Jim Wells County, Texas: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Texas by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 11 deaths in 11 fatal crashes in Jim Wells County in 2024.

FARS records 96 deaths in 81 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 24.0 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, Jim Wells County was number 92 of 254 counties of Texas.

Deaths in Jim Wells County fell by 10.3% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (107) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (96).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 79.7% of the fatal crashes in Jim Wells 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 Jim Wells 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.Jim Wells County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	11	11	1 or 2
2023	16	11	1 or 2
2022	9	9	1 or 2
2021	11	8	1 or 2
2020	5	4	1 or 2
2019	6	6	0
2018	11	10	1 or 2
2017	8	8	1 or 2
2016	4	4	1 or 2
2015	15	10	3
2015 to 2024	96	81	15

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 26 (2006)2024: 11

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

Table 2.Jim Wells County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	11	11
2023	16	11
2022	9	9
2021	11	8
2020	5	4
2019	6	6
2018	11	10
2017	8	8
2016	4	4
2015	15	10
2014	10	10
2013	14	12
2012	11	10
2011	5	5
2010	13	9
2009	7	7
2008	3	3
2007	9	8
2006	26	16
2005	9	9
2004	9	7
2003	17	14
2002	10	8
2001	6	6
2000	7	7
1999	8	8
1998	4	4
1997	8	8
1996	12	12
1995	6	6
1994	6	5
1993	1 or 2	1 or 2
1992	13	11
1991	4	4
1990	5	5
1989	9	9
1988	11	7
1987	14	14
1986	15	14
1985	16	14
1984	15	13
1983	5	4
1982	14	13
1981	24	19
1980	16	15
1979	22	14
1978	20	15
1977	24	17
1976	13	10
1975	16	12

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.Jim Wells County beside Texas and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Jim Wells County	Texas	United States
2024	28.3	13.3	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	24.0	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. Jim Wells County had 38,829 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Jim Wells County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Texas
A driver recorded as drinkingof 81 fatal crashes	15	81 fatal crashes	18.5%	25.5%
A speeding-related driverof 81 fatal crashes	18	81 fatal crashes	22.2%	32.1%
No restraint usedof 63 occupant deaths with restraint use known	30	63 occupant deathswith restraint use known	47.6%	45.1%
Pedestriansof 96 deaths	17	96 deaths	17.7%	17.6%
Bicyclistsof 96 deaths	1 or 2	96 deaths	1.0%	1.9%
Motorcyclistsof 96 deaths	5	96 deaths	5.2%	12.7%
On a rural roadof 79 fatal crashes with the condition reported	63	79 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	79.7%	38.1%
In the darkof 81 fatal crashes with the condition reported	47	81 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	58.0%	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.Jim Wells 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	3	1 or 2	1 or 2	6	12
Monday	1 or 2	1 or 2	0	0	1 or 2
Tuesday	1 or 2	3	1 or 2	6	12
Wednesday	4	7	5	6	22
Thursday	1 or 2	0	1 or 2	5	8
Friday	1 or 2	3	4	1 or 2	10
Saturday	1 or 2	1 or 2	6	5	15
All days	15	18	19	29	81

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.Jim Wells County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Texas
Interstate	0	0.0%	15.8%
Other freeways and expressways	1 or 2	1.3%	6.3%
Other principal arterial	35	43.8%	29.8%
Minor arterial	19	23.8%	20.3%
Major collector	17	21.3%	18.9%
Minor collector	1 or 2	2.5%	1.7%
Local	6	7.5%	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.Jim Wells County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	33
Dark, not lighted	39
Dark, lighted	6
Dawn	0
Dusk	1 or 2
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Jim Wells County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	57
Cloudy	10
Rain	10
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	4
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Jim Wells County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Jim Wells	In all of Texas
State Route 44	State highway	13	35
State Route 281	State highway	1 or 2	23
State Route 359	State highway	9	40
US Route 281	US highway	26	299

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.Jim Wells 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
Jim Wells County: 24.0

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 Jim Wells County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Brooks County	Texas	1 or 2	35	49.7
Duval County	Texas	1 or 2	42	40.0
Kleberg County	Texas	0	43	14.0
Live Oak County	Texas	8	70	58.9
Nueces County	Texas	48	445	12.5
San Patricio County	Texas	14	137	20.0

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 Jim Wells 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. Jim Wells County, Texas: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/tx/jim-wells/. 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.

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 Jim Wells in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 107 deaths in Jim Wells County from 2005 to 2014. It records 96 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Jim Wells in 2024?

The rate of Jim Wells County in 2024 was 28.3 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 Jim Wells had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 15 of 81 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 Jim Wells?

4 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 49 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.