Thanksgiving 2022: fatal car accidents and deaths
Over Thanksgiving week 2022, Wednesday to Sunday (November 23 to 27), 603 people died in 554 fatal car accidents on US roads, about the same as the 603 on a normal stretch. It was the second most of the ten from 2015 to 2024. Thanksgiving Day alone: 132 deaths, against 115 on a normal day. The Wednesday before alone: 130 deaths, against 108 on a normal day.
2021 · 2023 · Every year together, day by day and state by state.
Thanksgiving 2022 road deaths in every state
California had the most, 75 deaths, then Florida with 68. In 47 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 | 75 | 69 | 22 |
| Florida | 68 | 65 | 13 |
| Texas | 55 | 53 | 11 |
| North Carolina | 28 | 26 | 4 |
| Georgia | 25 | 21 | 3 |
| Arizona | 21 | 18 | 4 |
| Virginia | 19 | 19 | 4 |
| Ohio | 19 | 18 | 4 |
| Tennessee | 17 | 17 | 5 |
| Illinois | 17 | 15 | 5 |
| Michigan | 17 | 15 | 2 |
| New York | 14 | 14 | 4 |
| Pennsylvania | 13 | 13 | 5 |
| South Carolina | 13 | 13 | 1 |
| Mississippi | 13 | 12 | 1 |
| Alabama | 12 | 11 | 0 |
| New Jersey | 12 | 11 | 4 |
| Oklahoma | 12 | 11 | 3 |
| Louisiana | 11 | 11 | 4 |
| Missouri | 11 | 8 | 3 |
| Indiana | 10 | 7 | 1 |
| Colorado | 9 | 9 | 1 |
| Arkansas | 9 | 8 | 1 |
| Kansas | 9 | 7 | 0 |
| Kentucky | 8 | 8 | 1 |
| Connecticut | 8 | 6 | 3 |
| Minnesota | 8 | 6 | 0 |
| West Virginia | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| Iowa | 7 | 6 | 0 |
| Maryland | 7 | 6 | 2 |
| Wisconsin | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| Nevada | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| Washington | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Massachusetts | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| District of Columbia | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Hawaii | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Idaho | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Maine | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Oregon | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Nebraska | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| New Hampshire | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| New Mexico | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| South Dakota | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Alaska | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Delaware | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Utah | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Vermont | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Montana | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| North Dakota | 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 Thanksgiving 2022 fatal car accidents
- How many people died in car crashes on Thanksgiving 2022?
- 603 people died in 554 fatal crashes on US roads over Thanksgiving week 2022, Wednesday to Sunday (November 23 to 27), about the same as the 603 on a normal stretch. Of them, 127 were pedestrians. Source: NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
- Which state had the most road deaths on Thanksgiving 2022?
- California, with 75 deaths. In 47 of 51 states and DC at least one person died on the roads.
- Was Thanksgiving 2022 deadlier than usual?
- 603 road deaths was the second most of the ten from 2015 to 2024; the average is 546. The deadliest was 2017 and the least deadly 2019.
Where the Thanksgiving 2022 numbers come from
Every fatal crash NHTSA dated from Wednesday to Sunday of Thanksgiving week in 2022, 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.