Smith County, Texas: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Texas by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 53 deaths in 46 fatal crashes in Smith County in 2024.

FARS records 562 deaths in 492 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 23.9 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, Smith County was number 10 of 254 counties of Texas.

Deaths in Smith County rose by 31.9% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (426) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (562).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 50.7% of the fatal crashes in Smith 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 Smith 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.Smith County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	53	46	10
2023	72	64	11
2022	54	46	11
2021	63	59	7
2020	57	49	5
2019	40	34	9
2018	58	51	8
2017	47	43	8
2016	57	48	8
2015	61	52	8
2015 to 2024	562	492	85

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 72 (2023)2024: 53

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

Table 2.Smith County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	53	46
2023	72	64
2022	54	46
2021	63	59
2020	57	49
2019	40	34
2018	58	51
2017	47	43
2016	57	48
2015	61	52
2014	43	39
2013	29	28
2012	41	39
2011	44	39
2010	34	30
2009	45	42
2008	41	38
2007	41	36
2006	53	48
2005	55	46
2004	64	53
2003	70	61
2002	62	57
2001	53	49
2000	51	44
1999	38	33
1998	59	52
1997	56	50
1996	63	55
1995	55	42
1994	50	43
1993	48	40
1992	27	25
1991	57	39
1990	39	32
1989	36	29
1988	36	35
1987	33	28
1986	41	36
1985	37	34
1984	48	44
1983	41	31
1982	30	28
1981	52	45
1980	42	35
1979	35	33
1978	39	32
1977	41	35
1976	30	25
1975	21	19

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.Smith County beside Texas and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Smith County	Texas	United States
2024	21.2	13.3	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	23.9	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. Smith County had 249,529 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Smith County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Texas
A driver recorded as drinkingof 492 fatal crashes	85	492 fatal crashes	17.3%	25.5%
A speeding-related driverof 492 fatal crashes	146	492 fatal crashes	29.7%	32.1%
No restraint usedof 376 occupant deaths with restraint use known	144	376 occupant deathswith restraint use known	38.3%	45.1%
Pedestriansof 562 deaths	78	562 deaths	13.9%	17.6%
Bicyclistsof 562 deaths	6	562 deaths	1.1%	1.9%
Motorcyclistsof 562 deaths	70	562 deaths	12.5%	12.7%
On a rural roadof 491 fatal crashes with the condition reported	249	491 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	50.7%	38.1%
In the darkof 492 fatal crashes with the condition reported	252	492 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	51.2%	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.Smith 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	25	17	24	26	92
Monday	11	16	19	12	58
Tuesday	5	16	21	18	60
Wednesday	12	9	26	21	68
Thursday	12	12	16	24	64
Friday	12	14	20	38	84
Saturday	15	5	19	27	66
All days	92	89	145	166	492

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.Smith County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Texas
Interstate	46	9.4%	15.8%
Other freeways and expressways	10	2.0%	6.3%
Other principal arterial	204	41.5%	29.8%
Minor arterial	82	16.7%	20.3%
Major collector	105	21.4%	18.9%
Minor collector	15	3.1%	1.7%
Local	29	5.9%	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.Smith County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	227
Dark, not lighted	211
Dark, lighted	39
Dawn	6
Dusk	7
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Smith County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	330
Cloudy	112
Rain	46
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	3
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Smith County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Smith	In all of Texas
Interstate 20	Interstate	45	852
State Route 31	State highway	48	111
State Route 49	State highway	9	32
State Route 64	State highway	34	78
State Route 110	State highway	38	43
State Route 155	State highway	35	71
State Route 323	State highway	27	29
US Route 69	US highway	28	271
US Route 80	US highway	3	133
US Route 271	US highway	18	102

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.Smith 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
Smith County: 23.9

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 Smith 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
Henderson County	Texas	26	185	22.3
Rusk County	Texas	17	173	32.4
Upshur County	Texas	16	113	27.0
Van Zandt County	Texas	12	174	29.5
Wood County	Texas	8	110	24.0

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

FARS records 426 deaths in Smith County from 2005 to 2014. It records 562 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Smith in 2024?

The rate of Smith County in 2024 was 21.2 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 Smith had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 85 of 492 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 Smith?

10 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 285 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.