Rusk County, Texas: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Texas by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 17 deaths in 17 fatal crashes in Rusk County in 2024.

FARS records 173 deaths in 155 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 32.4 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, Rusk County was number 46 of 254 counties of Texas.

Deaths in Rusk County fell by 4.9% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (182) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (173).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 85.2% of the fatal crashes in Rusk 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 Rusk 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.Rusk County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	17	17	1 or 2
2023	19	17	1 or 2
2022	17	13	4
2021	18	17	5
2020	17	16	5
2019	12	11	1 or 2
2018	22	19	1 or 2
2017	17	16	0
2016	19	15	3
2015	15	14	3
2015 to 2024	173	155	27

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 32 (1997)2024: 17

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

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

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.Rusk County beside Texas and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Rusk County	Texas	United States
2024	31.1	13.3	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	32.4	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. Rusk County had 54,630 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Rusk County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Texas
A driver recorded as drinkingof 155 fatal crashes	27	155 fatal crashes	17.4%	25.5%
A speeding-related driverof 155 fatal crashes	51	155 fatal crashes	32.9%	32.1%
No restraint usedof 135 occupant deaths with restraint use known	57	135 occupant deathswith restraint use known	42.2%	45.1%
Pedestriansof 173 deaths	10	173 deaths	5.8%	17.6%
Bicyclistsof 173 deaths	0	173 deaths	0.0%	1.9%
Motorcyclistsof 173 deaths	14	173 deaths	8.1%	12.7%
On a rural roadof 155 fatal crashes with the condition reported	132	155 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	85.2%	38.1%
In the darkof 155 fatal crashes with the condition reported	75	155 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	48.4%	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.Rusk 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	11	4	3	7	25
Monday	0	6	6	7	19
Tuesday	3	5	5	3	16
Wednesday	1 or 2	1 or 2	8	7	17
Thursday	3	3	8	3	17
Friday	5	12	7	9	33
Saturday	9	1 or 2	6	11	28
All days	32	33	43	47	155

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.Rusk 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	0	0.0%	6.3%
Other principal arterial	51	32.9%	29.8%
Minor arterial	50	32.3%	20.3%
Major collector	37	23.9%	18.9%
Minor collector	1 or 2	1.3%	1.7%
Local	15	9.7%	7.1%
Not reported	0	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.Rusk County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	74
Dark, not lighted	67
Dark, lighted	8
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	4
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Rusk County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	112
Cloudy	27
Rain	13
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	3
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Rusk County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Rusk	In all of Texas
State Route 43	State highway	7	24
State Route 64	State highway	15	78
State Route 315	State highway	7	21
State Route 323	State highway	1 or 2	29
US Route 59	US highway	1 or 2	432
US Route 79	US highway	19	154
US Route 84	US highway	5	254
US Route 259	US highway	30	97

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.Rusk 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
Rusk County: 32.4

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 Rusk County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Cherokee County	Texas	10	126	24.2
Gregg County	Texas	25	262	21.0
Harrison County	Texas	15	212	31.0
Nacogdoches County	Texas	11	164	25.1
Panola County	Texas	7	115	50.0
Shelby County	Texas	8	80	32.3
Smith County	Texas	53	562	23.9

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 Rusk 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. Rusk County, Texas: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/tx/rusk/. 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 Rusk in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 182 deaths in Rusk County from 2005 to 2014. It records 173 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Rusk in 2024?

The rate of Rusk County in 2024 was 31.1 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 Rusk had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 27 of 155 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 Rusk?

8 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 87 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.