Thanksgiving 2020: fatal car accidents and deaths
Over Thanksgiving week 2020, Wednesday to Sunday (November 25 to 29), 583 people died in 523 fatal car accidents on US roads, 1% fewer than the 586 on the same weekdays around it. It was the fourth most of the ten from 2015 to 2024. Thanksgiving Day alone: 100 deaths, against 104 on a normal day. The Wednesday before alone: 143 deaths, against 107 on a normal day.
2019 · 2021 · Every year together, day by day and state by state.
Thanksgiving 2020 road deaths in every state
Texas had the most, 83 deaths, then Florida with 77. 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 | 83 | 69 | 19 |
| Florida | 77 | 66 | 20 |
| California | 64 | 57 | 15 |
| Georgia | 28 | 25 | 6 |
| North Carolina | 22 | 17 | 3 |
| New York | 20 | 18 | 6 |
| Illinois | 19 | 16 | 3 |
| Michigan | 18 | 17 | 3 |
| Missouri | 16 | 15 | 2 |
| South Carolina | 15 | 15 | 2 |
| Alabama | 15 | 14 | 3 |
| Arizona | 14 | 14 | 2 |
| Pennsylvania | 12 | 12 | 0 |
| Mississippi | 12 | 10 | 2 |
| Virginia | 12 | 10 | 2 |
| Ohio | 11 | 11 | 1 |
| Maryland | 10 | 10 | 3 |
| Louisiana | 10 | 9 | 2 |
| Wisconsin | 10 | 9 | 0 |
| Connecticut | 10 | 8 | 1 |
| Kentucky | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Indiana | 8 | 7 | 1 |
| New Jersey | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 7 | 7 | 2 |
| West Virginia | 6 | 6 | 1 |
| Arkansas | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Colorado | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| Massachusetts | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Nevada | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| New Mexico | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| Oklahoma | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Oregon | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| Kansas | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| Montana | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| Washington | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Maine | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Idaho | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Iowa | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Nebraska | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Delaware | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Alaska | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Hawaii | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Minnesota | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| New Hampshire | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| South Dakota | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Utah | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| District of Columbia | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| North Dakota | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 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 Thanksgiving 2020 fatal car accidents
- How many people died in car crashes on Thanksgiving 2020?
- 583 people died in 523 fatal crashes on US roads over Thanksgiving week 2020, Wednesday to Sunday (November 25 to 29), 1% fewer than the 586 on the same weekdays around it. Of them, 114 were pedestrians. Source: NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
- Which state had the most road deaths on Thanksgiving 2020?
- Texas, with 83 deaths. In 46 of 51 states and DC at least one person died on the roads.
- Was Thanksgiving 2020 deadlier than usual?
- 583 road deaths was the fourth most of the ten from 2015 to 2024; the average is 546. The deadliest was 2017 and the least deadly 2019.
Where the Thanksgiving 2020 numbers come from
Every fatal crash NHTSA dated from Wednesday to Sunday of Thanksgiving week in 2020, 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.