How many people die on Illinois roads?

In 2024, NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) recorded 1,085 fatal crashes in Illinois, in which 1,177 people died. Over the whole period the file covers, 1975 to 2024, it records 70,939 deaths.

NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) exported 2026-09-11

Fatal crashes in Illinois by year

Fatal crashes in Illinois1975–2024

NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS)

1975 1,877 fatal crashes at the peak 2024

All 50 years as a table
YearFatal crashesDeaths
2024 1,085 1,177
2023 1,143 1,241
2022 1,147 1,268
2021 1,210 1,334
2020 1,086 1,193
2019 938 1,009
2018 951 1,035
2017 998 1,090
2016 1,000 1,078
2015 914 998
2014 845 924
2013 895 991
2012 886 956
2011 835 918
2010 858 927
2009 832 911
2008 950 1,043
2007 1,126 1,248
2006 1,136 1,254
2005 1,233 1,363
2004 1,224 1,355
2003 1,308 1,454
2002 1,273 1,420
2001 1,274 1,414
2000 1,274 1,418
1999 1,295 1,456
1998 1,241 1,393
1997 1,261 1,397
1996 1,312 1,477
1995 1,402 1,586
1994 1,395 1,554
1993 1,250 1,392
1992 1,249 1,384
1991 1,289 1,448
1990 1,430 1,589
1989 1,545 1,748
1988 1,666 1,837
1987 1,483 1,654
1986 1,449 1,596
1985 1,364 1,534
1984 1,385 1,547
1983 1,379 1,526
1982 1,475 1,651
1981 1,642 1,821
1980 1,776 1,975
1979 1,777 2,017
1978 1,877 2,140
1977 1,873 2,126
1976 1,781 2,031
1975 1,823 2,041

1975 opened at 1,823 fatal crashes and 2024 closed at 1,085. A year the source holds no rows for is left blank rather than drawn through.

The counties with the most

Illinois counties with the most fatal crashes2024

NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS)

Counted over the whole period the export covers. A county with more road on it records more crashes; this is not a safety ranking.

County Fatal crashes Deaths
Cook 17031 333 362
Dupage 17043 54 56
Will 17197 54 58
Lake 17097 48 50
St. Clair 17163 40 45
Madison 17119 37 39
Kane 17089 29 30
LaSalle 17099 27 29
Winnebago 17201 26 27
McHenry 17111 24 27
Sangamon 17167 20 21
Kankakee 17091 19 23
Peoria 17143 16 20
Tazewell 17179 16 16
Jackson 17077 13 13

Which roads carry the deaths

Fatal crashes by road class2024

NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS)

Share is of the crashes this source assigned a road class to, not of every crash in the state.

Road class Fatal crashes Deaths Share
State Highway 291 326 27%
Municipal 289 305 27%
County 175 187 16%
Interstate 151 163 14%
U.S. Highway 114 127 11%
Township 63 67 6%
Not Signed 1 1 0%
Trafficway Not in State Inventory 1 1 0%

Where these numbers come from

These figures come from NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). They are exported into this repository by export_fars_state.py, reviewed, and committed, so the page is static and the number on it cannot change between a reader loading it and citing it.

The export covers 1975 to 2024 and was generated on 2026-09-11. Every year in that span carries rows.

Counties are keyed by FIPS code rather than by name, because a county name is not unique across the country and thirty states have a Washington County. The code is printed beside each name so a row can be joined to any other federal file.

You are welcome to quote these figures. Please cite NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) as the source, which is where they come from, and link this page if the compilation was useful.

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