Halloween 2020: fatal car accidents and deaths
On Halloween 2020, a Saturday, 161 people died in 147 fatal crashes on US roads, 13% more than the 143 on the same weekday in the three weeks before and after. Of them, 25 were pedestrians, none of them a child. It was the most of the ten Halloweens from 2015 to 2024.
2019 · 2021 · Ten Halloweens together, with the evening hour by hour.
Halloween 2020 road deaths in every state
Texas had the most, 17 deaths, then Florida with 16. In 40 of 51 states and DC at least one person died; a 0 is a day with no road death recorded. One day's counts are too small to rank states by; ten Halloweens together rank them per resident.
| State | Deaths | Fatal crashes | Pedestrians |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 17 | 15 | 2 |
| Florida | 16 | 15 | 4 |
| California | 13 | 12 | 1 |
| Ohio | 12 | 8 | 2 |
| Tennessee | 9 | 8 | 1 |
| Georgia | 8 | 8 | 2 |
| Indiana | 7 | 6 | 2 |
| South Carolina | 7 | 5 | 1 |
| North Carolina | 6 | 6 | 1 |
| Arizona | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| Kentucky | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Washington | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Illinois | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| New Jersey | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Mississippi | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Arkansas | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Missouri | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Nebraska | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Oklahoma | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Oregon | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Virginia | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Nevada | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Colorado | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Utah | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| West Virginia | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| New York | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Alabama | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Connecticut | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| District of Columbia | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Kansas | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Louisiana | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Maryland | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Massachusetts | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Michigan | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Minnesota | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| New Hampshire | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| North Dakota | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Wisconsin | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Wyoming | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Alaska | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Delaware | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hawaii | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Idaho | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Iowa | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Maine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Montana | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| New Mexico | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| South Dakota | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vermont | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count
Questions about Halloween 2020 fatal car accidents
- How many people died in car crashes on Halloween 2020?
- 161 people died in 147 fatal crashes on US roads on October 31, 2020, a Saturday. That is 13% more than the 143 on the same weekday in the three weeks before and after. Of them, 25 were pedestrians, none of them a child. Source: NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
- Which state had the most road deaths on Halloween 2020?
- Texas, with 17 deaths. In 40 of 51 states and DC at least one person died on the roads that day.
- Was Halloween 2020 deadlier than usual?
- 161 road deaths was the most of the ten Halloweens from 2015 to 2024; the ten-year average is 116.
Where the Halloween 2020 numbers come from
Every fatal crash NHTSA dated October 31, 2020, in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, final file. The normal day is the average of the same weekday in the three weeks before and after: October 10, 17 and 24 and November 7, 14 and 21, 2020. Children are pedestrians aged 14 and under. The full method.