Christmas fatal car accidents and deaths
Over the ten Christmases from 2015 to 2024, counted from December 24 to 26, 2,944 people died in 2,644 fatal car accidents on US roads, 3% fewer than on the same days of the week around it.
Christmas Day itself had 8% fewer deaths than on a normal day: one of the few days of the year with fewer road deaths than usual. Christmas Eve had 5% more than on a normal day.
Christmas, day by day, against a normal day
Christmas Eve is a little worse than a normal day; Christmas Day and the day after are quieter. 34% of the deaths were in crashes with a driver at .08 blood alcohol or more, against 29% on normal days.
| Day | Deaths (total) | Fatal crashes (total) | Change on normal day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas Day | 947 | 846 | -8.4% |
| Christmas Eve | 1,061 | 963 | +5.4% |
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count
States where Christmas is deadlier than a normal day
In New Jersey, Christmas had 32% more road deaths than the same days of the week around it, the largest rise of the 32 states with enough deaths to compare, ahead of Oregon and Virginia. In 17 states it had fewer deaths than a normal day, most of all Washington (-31%).
- New Jersey+32%
- Oregon+31%
- Virginia+18%
- Maryland+18%
- Colorado+17%
- Illinois+10%
- Georgia+10%
- Alabama+9%
- Ohio+8%
- Kansas+7%
- Oklahoma+3%
- North Carolina+2%
- Wisconsin+2%
- Louisiana+1%
- Massachusetts0%
- Arkansas-1%
- Tennessee-3%
- Florida-3%
- California-5%
- Kentucky-7%
- Michigan-9%
- Nevada-10%
- South Carolina-11%
- Indiana-11%
- Texas-13%
- Pennsylvania-13%
- Missouri-14%
- New York-14%
- Mississippi-18%
- New Mexico-19%
- Arizona-25%
- Washington-31%
A state is compared from 20 deaths on Christmas and as many on its normal days; the other 19 have too few. With counts this size, a change of 20% can be a handful of deaths.
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count
Christmas road deaths in every state, 2015 to 2024
Mississippi has the most Christmas road deaths per resident: 1.75 per million residents per Christmas, against 0.89 across the United States. New York has the fewest of the 43 states ranked. A rate is given from 10 deaths; the 8 states under that say "Not enough data".
| State | Per million residents | Deaths (total) | Fatal crashes (total) | Pedestrians (total) | Change on normal day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mississippi | 1.75 | 52 | 46 | 8 | -18.0% |
| 2 | Alabama | 1.63 | 81 | 71 | 11 | +9.1% |
| 3 | South Carolina | 1.45 | 75 | 68 | 10 | -10.7% |
| 4 | New Mexico | 1.33 | 28 | 26 | 5 | -18.8% |
| 5 | Louisiana | 1.32 | 61 | 56 | 13 | +1.4% |
| 6 | Arkansas | 1.29 | 39 | 36 | 4 | -1.3% |
| 7 | Florida | 1.27 | 276 | 243 | 55 | -3.4% |
| 8 | Georgia | 1.26 | 134 | 122 | 22 | +9.6% |
| 8 | Kansas | 1.26 | 37 | 31 | 2 | +6.5% |
| 10 | Kentucky | 1.25 | 56 | 48 | 4 | -6.7% |
| 11 | Oregon | 1.22 | 51 | 44 | 7 | +30.6% |
| 12 | Tennessee | 1.21 | 83 | 71 | 17 | -2.7% |
| 12 | Oklahoma | 1.21 | 48 | 40 | 4 | +3.4% |
| 12 | Delaware | 1.21 | 12 | 10 | 4 | Not enough data |
| 15 | Connecticut | 1.11 | 40 | 36 | 8 | Not enough data |
| 15 | West Virginia | 1.11 | 20 | 18 | 0 | Not enough data |
| 17 | Maine | 1.10 | 15 | 13 | 2 | Not enough data |
| 18 | North Carolina | 1.09 | 114 | 108 | 21 | +2.2% |
| 19 | Missouri | 1.06 | 65 | 58 | 7 | -13.6% |
| 20 | Texas | 1.04 | 303 | 267 | 54 | -13.4% |
| 21 | Arizona | 1.01 | 73 | 66 | 17 | -25.1% |
| 22 | Nevada | 0.97 | 30 | 24 | 4 | -10.1% |
| 23 | Montana | 0.92 | 10 | 9 | 1 | Not enough data |
| 24 | Colorado | 0.85 | 49 | 44 | 6 | +16.8% |
| 25 | Virginia | 0.84 | 72 | 67 | 14 | +17.5% |
| 26 | California | 0.83 | 327 | 305 | 96 | -4.8% |
| 27 | Maryland | 0.82 | 50 | 47 | 13 | +17.5% |
| 28 | Indiana | 0.81 | 55 | 50 | 5 | -11.2% |
| 29 | Hawaii | 0.77 | 11 | 11 | 2 | Not enough data |
| 30 | Ohio | 0.72 | 85 | 69 | 14 | +8.4% |
| 31 | Illinois | 0.71 | 91 | 80 | 22 | +9.8% |
| 32 | Michigan | 0.69 | 69 | 63 | 8 | -8.7% |
| 32 | Iowa | 0.69 | 22 | 21 | 2 | Not enough data |
| 34 | Nebraska | 0.67 | 13 | 12 | 1 | Not enough data |
| 35 | New Jersey | 0.65 | 59 | 50 | 12 | +32.4% |
| 35 | Utah | 0.65 | 21 | 20 | 4 | Not enough data |
| 37 | Wisconsin | 0.63 | 37 | 35 | 3 | +1.7% |
| 38 | Pennsylvania | 0.57 | 73 | 66 | 19 | -13.4% |
| 39 | Idaho | 0.55 | 10 | 10 | 1 | Not enough data |
| 40 | Washington | 0.49 | 37 | 36 | 11 | -31.5% |
| 41 | Minnesota | 0.46 | 26 | 23 | 5 | Not enough data |
| 42 | Massachusetts | 0.42 | 29 | 26 | 7 | 0.0% |
| 43 | New York | 0.33 | 66 | 62 | 22 | -13.6% |
| South Dakota | Not enough data | 9 | 8 | 1 | Not enough data | |
| Rhode Island | Not enough data | 6 | 5 | 0 | Not enough data | |
| Wyoming | Not enough data | 6 | 5 | 0 | Not enough data | |
| District of Columbia | Not enough data | 5 | 5 | 2 | Not enough data | |
| Alaska | Not enough data | 4 | 4 | 1 | Not enough data | |
| New Hampshire | Not enough data | 4 | 4 | 2 | Not enough data | |
| North Dakota | Not enough data | 3 | 3 | 0 | Not enough data | |
| Vermont | Not enough data | 2 | 2 | 0 | Not enough data |
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count
Download Christmas road deaths in every state as CSV. Free to reuse with credit: “Fatal Crash Data, fatalcrashdata.com/christmas-fatal-car-accidents/, from NHTSA FARS (2024 Annual Report File).”
Every Christmas from 2015 to 2024
The deadliest was 2021 (Saturday, December 25), with 337 road deaths; the least deadly 2017 (Monday, December 25), with 270. 2024 is counted but not compared: the weeks around it are not all in the file yet, or hold another holiday.
| Year | Weekday | Deaths | Fatal crashes | Normal (average) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Wednesday, December 25 | 288 | 256 | No data | No data |
| 2023 | Monday, December 25 | 304 | 285 | 282 | +7.7% |
| 2022 | Sunday, December 25 | 296 | 270 | 333 | -11.1% |
| 2021 | Saturday, December 25 | 337 | 307 | 372 | -9.4% |
| 2020 | Friday, December 25 | 295 | 261 | 333 | -11.5% |
| 2019 | Wednesday, December 25 | 272 | 238 | 261 | +4.2% |
| 2018 | Tuesday, December 25 | 271 | 240 | 259 | +4.6% |
| 2017 | Monday, December 25 | 270 | 241 | 275 | -1.7% |
| 2016 | Sunday, December 25 | 303 | 275 | 293 | +3.5% |
| 2015 | Friday, December 25 | 308 | 271 | 317 | -2.8% |
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count
Questions about Christmas fatal car accidents
- How many car accidents happen on Christmas?
- NHTSA's file counts only crashes in which someone died: 2,644 over the ten Christmases from 2015 to 2024 (December 24 to 26), about 264 a year, which killed 2,944 people. Crashes with injuries or damage only are not in it; those totals come from state police and transportation departments, and no national count of them exists by day. Source: NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
- Is Christmas more dangerous to drive than a normal day?
- Counted from December 24 to 26, 3% fewer deaths than on the same days of the week in the weeks around it. Christmas Day: -8.4%; Christmas Eve: +5.4%.
- Which state has the most road deaths per resident on Christmas?
- Mississippi, with 1.75 road deaths per million residents per holiday, against 0.89 across the United States. New York has the lowest of the 43 states with enough deaths to rank, at 0.33.
- Were more people killed on Christmas in some years than others?
- The deadliest of the ten Christmases from 2015 to 2024 was 2021 (Saturday, December 25), with 337 deaths; the least deadly 2017 (Monday, December 25), with 270.
How the Christmas figures are counted
Every fatal crash NHTSA dated from December 24 to 26, in the years 2015 to 2024. The normal day it is set against is the same days of the week one, two and three weeks before and after, averaged for each year, so the weekday and the season match. Where one side of that would touch another holiday or run past the years the file holds, both sides are left out, so the average stays centred on Christmas's own weeks: 4 comparison blocks a year. 2024 is counted but not compared: the weeks around it are not all in the file yet, or hold another holiday. Deaths within 30 days of the crash count on the day of the crash. Drunk driving deaths are NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure: a driver at .08 or more, with missing tests filled in by NHTSA. Rates per million residents use Census Bureau population estimates summed over the years. The full method.