Memorial Day 2024: fatal car accidents and deaths
Over Memorial Day weekend 2024, Saturday to Monday (May 25 to 27), 404 people died in 363 fatal car accidents on US roads, 13% more than the 357 on the same weekdays around it. It was the fourth most of the ten from 2015 to 2024. Memorial Day (the Monday) alone: 129 deaths, against 97 on a normal day.
2023 · Every year together, day by day and state by state.
Memorial Day 2024 road deaths in every state
California had the most, 44 deaths, then Texas with 44. In 45 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 44 | 39 | 8 |
| Texas | 44 | 36 | 11 |
| Florida | 33 | 31 | 10 |
| North Carolina | 20 | 18 | 3 |
| Illinois | 17 | 16 | 3 |
| Indiana | 17 | 11 | 0 |
| Ohio | 16 | 15 | 1 |
| Georgia | 14 | 14 | 2 |
| New York | 14 | 14 | 5 |
| Tennessee | 12 | 12 | 1 |
| Kentucky | 12 | 11 | 1 |
| Arizona | 12 | 9 | 1 |
| Colorado | 10 | 9 | 1 |
| Wisconsin | 10 | 7 | 0 |
| Alabama | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| Michigan | 9 | 9 | 1 |
| Missouri | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| Arkansas | 9 | 8 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania | 9 | 8 | 1 |
| Virginia | 9 | 8 | 0 |
| Louisiana | 6 | 6 | 3 |
| Oklahoma | 6 | 6 | 1 |
| South Carolina | 6 | 6 | 1 |
| Kansas | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| Mississippi | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| Maryland | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| Massachusetts | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| Nevada | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| New Jersey | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| Minnesota | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Maine | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Washington | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| West Virginia | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Connecticut | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Idaho | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Utah | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Alaska | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Delaware | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Hawaii | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Iowa | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Montana | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Nebraska | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| New Hampshire | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| New Mexico | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Oregon | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| District of Columbia | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| North Dakota | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| South Dakota | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vermont | 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 2024 fatal car accidents
- How many people died in car crashes on Memorial Day 2024?
- 404 people died in 363 fatal crashes on US roads over Memorial Day weekend 2024, Saturday to Monday (May 25 to 27), 13% more than the 357 on the same weekdays around it. Of them, 66 were pedestrians. Source: NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
- Which state had the most road deaths on Memorial Day 2024?
- California, with 44 deaths. In 45 of 51 states and DC at least one person died on the roads.
- Was Memorial Day 2024 deadlier than usual?
- 404 road deaths was the fourth 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 2024 numbers come from
Every fatal crash NHTSA dated from Saturday to Monday of Memorial Day weekend in 2024, in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (2024 Annual Report File; the 2024 figures are from the Annual Report File and may be revised when NHTSA releases the 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.