Thanksgiving fatal car accidents and deaths
Over the ten Thanksgiving weeks from 2015 to 2024, counted from Wednesday to Sunday of Thanksgiving week, 5,457 people died in 4,958 fatal car accidents on US roads, 3% fewer than on the same days of the week around it.
The week as a whole is close to normal, but the start of it is not: Thanksgiving Day had 11% more deaths than a normal Thursday, and the Wednesday before 13% more than a normal Wednesday.
Thanksgiving, day by day, against a normal day
Wednesday and Thursday are worse than a normal week; the long weekend after it is quieter than a normal weekend, which is why the week as a whole comes out slightly below normal. 33% of the deaths were in crashes with a driver at .08 blood alcohol or more, against 30% on normal days.
| Day | Deaths (total) | Fatal crashes (total) | Change on normal day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thanksgiving Day | 1,147 | 1,017 | +11.3% |
| The Wednesday before | 1,121 | 1,032 | +12.7% |
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count
States where Thanksgiving is deadlier than a normal day
In Connecticut, Thanksgiving had 30% more road deaths than the same days of the week around it, the largest rise of the 41 states with enough deaths to compare, ahead of New Jersey and Montana. In 26 states it had fewer deaths than a normal day, most of all Kentucky (-27%).
- Connecticut+30%
- New Jersey+17%
- Montana+15%
- Mississippi+13%
- Idaho+11%
- California+10%
- Alabama+8%
- Utah+7%
- Louisiana+5%
- Iowa+5%
- Michigan+4%
- Maryland+3%
- Kansas+2%
- Florida+1%
- North Carolina+1%
- New York-1%
- Missouri-1%
- Oregon-2%
- Washington-2%
- Wisconsin-3%
- Colorado-3%
- Nevada-3%
- Texas-4%
- Illinois-4%
- Georgia-4%
- West Virginia-4%
- Arizona-5%
- South Carolina-6%
- Maine-6%
- Pennsylvania-10%
- Indiana-10%
- Nebraska-12%
- Virginia-15%
- Tennessee-17%
- Oklahoma-17%
- Ohio-19%
- New Mexico-19%
- Arkansas-20%
- Minnesota-20%
- Massachusetts-26%
- Kentucky-27%
A state is compared from 20 deaths on Thanksgiving and as many on its normal days; the other 10 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
Thanksgiving road deaths in every state, 2015 to 2024
Mississippi has the most Thanksgiving road deaths per resident: 3.78 per million residents per Thanksgiving week, against 1.65 across the United States. Massachusetts has the fewest of the 47 states ranked. A rate is given from 10 deaths; the 4 states under that say "Not enough data".
| State | Per million residents | Deaths (total) | Fatal crashes (total) | Pedestrians (total) | Change on normal day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mississippi | 3.78 | 112 | 102 | 13 | +12.6% |
| 2 | Alabama | 2.99 | 149 | 132 | 15 | +7.8% |
| 3 | South Carolina | 2.81 | 145 | 137 | 23 | -5.8% |
| 4 | Montana | 2.68 | 29 | 25 | 5 | +15.1% |
| 5 | Louisiana | 2.59 | 120 | 102 | 32 | +5.4% |
| 6 | New Mexico | 2.37 | 50 | 45 | 13 | -19.0% |
| 7 | Florida | 2.36 | 511 | 466 | 99 | +1.0% |
| 7 | South Dakota | 2.36 | 21 | 18 | 2 | Not enough data |
| 9 | Missouri | 2.24 | 138 | 123 | 18 | -1.3% |
| 10 | Arizona | 2.13 | 154 | 140 | 27 | -5.4% |
| 11 | Arkansas | 2.12 | 64 | 57 | 4 | -19.6% |
| 12 | Georgia | 2.09 | 223 | 200 | 45 | -4.5% |
| 12 | North Carolina | 2.09 | 219 | 202 | 30 | +0.6% |
| 12 | Oklahoma | 2.09 | 83 | 79 | 19 | -17.2% |
| 15 | Kansas | 2.08 | 61 | 49 | 3 | +1.8% |
| 16 | Wyoming | 2.06 | 12 | 9 | 0 | Not enough data |
| 17 | Tennessee | 2.00 | 138 | 126 | 25 | -17.0% |
| 17 | West Virginia | 2.00 | 36 | 30 | 4 | -4.5% |
| 19 | Texas | 1.98 | 578 | 525 | 119 | -3.7% |
| 20 | Idaho | 1.92 | 35 | 31 | 4 | +11.1% |
| 21 | Kentucky | 1.78 | 80 | 77 | 11 | -27.0% |
| 22 | Oregon | 1.72 | 72 | 67 | 17 | -1.8% |
| 23 | Maine | 1.69 | 23 | 22 | 5 | -6.5% |
| 24 | California | 1.68 | 661 | 594 | 171 | +10.2% |
| 25 | Nevada | 1.66 | 51 | 45 | 13 | -3.2% |
| 26 | Indiana | 1.57 | 106 | 95 | 13 | -10.3% |
| 26 | Iowa | 1.57 | 50 | 45 | 4 | +4.6% |
| 28 | Nebraska | 1.49 | 29 | 27 | 5 | -12.4% |
| 29 | Michigan | 1.47 | 147 | 136 | 28 | +3.8% |
| 30 | Connecticut | 1.42 | 51 | 43 | 10 | +29.8% |
| 31 | Alaska | 1.36 | 10 | 9 | 3 | Not enough data |
| 32 | Colorado | 1.31 | 75 | 69 | 14 | -3.1% |
| 33 | Maryland | 1.29 | 79 | 77 | 18 | +2.9% |
| 34 | Wisconsin | 1.26 | 74 | 68 | 5 | -2.6% |
| 35 | Virginia | 1.25 | 107 | 102 | 15 | -14.7% |
| 36 | Utah | 1.23 | 40 | 30 | 4 | +7.0% |
| 37 | Illinois | 1.22 | 155 | 144 | 28 | -4.4% |
| 38 | Delaware | 1.21 | 12 | 11 | 3 | Not enough data |
| 39 | Hawaii | 1.19 | 17 | 17 | 8 | Not enough data |
| 40 | Pennsylvania | 1.15 | 148 | 137 | 20 | -9.6% |
| 40 | Ohio | 1.15 | 135 | 119 | 17 | -18.9% |
| 42 | New Jersey | 1.13 | 103 | 96 | 29 | +17.4% |
| 43 | Washington | 1.12 | 85 | 81 | 27 | -2.2% |
| 44 | New Hampshire | 0.87 | 12 | 12 | 1 | Not enough data |
| 45 | Minnesota | 0.78 | 44 | 39 | 5 | -20.1% |
| 46 | New York | 0.74 | 145 | 133 | 59 | -1.2% |
| 47 | Massachusetts | 0.59 | 41 | 39 | 9 | -25.6% |
| North Dakota | Not enough data | 9 | 9 | 0 | Not enough data | |
| Vermont | Not enough data | 8 | 7 | 0 | Not enough data | |
| Rhode Island | Not enough data | 6 | 6 | 3 | Not enough data | |
| District of Columbia | Not enough data | 4 | 4 | 2 | Not enough data |
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count
Download Thanksgiving road deaths in every state as CSV. Free to reuse with credit: “Fatal Crash Data, fatalcrashdata.com/thanksgiving-fatal-car-accidents/, from NHTSA FARS (2024 Annual Report File).”
Every Thanksgiving from 2015 to 2024
The deadliest was 2017 (November 22 to 26), with 607 road deaths; the least deadly 2019 (November 27 to December 1), with 478.
| Year | Dates | Deaths | Fatal crashes | Normal (average) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | November 27 to December 1 | 507 | 475 | 553 | -8.4% |
| 2023 | November 22 to 26 | 550 | 500 | 594 | -7.4% |
| 2022 | November 23 to 27 | 603 | 554 | 603 | 0.0% |
| 2021 | November 24 to 28 | 584 | 525 | 628 | -6.9% |
| 2020 | November 25 to 29 | 583 | 523 | 586 | -0.5% |
| 2019 | November 27 to December 1 | 478 | 435 | 525 | -8.9% |
| 2018 | November 21 to 25 | 492 | 454 | 499 | -1.3% |
| 2017 | November 22 to 26 | 607 | 540 | 534 | +13.7% |
| 2016 | November 23 to 27 | 548 | 502 | 559 | -2.0% |
| 2015 | November 25 to 29 | 505 | 450 | 529 | -4.5% |
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count
Questions about Thanksgiving fatal car accidents
- How many car accidents happen on Thanksgiving?
- NHTSA's file counts only crashes in which someone died: 4,958 over the ten Thanksgiving weeks from 2015 to 2024 (Wednesday to Sunday of Thanksgiving week), about 496 a year, which killed 5,457 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 Thanksgiving more dangerous to drive than a normal day?
- Counted from Wednesday to Sunday of Thanksgiving week, 3% fewer deaths than on the same days of the week in the weeks around it. Thanksgiving Day: +11.3%; The Wednesday before: +12.7%.
- Which state has the most road deaths per resident on Thanksgiving?
- Mississippi, with 3.78 road deaths per million residents per holiday, against 1.65 across the United States. Massachusetts has the lowest of the 47 states with enough deaths to rank, at 0.59.
- Were more people killed on Thanksgiving in some years than others?
- The deadliest of the ten Thanksgiving weeks from 2015 to 2024 was 2017 (November 22 to 26), with 607 deaths; the least deadly 2019 (November 27 to December 1), with 478.
How the Thanksgiving figures are counted
Every fatal crash NHTSA dated from Wednesday to Sunday of Thanksgiving week, 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 Thanksgiving's own weeks: 4 or 6 comparison blocks a year. 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.