Fairfax County, Virginia: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Virginia by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 57 deaths in 52 fatal crashes in Fairfax County in 2024.

FARS records 447 deaths in 424 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 3.9 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Virginia in the same years is 10.1.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Fairfax County was number 1 of 133 counties of Virginia.

Deaths in Fairfax County fell by 0.4% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (449) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (447).

In the counties of Virginia the deaths rose by 5.1% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 4.3% of the fatal crashes in Fairfax County with a known setting were rural, against 55.4% in Virginia.

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 Fairfax 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.Fairfax County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	57	52	11
2023	42	40	16
2022	62	58	10
2021	52	49	13
2020	39	38	13
2019	49	46	12
2018	47	45	13
2017	34	33	9
2016	34	33	5
2015	31	30	4
2015 to 2024	447	424	106

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 83 (1986)2024: 57

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

Table 2.Fairfax County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	57	52
2023	42	40
2022	62	58
2021	52	49
2020	39	38
2019	49	46
2018	47	45
2017	34	33
2016	34	33
2015	31	30
2014	33	31
2013	40	36
2012	47	43
2011	45	41
2010	35	34
2009	37	34
2008	29	29
2007	54	49
2006	67	63
2005	62	62
2004	64	61
2003	63	56
2002	64	57
2001	54	51
2000	70	63
1999	49	47
1998	46	44
1997	60	60
1996	43	40
1995	48	47
1994	65	63
1993	65	60
1992	43	39
1991	47	44
1990	69	61
1989	66	59
1988	69	63
1987	44	41
1986	83	73
1985	56	53
1984	69	64
1983	57	52
1982	59	58
1981	80	77
1980	60	54
1979	65	59
1978	62	57
1977	71	62
1976	70	58
1975	52	46

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.Fairfax County beside Virginia and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Fairfax County	Virginia	United States
2024	4.9	10.4	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	3.9	10.1	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. Fairfax County had 1,159,806 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Fairfax County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Virginia
A driver recorded as drinkingof 424 fatal crashes	106	424 fatal crashes	25.0%	29.4%
A speeding-related driverof 424 fatal crashes	150	424 fatal crashes	35.4%	28.8%
No restraint usedof 217 occupant deaths with restraint use known	87	217 occupant deathswith restraint use known	40.1%	54.3%
Pedestriansof 447 deaths	159	447 deaths	35.6%	13.9%
Bicyclistsof 447 deaths	5	447 deaths	1.1%	1.6%
Motorcyclistsof 447 deaths	61	447 deaths	13.6%	12.3%
On a rural roadof 421 fatal crashes with the condition reported	18	421 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	4.3%	55.4%
In the darkof 424 fatal crashes with the condition reported	256	424 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	60.4%	45.4%

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.Fairfax 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	26	6	11	18	61
Monday	13	13	14	18	58
Tuesday	10	11	11	16	48
Wednesday	4	14	12	24	54
Thursday	22	11	8	27	68
Friday	17	16	14	17	64
Saturday	24	11	15	21	71
All days	116	82	85	141	424

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.Fairfax County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Virginia
Interstate	85	20.2%	14.8%
Other freeways and expressways	25	5.9%	2.6%
Other principal arterial	125	29.7%	26.4%
Minor arterial	129	30.6%	24.4%
Major collector	31	7.4%	18.4%
Minor collector	13	3.1%	3.5%
Local	13	3.1%	10.0%
Not reported	3	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.Fairfax County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	148
Dark, not lighted	102
Dark, lighted	153
Dawn	11
Dusk	9
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Fairfax County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	5
Cloudy	25
Rain	49
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	4
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	339

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Fairfax County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Fairfax	In all of Virginia
Interstate 66	Interstate	21	62
Interstate 95	Interstate	22	290
Interstate 495	Interstate	38	44
State Route 7	State highway	17	51
State Route 28	State highway	10	33
US Route 1	US highway	35	203
US Route 29	US highway	14	193
US Route 50	US highway	14	59

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 Virginia

Adjacent counties

These lists are for navigation. They are in name order.

Figure 3.Fairfax County on the county map of Virginia

Deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year, 2015 to 2024

Fewer than 1039 counties
10 to 14.921 counties
15 to 19.925 counties
20 to 29.927 counties
30 or more15 counties
Count of 1 or 2, no rate shown6 counties
Fairfax County: 3.9

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 Virginia

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Fairfax County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Charles County	Maryland	37	246	14.9
Montgomery County	Maryland	47	425	4.0
Prince George's County	Maryland	101	1,090	11.7
Alexandria city	Virginia	6	49	3.1
Arlington County	Virginia	1 or 2	45	1.9
Fairfax city	Virginia	0	12	5.0
Falls Church city	Virginia	1 or 2	1 or 2	n/a
Loudoun County	Virginia	14	133	3.2
Prince William County	Virginia	30	238	5.0

Source of the list: Census Bureau county adjacency file, 2026 edition.

Counties of similar population

These counties of Virginia have a population nearest to that of Fairfax 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.
Virginia DMV Highway Safety OfficeThe highway safety office of Virginia.

These links go to the sites of the agencies. They were checked on 2 Oct 2026.

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Fairfax County, Virginia: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/va/fairfax/. 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 Fairfax in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 449 deaths in Fairfax County from 2005 to 2014. It records 447 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Fairfax in 2024?

The rate of Fairfax County in 2024 was 4.9 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Virginia was 10.4. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

How many fatal crashes in Fairfax had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 106 of 424 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 Fairfax?

8 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 171 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.