Fatal RoadsSearch

Edition: FARS 2024, annual fileNHTSA released it on Release dates

Delaware fatal crash statistics by county

This record uses FARS 2024. Read counts, rates and file versions before comparing periods.

Counties by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 126 deaths in 121 fatal crashes in Delaware in 2024.

In 2024 the rate is 12.0 deaths for each 100,000 residents in Delaware and 11.5 in the United States.

In 2024 the rate is 1.27 deaths for each 100 million vehicle-miles in Delaware and 1.19 in the United States.

By deaths for each 100,000 residents in 2024, Delaware was number 24 of 51, the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Deaths in Delaware fell by 6.7% from 2023 to 2024. In the United States they fell by 4.3%.

From 2015 to 2024, pedestrians were 22.6% of the deaths in Delaware and 17.1% in the United States.

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 .

This page rests on the FARS 2024 annual file. NHTSA released it on . NHTSA can revise the counts in the final file. Release dates

Figure 1.Deaths in Delaware by year, 2015 to 2024

Table 2 has the numbers. Go to the table

Since the last update: no figure of this state has a change on record.

County map

Figure 2.Counties of Delaware by deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year, 2015 to 2024
Kent County: 15.1 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearNew Castle County: 11.0 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearSussex County: 16.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year

Deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year

  • Fewer than 100 counties
  • 10 to 14.91 county
  • 15 to 19.92 counties
  • 20 to 29.90 counties
  • 30 or more0 counties

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.

In words: 0 counties have a rate of fewer than 10; 1 county has a rate of 10 to 14.9; 2 counties have a rate of 15 to 19.9; 0 counties have a rate of 20 to 29.9; 0 counties have a rate of 30 or more. Table 1 has the rate of each county.

Counties

Table 1.Delaware: deaths and rate of each county, in name order
CountyResidentsDeaths, 2024Deaths, 2015 to 2024For each 100,000 residents in a year
Kent County192,8763027515.1
New Castle County586,0146162311.0
Sussex County271,2333538916.2

Note: the rate is for the ten years 2015 to 2024. Residents: Census Bureau estimates, vintage 2025. A count of 1 or 2 is written "1 or 2", and no rate is given for it.

Download: the deaths and fatal crashes of each county by year, 1975 to 2024 (CSV)

Each year

Figure 3.Deaths in Delaware by year, 1975 to 2024

Tallest column: 162 (2022)2024: 126

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

Table 2.Delaware: deaths, fatal crashes and rates by year, 1975 to 2024
YearDeathsFatal crashesFor each 100,000 residentsFor each 100 million vehicle-miles
202412612112.01.27
202313512813.01.39
202216214315.91.64
202113613213.51.34
202011610411.71.39
201913212213.51.29
201811110411.51.09
201711911212.41.14
201611911612.51.17
201513112713.91.32
201412410913.3n/a
2013999410.7n/a
201211410812.5n/a
2011999410.9n/a
20101019211.2n/a
200911610113.0n/a
200812110513.7n/a
200711710513.4n/a
200614813317.2n/a
200513311715.7n/a
200413412516.1n/a
200314213317.4n/a
200212411415.4n/a
200113611717.1n/a
200012311615.6n/a
199910091n/an/a
1998115106n/an/a
1997143120n/an/a
1996116105n/an/a
1995121112n/an/a
1994112105n/an/a
1993110103n/an/a
1992140118n/an/a
199110290n/an/a
1990138121n/an/a
1989116108n/an/a
1988160143n/an/a
1987146131n/an/a
1986136119n/an/a
198510494n/an/a
1984130118n/an/a
198311098n/an/a
1982122115n/an/a
1981111103n/an/a
1980153135n/an/a
1979118109n/an/a
1978125112n/an/a
1977119103n/an/a
1976116104n/an/a
1975122105n/an/a

Note: each year is a link to the page of that year. The rate for residents starts in 2000. The rate for vehicle-miles starts in 2015.

Two rates

One rate divides the deaths by the residents. The other rate divides the deaths by the miles that vehicles travel in the state.

Table 3.Delaware beside the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents and for each 100 million vehicle-miles
RatePeriodDelawareUnited States
For each 100,000 residents202412.011.5
For each 100,000 residents2015 to 2024, in a year13.011.8
For each 100 million vehicle-miles20241.271.19
For each 100 million vehicle-miles2015 to 20241.301.23

Residents: Census Bureau estimates, vintage 2025. Delaware had 1,050,123 residents in 2024.

Vehicle-miles: Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics, table VM-2. Delaware had 9,937 million vehicle-miles in 2024. Table VM-2 of 2024

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Delaware: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
FactorCountCounted amongShareShare in the United States
A driver recorded as drinkingof 1,209 fatal crashes3021,209 fatal crashes26.3%
A speeding-related driverof 1,209 fatal crashes3481,209 fatal crashes27.2%
No restraint usedof 715 occupant deaths with restraint use known339715 occupant deathswith restraint use known49.0%
Pedestriansof 1,287 deaths2911,287 deaths17.1%
Bicyclistsof 1,287 deaths441,287 deaths2.4%
Motorcyclistsof 1,287 deaths1751,287 deaths14.5%
On a rural roadof 1,205 fatal crashes with the condition reported4881,205 fatal crasheswith the condition reported42.7%
In the darkof 1,207 fatal crashes with the condition reported6521,207 fatal crasheswith the condition reported49.2%

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 .

Weekday, time and road class

Table 5.Delaware: fatal crashes by weekday and time of day, 2015 to 2024
WeekdayMidnight to 6 a.m.6 a.m. to noonNoon to 6 p.m.6 p.m. to midnightAll
Sunday63203845166
Monday26265349154
Tuesday18383754147
Wednesday27344462167
Thursday20265548149
Friday32325193208
Saturday47205792216
All days2331963354431,207

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.Delaware: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function classFatal crashesShareShare in the United States
Interstate867.1%12.6%
Other freeways and expressways615.1%4.4%
Other principal arterial39432.7%29.8%
Minor arterial20316.8%22.1%
Major collector25421.1%15.5%
Minor collector615.1%3.4%
Local14612.1%12.2%
Not reported4n/an/a

Note: the classes are those of the Federal Highway Administration. The shares are of the crashes with a reported class. Road function classes

Routes

11 signed routes in Delaware have a page. A route page needs 20 or more fatal crashes from 2015 to 2024.

All routes in Delaware

Interstate routes

Official channels

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Delaware fatal crash statistics by county. https://fatalroads.com/state/delaware/. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, FARS 2024 annual file. Data to .

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.

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. Vehicle-miles: Federal Highway Administration, table VM-2. Map: Census Bureau cartographic boundary file, 2021 edition. Data to .

How the figures are made. Data sources and licences. Corrections. All states by year (CSV).

Questions

How many deaths did FARS record in Delaware in ten years?

FARS records 1,287 deaths in 1,209 fatal crashes in Delaware from 2015 to 2024. It records 1,172 deaths from 2005 to 2014.

What part of the deaths in the United States was in Delaware?

Delaware had 126 of the 39,254 deaths in the United States in 2024. That is 0.3 percent.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 302 of 1,209 fatal crashes from 2015 to 2024. It records a speeding-related driver in 348 of them.

How many pages does Delaware have?

Delaware has 3 county pages, 11 route pages and one page for each year from 1975 to 2024.