Sauk County, Wisconsin: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Wisconsin by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 7 deaths in 7 fatal crashes in Sauk County in 2024.

FARS records 107 deaths in 101 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 16.5 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, Sauk County was number 15 of 72 counties of Wisconsin.

Deaths in Sauk County rose by 4.9% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (102) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (107).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 80.8% of the fatal crashes in Sauk 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 Sauk 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.Sauk County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	7	7	1 or 2
2023	10	10	4
2022	14	13	5
2021	15	12	5
2020	9	9	4
2019	9	8	1 or 2
2018	12	11	3
2017	11	11	1 or 2
2016	11	11	4
2015	9	9	3
2015 to 2024	107	101	33

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 20 (1998)2024: 7

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

Table 2.Sauk County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	7	7
2023	10	10
2022	14	13
2021	15	12
2020	9	9
2019	9	8
2018	12	11
2017	11	11
2016	11	11
2015	9	9
2014	13	13
2013	5	5
2012	9	9
2011	4	4
2010	12	11
2009	7	7
2008	13	13
2007	16	15
2006	11	11
2005	12	8
2004	11	10
2003	5	5
2002	16	16
2001	15	14
2000	9	8
1999	14	14
1998	20	14
1997	7	7
1996	7	7
1995	8	6
1994	10	8
1993	14	12
1992	5	4
1991	18	15
1990	7	7
1989	13	10
1988	16	12
1987	11	10
1986	10	10
1985	12	11
1984	14	11
1983	9	8
1982	11	7
1981	9	9
1980	11	9
1979	12	12
1978	16	10
1977	8	8
1976	11	11
1975	15	13

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.Sauk County beside Wisconsin and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Sauk County	Wisconsin	United States
2024	10.5	10.0	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	16.5	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. Sauk County had 66,553 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Sauk County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Wisconsin
A driver recorded as drinkingof 101 fatal crashes	33	101 fatal crashes	32.7%	33.4%
A speeding-related driverof 101 fatal crashes	24	101 fatal crashes	23.8%	31.0%
No restraint usedof 70 occupant deaths with restraint use known	30	70 occupant deathswith restraint use known	42.9%	49.1%
Pedestriansof 107 deaths	8	107 deaths	7.5%	9.5%
Bicyclistsof 107 deaths	3	107 deaths	2.8%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 107 deaths	18	107 deaths	16.8%	15.8%
On a rural roadof 99 fatal crashes with the condition reported	80	99 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	80.8%	62.5%
In the darkof 99 fatal crashes with the condition reported	30	99 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	30.3%	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.Sauk 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	3	3	7	1 or 2	15
Monday	0	1 or 2	3	4	8
Tuesday	1 or 2	8	4	4	17
Wednesday	0	6	5	1 or 2	13
Thursday	0	0	8	3	11
Friday	1 or 2	3	6	3	13
Saturday	7	1 or 2	8	3	19
All days	12	22	41	21	96

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.Sauk County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Wisconsin
Interstate	15	15.2%	7.6%
Other freeways and expressways	1 or 2	1.0%	2.3%
Other principal arterial	15	15.2%	29.4%
Minor arterial	21	21.2%	22.7%
Major collector	29	29.3%	17.2%
Minor collector	4	4.0%	6.2%
Local	14	14.1%	14.6%
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.Sauk County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	65
Dark, not lighted	24
Dark, lighted	6
Dawn	0
Dusk	4
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Sauk County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	64
Cloudy	29
Rain	4
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	3
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 Sauk County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Sauk	In all of Wisconsin
Interstate 90	Interstate	15	46
State Route 23	State highway	8	37
State Route 33	State highway	9	46
State Route 60	State highway	5	25
US Route 12	US highway	9	108
US Route 14	US highway	1 or 2	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 Wisconsin

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Sauk 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
Sauk County: 16.5

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 Wisconsin

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Sauk County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Columbia County	Wisconsin	12	114	19.8
Dane County	Wisconsin	38	352	6.3
Iowa County	Wisconsin	1 or 2	40	16.8
Juneau County	Wisconsin	6	65	24.4
Richland County	Wisconsin	3	25	14.4
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 Sauk 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. Sauk County, Wisconsin: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/wi/sauk/. 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.

Embed this card on your site

Copy this code into your page. The card shows the figures above with their source. A line under the card links to this page.

<iframe src="https://fatalroads.com/embed/county/wi/sauk/" title="Fatal crashes in Sauk County, Wisconsin" width="100%" height="300" style="border:0;max-width:640px" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p style="margin:4px 0 0;font-size:13px"><a href="https://fatalroads.com/county/wi/sauk/">Fatal crashes in Sauk County, Wisconsin</a>, from fatalroads.com</p>

How embedding works. It is free. Keep the link in the card and the link line under it.

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 Sauk in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 102 deaths in Sauk County from 2005 to 2014. It records 107 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Sauk in 2024?

The rate of Sauk County in 2024 was 10.5 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 Sauk had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 33 of 101 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 Sauk?

6 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 48 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.