Drunk driving deaths by state
Vermont has the highest share: 41% of its road deaths in 2024 were in crashes with a driver at .08 blood alcohol or more. Across the United States, 11,904 people died in such crashes, 30% of all road deaths, by NHTSA's own measure.
All 50 states and the District of Columbia, ranked by the share of road deaths in crashes with a driver at .08 or more. Click a state for its roads, counties and the rest of its figures.
Drunk driving deaths in every state, 2024
Shares range from 19% in Alaska to 41% in Vermont; the median state is at 29%.
| State | Alcohol-impaired deaths | Share of deaths 2024 | Share, 2015 to 2024 | Drinking driver, share of crashes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vermont | 24 | 41% | 30% | 45% |
| 2 | Texas | 1,676 | 40% | 40% | 25% |
| 3 | South Carolina | 417 | 40% | 34% | 32% |
| 4 | Rhode Island | 19 | 37% | 39% | 33% |
| 5 | Montana | 75 | 37% | 38% | 44% |
| 5 | Ohio | 424 | 37% | 33% | 29% |
| 7 | Oklahoma | 225 | 35% | 26% | 25% |
| 8 | Kansas | 117 | 35% | 25% | 35% |
| 9 | Arizona | 419 | 34% | 31% | 22% |
| 10 | California | 1,311 | 34% | 30% | 27% |
| 10 | Connecticut | 105 | 34% | 38% | 32% |
| 12 | Hawaii | 34 | 34% | 34% | 30% |
| 13 | Iowa | 119 | 34% | 31% | 23% |
| 14 | Oregon | 178 | 33% | 34% | 29% |
| 14 | Wisconsin | 197 | 33% | 32% | 33% |
| 16 | Nevada | 138 | 33% | 30% | 26% |
| 17 | Washington | 238 | 33% | 33% | 27% |
| 18 | Wyoming | 34 | 32% | 31% | 28% |
| 19 | West Virginia | 78 | 30% | 24% | 30% |
| 20 | Idaho | 72 | 30% | 29% | 34% |
| 21 | Nebraska | 74 | 30% | 28% | 34% |
| 21 | North Dakota | 27 | 30% | 36% | 31% |
| 23 | Colorado | 204 | 30% | 29% | 32% |
| 24 | South Dakota | 43 | 30% | 32% | 37% |
| 25 | New Hampshire | 39 | 29% | 32% | 30% |
| 26 | District of Columbia | 14 | 29% | 32% | 15% |
| 27 | Alabama | 277 | 29% | 28% | 27% |
| 27 | Maryland | 167 | 29% | 31% | 28% |
| 29 | Illinois | 338 | 29% | 32% | 24% |
| 30 | New Mexico | 115 | 28% | 30% | 17% |
| 31 | Michigan | 306 | 28% | 27% | 26% |
| 32 | Tennessee | 332 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 33 | Maine | 49 | 28% | 32% | 34% |
| 33 | North Carolina | 449 | 28% | 28% | 21% |
| 35 | Missouri | 262 | 28% | 28% | 27% |
| 36 | Massachusetts | 100 | 27% | 32% | 27% |
| 36 | Virginia | 252 | 27% | 29% | 30% |
| 38 | New York | 300 | 27% | 30% | 13% |
| 39 | Utah | 73 | 26% | 21% | 34% |
| 40 | Pennsylvania | 290 | 26% | 28% | 24% |
| 41 | Delaware | 32 | 26% | 28% | 21% |
| 42 | Arkansas | 154 | 26% | 26% | 27% |
| 42 | Louisiana | 192 | 26% | 29% | 29% |
| 44 | Indiana | 209 | 25% | 26% | 22% |
| 45 | Florida | 769 | 25% | 26% | 16% |
| 46 | Kentucky | 169 | 24% | 23% | 26% |
| 47 | Georgia | 325 | 23% | 25% | 16% |
| 48 | Minnesota | 108 | 23% | 26% | 29% |
| 48 | Mississippi | 171 | 23% | 22% | 18% |
| 50 | New Jersey | 150 | 22% | 23% | 21% |
| 51 | Alaska | 13 | 19% | 30% | 22% |
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count
Download the drunk driving deaths by state table as CSV. Free to reuse with credit: “Fatal Crash Data, fatalcrashdata.com/drunk-driving-deaths-by-state/, from NHTSA FARS (2024 Annual Report File).”
Questions about drunk driving deaths by state
- Which state has the highest share of deaths in crashes with a driver at .08 blood alcohol or more?
- Vermont has the highest share: 41% of its road deaths in 2024 were in crashes with a driver at .08 blood alcohol or more. Across the United States, 11,904 people died in such crashes, 30% of all road deaths, by NHTSA's own measure. Source: NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
- How many people died in drunk driving crashes in the United States in 2024?
- 11,904, 30% of 39,254 road deaths, in crashes where a driver had a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or more, NHTSA's measure. By the police drinking flag, 25% of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver.
How NHTSA records deaths in crashes with a driver at .08 blood alcohol or more
States are ranked by NHTSA's own measure of drunk driving deaths: people killed in crashes where a driver had a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or more. Many drivers are never tested, so NHTSA fills in their alcohol level by multiple imputation from the crash circumstances and publishes the ten estimates in the FARS file; this page averages them, as NHTSA does, which is why counts can be fractional before rounding. The second figure is the police drinking flag (any driver reported drinking, or any positive test from .01) as a share of fatal crashes: a different and lower bar, counted crash by crash with no estimate.
A share is only given over 20 crashes (or deaths); otherwise the row says "Not enough data" and has no rank. Shares are of the state's own fatal crashes or deaths. For deaths per resident and per mile driven, see the car accident rate by state. The full method.