Memorial Day 2021: fatal car accidents and deaths
Over Memorial Day weekend 2021, Saturday to Monday (May 29 to 31), 413 people died in 356 fatal car accidents on US roads, 2% more than the 407 on the same weekdays around it. It was the third most of the ten from 2015 to 2024. Memorial Day (the Monday) alone: 132 deaths, against 104 on a normal day.
2020 · 2022 · Every year together, day by day and state by state.
Memorial Day 2021 road deaths in every state
Texas had the most, 44 deaths, then Florida with 42. In 46 of 51 states and DC at least one person died; a 0 is a real count of none. One year's counts are too small to rank states by; every year together ranks them per resident.
| State | Deaths | Fatal crashes | Pedestrians |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 44 | 36 | 4 |
| Florida | 42 | 32 | 10 |
| California | 38 | 35 | 5 |
| Georgia | 19 | 16 | 4 |
| Illinois | 14 | 11 | 5 |
| Michigan | 12 | 12 | 2 |
| Ohio | 12 | 11 | 0 |
| Indiana | 12 | 10 | 1 |
| New York | 11 | 11 | 4 |
| North Carolina | 11 | 11 | 0 |
| Arizona | 11 | 7 | 1 |
| Oregon | 11 | 7 | 1 |
| Arkansas | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| Virginia | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| Idaho | 10 | 6 | 0 |
| Missouri | 9 | 9 | 1 |
| Mississippi | 9 | 8 | 0 |
| South Carolina | 9 | 8 | 1 |
| Kansas | 9 | 7 | 0 |
| Alabama | 9 | 6 | 0 |
| Louisiana | 8 | 8 | 1 |
| Tennessee | 8 | 7 | 1 |
| Minnesota | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| Kentucky | 7 | 6 | 0 |
| Pennsylvania | 7 | 6 | 0 |
| Washington | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| Wisconsin | 7 | 6 | 0 |
| Massachusetts | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Nevada | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| Colorado | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| Oklahoma | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Delaware | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Hawaii | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Maryland | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| West Virginia | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| North Dakota | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Connecticut | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Iowa | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Maine | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Nebraska | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| New Jersey | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Utah | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Montana | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| New Mexico | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| South Dakota | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Vermont | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Alaska | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| District of Columbia | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| New Hampshire | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wyoming | 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 Memorial Day 2021 fatal car accidents
- How many people died in car crashes on Memorial Day 2021?
- 413 people died in 356 fatal crashes on US roads over Memorial Day weekend 2021, Saturday to Monday (May 29 to 31), 2% more than the 407 on the same weekdays around it. Of them, 49 were pedestrians. Source: NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
- Which state had the most road deaths on Memorial Day 2021?
- Texas, with 44 deaths. In 46 of 51 states and DC at least one person died on the roads.
- Was Memorial Day 2021 deadlier than usual?
- 413 road deaths was the third most of the ten from 2015 to 2024; the average is 397. The deadliest was 2022 and the least deadly 2017.
Where the Memorial Day 2021 numbers come from
Every fatal crash NHTSA dated from Saturday to Monday of Memorial Day weekend in 2021, in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, final file. The normal day is the same weekdays in the weeks before and after, averaged (6 of them this year). How the holiday is counted.