Nueces County, Texas: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Texas by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 48 deaths in 46 fatal crashes in Nueces County in 2024.

FARS records 445 deaths in 415 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, Nueces County was number 16 of 254 counties of Texas.

Deaths in Nueces County rose by 19.0% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (374) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (445).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 19.3% of the fatal crashes in Nueces 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 Nueces 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.Nueces County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	48	46	22
2023	45	42	12
2022	43	38	10
2021	47	47	13
2020	39	36	10
2019	46	43	13
2018	39	35	3
2017	51	48	10
2016	45	42	8
2015	42	38	12
2015 to 2024	445	415	113

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 73 (1979)2024: 48

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

Table 2.Nueces County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	48	46
2023	45	42
2022	43	38
2021	47	47
2020	39	36
2019	46	43
2018	39	35
2017	51	48
2016	45	42
2015	42	38
2014	37	36
2013	32	29
2012	38	36
2011	47	45
2010	32	27
2009	33	33
2008	29	27
2007	30	26
2006	42	37
2005	54	46
2004	43	41
2003	42	39
2002	32	29
2001	37	35
2000	48	41
1999	37	34
1998	43	39
1997	41	40
1996	50	46
1995	32	30
1994	39	35
1993	53	47
1992	39	34
1991	37	34
1990	41	37
1989	44	35
1988	52	47
1987	53	48
1986	55	43
1985	42	41
1984	47	45
1983	50	48
1982	69	62
1981	72	62
1980	58	53
1979	73	65
1978	65	61
1977	68	60
1976	47	39
1975	59	49

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.Nueces County beside Texas and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Nueces County	Texas	United States
2024	13.6	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. Nueces County had 352,925 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Nueces County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Texas
A driver recorded as drinkingof 415 fatal crashes	113	415 fatal crashes	27.2%	25.5%
A speeding-related driverof 415 fatal crashes	131	415 fatal crashes	31.6%	32.1%
No restraint usedof 200 occupant deaths with restraint use known	81	200 occupant deathswith restraint use known	40.5%	45.1%
Pedestriansof 445 deaths	120	445 deaths	27.0%	17.6%
Bicyclistsof 445 deaths	18	445 deaths	4.0%	1.9%
Motorcyclistsof 445 deaths	79	445 deaths	17.8%	12.7%
On a rural roadof 414 fatal crashes with the condition reported	80	414 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	19.3%	38.1%
In the darkof 415 fatal crashes with the condition reported	286	415 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	68.9%	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.Nueces 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	29	1 or 2	9	28	68
Monday	15	11	6	24	56
Tuesday	5	9	13	15	42
Wednesday	10	8	12	22	52
Thursday	10	8	10	25	53
Friday	18	7	11	34	70
Saturday	31	8	7	28	74
All days	118	53	68	176	415

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.Nueces County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Texas
Interstate	45	10.9%	15.8%
Other freeways and expressways	75	18.1%	6.3%
Other principal arterial	108	26.1%	29.8%
Minor arterial	98	23.7%	20.3%
Major collector	68	16.4%	18.9%
Minor collector	4	1.0%	1.7%
Local	16	3.9%	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.Nueces County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	121
Dark, not lighted	100
Dark, lighted	183
Dawn	4
Dusk	4
Dark, lighting unknown	3
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Nueces County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	306
Cloudy	76
Rain	21
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 Nueces County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Nueces	In all of Texas
Interstate 10	Interstate	1 or 2	994
Interstate 37	Interstate	35	142
Interstate 69	Interstate	1 or 2	222
Interstate 69E	Interstate	1 or 2	21
State Route 3	State highway	1 or 2	39
State Route 24	State highway	1 or 2	23
State Route 44	State highway	11	35
State Route 286	State highway	16	21
State Route 358	State highway	45	45
State Route 361	State highway	14	21
US Route 77	US highway	6	201
US Route 181	US highway	13	79

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.Nueces 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
Nueces 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 Nueces County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Aransas County	Texas	6	51	20.7
Jim Wells County	Texas	11	96	24.0
Kleberg County	Texas	0	43	14.0
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 Nueces 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. Nueces County, Texas: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/tx/nueces/. 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 Nueces in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 374 deaths in Nueces County from 2005 to 2014. It records 445 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Nueces in 2024?

The rate of Nueces County in 2024 was 13.6 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 Nueces had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 113 of 415 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 Nueces?

12 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 147 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.