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Edition: FARS 2024, annual fileNHTSA released it on Release dates

Karnes County, Texas: fatal crash statistics

FARS records 8 deaths in 6 fatal crashes in Karnes County in 2024.

FARS records 61 deaths in 54 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 40.1 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, Karnes County was number 126 of 254 counties of Texas.

Deaths in Karnes County fell by 4.7% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (64) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (61).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 98.1% of the fatal crashes in Karnes 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 .

This page rests on the FARS 2024 annual file. NHTSA released it on . NHTSA can revise the counts in the final file. Release dates

Figure 1.Deaths in Karnes 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.Karnes County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
YearDeathsFatal crashesCrashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024864
20231091 or 2
2022960
2021330
2020330
2019661 or 2
2018441 or 2
2017430
2016551 or 2
2015991 or 2
2015 to 2024615410
Each year from 1975
Figure 2.Deaths in Karnes County by year, 1975 to 2024

Tallest column: 13 (2012)2024: 8

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

Table 2.Karnes County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
YearDeathsFatal crashes
202486
2023109
202296
202133
202033
201966
201844
201743
201655
201599
201477
2013117
20121310
201154
20101 or 21 or 2
200933
20081 or 21 or 2
200797
200685
200563
200444
200374
200233
200133
200044
1999119
19981 or 21 or 2
199744
199633
19951 or 21 or 2
199431 or 2
19931 or 21 or 2
199296
199133
199066
19891 or 21 or 2
198800
198755
1986106
198564
198454
198388
198255
198175
198099
197996
197876
197777
197675
197555

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.Karnes County beside Texas and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
PeriodKarnes CountyTexasUnited States
202453.313.311.5
2015 to 2024, in a year40.113.611.8

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. Karnes County had 15,020 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Karnes County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
FactorCountCounted amongShareShare in Texas
A driver recorded as drinkingof 54 fatal crashes1054 fatal crashes25.5%
A speeding-related driverof 54 fatal crashes1854 fatal crashes32.1%
No restraint usedof 56 occupant deaths with restraint use known2256 occupant deathswith restraint use known45.1%
Pedestriansof 61 deaths1 or 261 deaths17.6%
Bicyclistsof 61 deaths061 deaths1.9%
Motorcyclistsof 61 deaths1 or 261 deaths12.7%
On a rural roadof 54 fatal crashes with the condition reported5354 fatal crasheswith the condition reported38.1%
In the darkof 54 fatal crashes with the condition reported2454 fatal crasheswith the condition reported55.9%

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 .

Weekday, time and road class

Table 5.Karnes County: fatal crashes by weekday and time of day, 2015 to 2024
WeekdayMidnight to 6 a.m.6 a.m. to noonNoon to 6 p.m.6 p.m. to midnightAll
Sunday01 or 21 or 235
Monday0441 or 29
Tuesday051 or 2310
Wednesday1 or 201 or 21 or 24
Thursday1 or 21 or 21 or 21 or 27
Friday1 or 231 or 2310
Saturday1 or 21 or 241 or 29
All days617161554

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.Karnes County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function classFatal crashesShareShare in Texas
Interstate00.0%15.8%
Other freeways and expressways00.0%6.3%
Other principal arterial1731.5%29.8%
Minor arterial1120.4%20.3%
Major collector1935.2%18.9%
Minor collector35.6%1.7%
Local47.4%7.1%
Not reported0n/an/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.Karnes County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light conditionFatal crashes
Daylight28
Dark, not lighted19
Dark, lighted5
Dawn1 or 2
Dusk0
Dark, lighting unknown0
Other or unknown0
Table 8.Karnes County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
WeatherFatal crashes
Clear24
Cloudy19
Rain9
Snow, sleet or freezing rain0
Fog, smog or smoke1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow0
Other or not reported0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Karnes County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
RouteTypeIn KarnesIn all of Texas
State Route 72State highway1020
State Route 80State highway1243
State Route 123State highway350
US Route 181US highway1579

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.Karnes 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
  • Karnes County: 40.1

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 Karnes County
CountyStateDeaths, 2024Deaths, 2015 to 2024For each 100,000 residents in a year
Atascosa CountyTexas910520.9
Bee CountyTexas105015.6
DeWitt CountyTexas1 or 24622.8
Goliad CountyTexas1 or 22838.1
Gonzales CountyTexas710149.8
Live Oak CountyTexas87058.9
Wilson CountyTexas57013.7

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 Karnes County. The list is for navigation and is in name order. The number is the deaths from 2015 to 2024.

Official channels

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Karnes County, Texas: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/tx/karnes/. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, FARS 2024 annual file. Data to .

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 . 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 Karnes in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 64 deaths in Karnes County from 2005 to 2014. It records 61 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Karnes in 2024?

The rate of Karnes County in 2024 was 53.3 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 Karnes had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 10 of 54 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 Karnes?

4 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 40 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.