Hays County, Texas: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Texas by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 28 deaths in 26 fatal crashes in Hays County in 2024.

FARS records 302 deaths in 267 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 12.5 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Texas in the same years is 13.6.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Hays County was number 25 of 254 counties of Texas.

Deaths in Hays County rose by 45.9% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (207) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (302).

In the counties of Texas the deaths rose by 18.2% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, a speeding-related driver was recorded in 43.1% of fatal crashes in Hays County and 32.1% in Texas.

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 Hays 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.Hays County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	28	26	7
2023	36	32	1 or 2
2022	39	38	9
2021	29	25	3
2020	30	29	6
2019	29	26	8
2018	25	22	6
2017	30	26	8
2016	39	27	10
2015	17	16	8
2015 to 2024	302	267	67

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 39 (2016)2024: 28

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

Table 2.Hays County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	28	26
2023	36	32
2022	39	38
2021	29	25
2020	30	29
2019	29	26
2018	25	22
2017	30	26
2016	39	27
2015	17	16
2014	18	17
2013	23	19
2012	25	23
2011	21	21
2010	10	10
2009	15	15
2008	27	26
2007	28	24
2006	17	15
2005	23	19
2004	23	18
2003	13	12
2002	25	20
2001	35	29
2000	19	15
1999	21	21
1998	12	11
1997	19	18
1996	14	13
1995	12	12
1994	19	17
1993	12	10
1992	8	8
1991	14	12
1990	9	8
1989	20	19
1988	12	10
1987	20	18
1986	17	16
1985	17	16
1984	24	22
1983	17	17
1982	17	16
1981	7	7
1980	16	15
1979	12	11
1978	19	14
1977	11	10
1976	12	11
1975	14	11

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.Hays County beside Texas and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Hays County	Texas	United States
2024	9.5	13.3	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	12.5	13.6	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. Hays County had 294,339 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Hays County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Texas
A driver recorded as drinkingof 267 fatal crashes	67	267 fatal crashes	25.1%	25.5%
A speeding-related driverof 267 fatal crashes	115	267 fatal crashes	43.1%	32.1%
No restraint usedof 182 occupant deaths with restraint use known	65	182 occupant deathswith restraint use known	35.7%	45.1%
Pedestriansof 302 deaths	37	302 deaths	12.3%	17.6%
Bicyclistsof 302 deaths	4	302 deaths	1.3%	1.9%
Motorcyclistsof 302 deaths	50	302 deaths	16.6%	12.7%
On a rural roadof 266 fatal crashes with the condition reported	102	266 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	38.3%	38.1%
In the darkof 266 fatal crashes with the condition reported	159	266 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	59.8%	55.9%

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.Hays 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	25	5	12	15	57
Monday	7	10	11	11	39
Tuesday	6	4	5	8	23
Wednesday	4	8	11	9	32
Thursday	6	1 or 2	6	17	31
Friday	14	8	9	16	47
Saturday	8	7	6	17	38
All days	70	44	60	93	267

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.Hays County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Texas
Interstate	58	21.8%	15.8%
Other freeways and expressways	0	0.0%	6.3%
Other principal arterial	59	22.2%	29.8%
Minor arterial	38	14.3%	20.3%
Major collector	84	31.6%	18.9%
Minor collector	3	1.1%	1.7%
Local	24	9.0%	7.1%
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.Hays County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	101
Dark, not lighted	102
Dark, lighted	56
Dawn	3
Dusk	3
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Hays County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	209
Cloudy	39
Rain	15
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	3
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Hays County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Hays	In all of Texas
Interstate 35	Interstate	51	915
State Route 21	State highway	10	156
State Route 80	State highway	7	43
State Route 82	State highway	5	21
State Route 123	State highway	15	50
US Route 290	US highway	22	252

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 Texas

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Hays County on the county map of Texas

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

Fewer than 1014 counties
10 to 14.926 counties
15 to 19.924 counties
20 to 29.963 counties
30 or more125 counties
Count of 1 or 2, no rate shown2 counties
Hays County: 12.5

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 Texas

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Hays County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Blanco County	Texas	10	61	51.0
Caldwell County	Texas	17	125	27.5
Comal County	Texas	22	203	12.5
Guadalupe County	Texas	18	197	11.5
Travis County	Texas	153	1,404	11.0

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Texas have a population nearest to that of Hays 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.
Texas Traffic Safety SectionThe highway safety office of Texas.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Hays County, Texas: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/tx/hays/. 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 Hays in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 207 deaths in Hays County from 2005 to 2014. It records 302 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Hays in 2024?

The rate of Hays County in 2024 was 9.5 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Texas was 13.3. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 67 of 267 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 Hays?

6 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 110 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.