Thanksgiving 2024: fatal car accidents and deaths
Over Thanksgiving week 2024, Wednesday to Sunday (November 27 to December 1), 507 people died in 475 fatal car accidents on US roads, 8% fewer than the 553 on the same weekdays around it. It was the seventh most of the ten from 2015 to 2024. Thanksgiving Day alone: 108 deaths, against 100 on a normal day. The Wednesday before alone: 112 deaths, against 100 on a normal day.
2023 · Every year together, day by day and state by state.
Thanksgiving 2024 road deaths in every state
California had the most, 62 deaths, then Texas with 45. In 48 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 | 62 | 57 | 13 |
| Texas | 45 | 41 | 7 |
| Florida | 43 | 41 | 10 |
| North Carolina | 22 | 22 | 7 |
| Georgia | 20 | 19 | 6 |
| Michigan | 17 | 13 | 1 |
| Alabama | 16 | 16 | 2 |
| New York | 16 | 16 | 12 |
| Illinois | 16 | 15 | 4 |
| New Jersey | 15 | 15 | 8 |
| Missouri | 13 | 12 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania | 12 | 12 | 2 |
| Indiana | 12 | 10 | 0 |
| Oregon | 12 | 10 | 0 |
| Arizona | 11 | 11 | 5 |
| Ohio | 11 | 10 | 2 |
| South Carolina | 11 | 10 | 0 |
| Colorado | 10 | 10 | 2 |
| Mississippi | 10 | 10 | 4 |
| Washington | 10 | 10 | 2 |
| Louisiana | 10 | 9 | 4 |
| Minnesota | 10 | 8 | 2 |
| Oklahoma | 9 | 9 | 1 |
| Tennessee | 9 | 9 | 4 |
| Virginia | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Arkansas | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| Maryland | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| Nevada | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| Idaho | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| Wisconsin | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| Iowa | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| Massachusetts | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Nebraska | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| New Mexico | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| West Virginia | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Hawaii | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Kansas | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Kentucky | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Alaska | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Connecticut | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Montana | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| South Dakota | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Utah | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| District of Columbia | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Maine | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| North Dakota | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Vermont | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Delaware | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| New Hampshire | 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 2024 fatal car accidents
- How many people died in car crashes on Thanksgiving 2024?
- 507 people died in 475 fatal crashes on US roads over Thanksgiving week 2024, Wednesday to Sunday (November 27 to December 1), 8% fewer than the 553 on the same weekdays around it. Of them, 117 were pedestrians. Source: NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
- Which state had the most road deaths on Thanksgiving 2024?
- California, with 62 deaths. In 48 of 51 states and DC at least one person died on the roads.
- Was Thanksgiving 2024 deadlier than usual?
- 507 road deaths was the seventh most of the ten from 2015 to 2024; the average is 546. The deadliest was 2017 and the least deadly 2019.
Where the Thanksgiving 2024 numbers come from
Every fatal crash NHTSA dated from Wednesday to Sunday of Thanksgiving week 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.