Thanksgiving 2019: fatal car accidents and deaths
Over Thanksgiving week 2019, Wednesday to Sunday (November 27 to December 1), 478 people died in 435 fatal car accidents on US roads, 9% fewer than the 525 on the same weekdays around it. It was the fewest of the ten from 2015 to 2024. Thanksgiving Day alone: 95 deaths, against 90 on a normal day. The Wednesday before alone: 105 deaths, against 96 on a normal day.
2018 · 2020 · Every year together, day by day and state by state.
Thanksgiving 2019 road deaths in every state
California had the most, 54 deaths, then Florida with 51. In 44 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 | 54 | 53 | 16 |
| Florida | 51 | 44 | 8 |
| Texas | 45 | 43 | 13 |
| South Carolina | 22 | 19 | 6 |
| Tennessee | 22 | 19 | 2 |
| North Carolina | 19 | 18 | 2 |
| Ohio | 18 | 15 | 2 |
| Georgia | 17 | 17 | 7 |
| Alabama | 16 | 15 | 3 |
| Pennsylvania | 16 | 14 | 2 |
| New York | 14 | 12 | 7 |
| Illinois | 13 | 12 | 3 |
| Arizona | 12 | 12 | 3 |
| Missouri | 12 | 11 | 3 |
| Mississippi | 11 | 10 | 1 |
| Michigan | 10 | 9 | 2 |
| Virginia | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Louisiana | 8 | 7 | 2 |
| Oklahoma | 8 | 7 | 3 |
| Washington | 8 | 7 | 4 |
| Arkansas | 8 | 6 | 1 |
| Maryland | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| New Jersey | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| Iowa | 7 | 6 | 0 |
| Oregon | 7 | 5 | 0 |
| Kentucky | 6 | 6 | 2 |
| Wisconsin | 6 | 6 | 2 |
| Nevada | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| Connecticut | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Utah | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| Kansas | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Indiana | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| West Virginia | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Massachusetts | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Colorado | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Hawaii | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Minnesota | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Montana | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Delaware | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Nebraska | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| New Mexico | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| North Dakota | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| South Dakota | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Wyoming | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Alaska | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| District of Columbia | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Idaho | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Maine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| New Hampshire | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 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 Thanksgiving 2019 fatal car accidents
- How many people died in car crashes on Thanksgiving 2019?
- 478 people died in 435 fatal crashes on US roads over Thanksgiving week 2019, Wednesday to Sunday (November 27 to December 1), 9% fewer than the 525 on the same weekdays around it. Of them, 108 were pedestrians. Source: NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
- Which state had the most road deaths on Thanksgiving 2019?
- California, with 54 deaths. In 44 of 51 states and DC at least one person died on the roads.
- Was Thanksgiving 2019 deadlier than usual?
- 478 road deaths was the fewest of the ten from 2015 to 2024; the average is 546.
Where the Thanksgiving 2019 numbers come from
Every fatal crash NHTSA dated from Wednesday to Sunday of Thanksgiving week in 2019, 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.