Jefferson County, Texas: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Texas by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 45 deaths in 43 fatal crashes in Jefferson County in 2024.

FARS records 409 deaths in 379 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 16.1 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, Jefferson County was number 19 of 254 counties of Texas.

Deaths in Jefferson County fell by 1.4% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (415) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (409).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 22.5% of the fatal crashes in Jefferson County with a known setting were rural, against 38.1% 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 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	45	43	5
2023	31	29	6
2022	46	44	13
2021	60	50	12
2020	48	48	6
2019	36	35	5
2018	42	38	9
2017	37	34	6
2016	37	33	5
2015	27	25	10
2015 to 2024	409	379	77

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 85 (1981)2024: 45

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	45	43
2023	31	29
2022	46	44
2021	60	50
2020	48	48
2019	36	35
2018	42	38
2017	37	34
2016	37	33
2015	27	25
2014	32	31
2013	23	20
2012	35	31
2011	30	29
2010	33	33
2009	40	35
2008	51	47
2007	46	41
2006	64	59
2005	61	50
2004	44	41
2003	44	39
2002	53	49
2001	44	36
2000	48	43
1999	39	33
1998	38	38
1997	39	37
1996	42	36
1995	44	37
1994	39	31
1993	33	32
1992	33	30
1991	52	47
1990	42	42
1989	37	34
1988	62	46
1987	52	37
1986	34	31
1985	43	39
1984	36	31
1983	53	47
1982	62	55
1981	85	74
1980	68	60
1979	60	53
1978	65	62
1977	58	47
1976	48	42
1975	44	42

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 Texas and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Jefferson County	Texas	United States
2024	17.7	13.3	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	16.1	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. Jefferson County had 254,497 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 Texas
A driver recorded as drinkingof 379 fatal crashes	77	379 fatal crashes	20.3%	25.5%
A speeding-related driverof 379 fatal crashes	107	379 fatal crashes	28.2%	32.1%
No restraint usedof 196 occupant deaths with restraint use known	89	196 occupant deathswith restraint use known	45.4%	45.1%
Pedestriansof 409 deaths	97	409 deaths	23.7%	17.6%
Bicyclistsof 409 deaths	15	409 deaths	3.7%	1.9%
Motorcyclistsof 409 deaths	61	409 deaths	14.9%	12.7%
On a rural roadof 378 fatal crashes with the condition reported	85	378 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	22.5%	38.1%
In the darkof 379 fatal crashes with the condition reported	229	379 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	60.4%	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.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	28	10	11	18	67
Monday	6	10	12	21	49
Tuesday	8	9	14	19	50
Wednesday	5	10	9	21	45
Thursday	8	6	11	21	46
Friday	12	7	7	18	44
Saturday	22	9	20	27	78
All days	89	61	84	145	379

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 Texas
Interstate	71	18.8%	15.8%
Other freeways and expressways	59	15.6%	6.3%
Other principal arterial	119	31.5%	29.8%
Minor arterial	63	16.7%	20.3%
Major collector	38	10.1%	18.9%
Minor collector	0	0.0%	1.7%
Local	28	7.4%	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.Jefferson County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	138
Dark, not lighted	132
Dark, lighted	96
Dawn	4
Dusk	8
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Jefferson County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	298
Cloudy	51
Rain	19
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	9
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

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 Texas
Interstate 10	Interstate	69	994
State Route 73	State highway	29	38
State Route 82	State highway	15	21
State Route 87	State highway	9	86
State Route 105	State highway	3	130
US Route 69	US highway	53	271
US Route 90	US highway	36	338
US Route 287	US highway	1 or 2	314

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.Jefferson 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
Jefferson County: 16.1

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 Jefferson County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Cameron Parish	Louisiana	1 or 2	12	20.0
Chambers County	Texas	13	147	31.7
Hardin County	Texas	13	111	19.4
Liberty County	Texas	19	251	26.8
Orange County	Texas	15	212	25.1

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 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.
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. Jefferson County, Texas: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/tx/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.

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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 Jefferson in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 415 deaths in Jefferson County from 2005 to 2014. It records 409 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Jefferson in 2024?

The rate of Jefferson County in 2024 was 17.7 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 Jefferson had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 77 of 379 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?

8 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 215 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.