5
Rock County	Minnesota	1 or 2	12	12.6
Lake County	South Dakota	0	10	8.4
Lincoln County	South Dakota	8	56	8.8
McCook County	South Dakota	6	16	28.3
Moody County	South Dakota	1 or 2	14	21.7
Turner County	South Dakota	0	19	22.1

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of South Dakota have a population nearest to that of Minnehaha 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.
Governors Highway Safety Association: State Highway Safety OfficesThe list of the highway safety offices of the states.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Minnehaha County, South Dakota: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/sd/minnehaha/. 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.

Embed this card on your site

Copy this code into your page. The card shows the figures above with their source. A line under the card links to this page.

<iframe src="https://fatalroads.com/embed/county/sd/minnehaha/" title="Fatal crashes in Minnehaha County, South Dakota" width="100%" height="300" style="border:0;max-width:640px" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p style="margin:4px 0 0;font-size:13px"><a href="https://fatalroads.com/county/sd/minnehaha/">Fatal crashes in Minnehaha County, South Dakota</a>, from fatalroads.com</p>

How embedding works. It is free. Keep the link in the card and the link line under it.

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 Minnehaha in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 128 deaths in Minnehaha County from 2005 to 2014. It records 149 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Minnehaha in 2024?

The rate of Minnehaha County in 2024 was 7.6 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of South Dakota was 15.7. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 41 of 133 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 Minnehaha?

FARS records 10 fatal crashes on Interstate 29 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 14 fatal crashes on Interstate 90 in the county from 2015 to 2024.