La Crosse County, Wisconsin: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Wisconsin by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 7 deaths in 7 fatal crashes in La Crosse County in 2024.

FARS records 68 deaths in 66 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 5.7 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Wisconsin in the same years is 10.2.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, La Crosse County was number 31 of 72 counties of Wisconsin.

Deaths in La Crosse County fell by 15.0% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (80) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (68).

In the counties of Wisconsin the deaths fell by 5.1% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 42.4% of the fatal crashes in La Crosse County with a known setting were rural, against 62.5% in Wisconsin.

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 La Crosse 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.La Crosse County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	7	7	3
2023	5	5	3
2022	6	6	3
2021	9	9	1 or 2
2020	4	4	1 or 2
2019	5	5	1 or 2
2018	9	8	3
2017	12	11	5
2016	7	7	1 or 2
2015	4	4	1 or 2
2015 to 2024	68	66	25

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 18 (1980)2024: 7

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

Table 2.La Crosse County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	7	7
2023	5	5
2022	6	6
2021	9	9
2020	4	4
2019	5	5
2018	9	8
2017	12	11
2016	7	7
2015	4	4
2014	8	6
2013	6	6
2012	9	8
2011	17	14
2010	6	6
2009	6	6
2008	3	3
2007	6	6
2006	13	12
2005	6	6
2004	10	8
2003	3	3
2002	10	10
2001	6	6
2000	3	3
1999	5	5
1998	3	3
1997	9	7
1996	9	8
1995	6	6
1994	6	6
1993	5	5
1992	10	9
1991	8	7
1990	12	12
1989	6	5
1988	15	11
1987	9	9
1986	8	7
1985	16	14
1984	15	11
1983	6	5
1982	10	6
1981	16	13
1980	18	16
1979	15	15
1978	9	9
1977	14	13
1976	12	12
1975	8	8

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.La Crosse County beside Wisconsin and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	La Crosse County	Wisconsin	United States
2024	5.8	10.0	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	5.7	10.2	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. La Crosse County had 120,963 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.La Crosse County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Wisconsin
A driver recorded as drinkingof 66 fatal crashes	25	66 fatal crashes	37.9%	33.4%
A speeding-related driverof 66 fatal crashes	21	66 fatal crashes	31.8%	31.0%
No restraint usedof 43 occupant deaths with restraint use known	18	43 occupant deathswith restraint use known	41.9%	49.1%
Pedestriansof 68 deaths	3	68 deaths	4.4%	9.5%
Bicyclistsof 68 deaths	0	68 deaths	0.0%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 68 deaths	12	68 deaths	17.6%	15.8%
On a rural roadof 66 fatal crashes with the condition reported	28	66 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	42.4%	62.5%
In the darkof 65 fatal crashes with the condition reported	24	65 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	36.9%	41.7%

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.La Crosse 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	1 or 2	1 or 2	6	5	14
Monday	0	0	3	4	7
Tuesday	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	6
Wednesday	1 or 2	1 or 2	5	1 or 2	9
Thursday	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	6
Friday	1 or 2	1 or 2	4	1 or 2	10
Saturday	3	1 or 2	6	1 or 2	12
All days	11	10	27	16	64

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.La Crosse County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Wisconsin
Interstate	6	9.1%	7.6%
Other freeways and expressways	5	7.6%	2.3%
Other principal arterial	18	27.3%	29.4%
Minor arterial	7	10.6%	22.7%
Major collector	16	24.2%	17.2%
Minor collector	5	7.6%	6.2%
Local	9	13.6%	14.6%
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.La Crosse County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	38
Dark, not lighted	18
Dark, lighted	5
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	1 or 2
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.La Crosse County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	40
Cloudy	20
Rain	3
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	0
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in La Crosse County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In La Crosse	In all of Wisconsin
Interstate 90	Interstate	6	46
State Route 16	State highway	4	35
State Route 35	State highway	1 or 2	84
US Route 14	US highway	7	59
US Route 53	US highway	10	49

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 Wisconsin

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.La Crosse County on the county map of Wisconsin

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

Fewer than 1018 counties
10 to 14.922 counties
15 to 19.916 counties
20 to 29.914 counties
30 or more2 counties
La Crosse County: 5.7

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 Wisconsin

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with La Crosse County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Houston County	Minnesota	1 or 2	24	12.8
Winona County	Minnesota	7	42	8.3
Jackson County	Wisconsin	6	45	21.7
Monroe County	Wisconsin	10	70	15.2
Trempealeau County	Wisconsin	5	32	10.6
Vernon County	Wisconsin	5	40	13.0

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Wisconsin have a population nearest to that of La Crosse 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.
Governors Highway Safety Association: State Highway Safety OfficesThe list of the highway safety offices of the states.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. La Crosse County, Wisconsin: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/wi/la-crosse/. 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.

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 La Crosse in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 80 deaths in La Crosse County from 2005 to 2014. It records 68 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of La Crosse in 2024?

The rate of La Crosse County in 2024 was 5.8 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Wisconsin was 10.0. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 25 of 66 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 La Crosse?

5 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 29 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.