Labor Day fatal car accidents and deaths
Over the ten Labor Day weekends from 2015 to 2024, counted from Saturday to Monday of Labor Day weekend, 4,104 people died in 3,723 fatal car accidents on US roads, 9% more than on the same days of the week around it.
Labor Day itself, the Monday, is the worst of the three days: 19% more deaths than a normal Monday. Motorcyclist deaths rose further: 973 died, against 754 on normal weekends, 29% more.
Labor Day, day by day, against a normal day
The Saturday had 4% more deaths than a normal Saturday, the Sunday 7% more than a normal Sunday, and the Monday holiday 19% more than a normal Monday. 37% of the deaths were in crashes with a driver at .08 blood alcohol or more, against 35% on normal days. The weekend moves between August 31 and September 7, which is why September 3, a date it often covers, has the second most road deaths of any date of the year on a plain calendar of every date.
| Day | Deaths (total) | Fatal crashes (total) | Change on normal day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labor Day (the Monday) | 1,194 | 1,089 | +18.7% |
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count
States where Labor Day is deadlier than a normal day
In Kansas, Labor Day had 38% more road deaths than the same days of the week around it, the largest rise of the 40 states with enough deaths to compare, ahead of Iowa and New Mexico. In nine states it had fewer deaths than a normal day, most of all Nevada (-31%).
- Kansas+38%
- Iowa+38%
- New Mexico+31%
- Maryland+30%
- Oklahoma+23%
- Washington+23%
- New York+23%
- Virginia+21%
- Montana+21%
- Mississippi+20%
- Minnesota+19%
- Pennsylvania+19%
- Illinois+18%
- Georgia+18%
- Colorado+16%
- Florida+13%
- Connecticut+12%
- Arkansas+11%
- Oregon+11%
- Missouri+9%
- Louisiana+8%
- Massachusetts+8%
- South Carolina+8%
- Michigan+7%
- Wisconsin+4%
- Idaho+3%
- Tennessee+2%
- California+2%
- Alabama+2%
- West Virginia+1%
- Arizona+1%
- North Carolina0%
- Texas-1%
- Kentucky-1%
- Ohio-4%
- New Jersey-5%
- Indiana-8%
- Nebraska-9%
- Utah-19%
- Nevada-31%
A state is compared from 20 deaths on Labor Day and as many on its normal days; the other 11 have too few. With counts this size, a change of 20% can be a handful of deaths.
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count
Labor Day road deaths in every state, 2015 to 2024
Wyoming has the most Labor Day road deaths per resident: 3.61 per million residents per Labor Day weekend, against 1.24 across the United States. Massachusetts has the fewest of the 49 states ranked. A rate is given from 10 deaths; the 2 states under that say "Not enough data".
| State | Per million residents | Deaths (total) | Fatal crashes (total) | Pedestrians (total) | Change on normal day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wyoming | 3.61 | 21 | 19 | 1 | Not enough data |
| 2 | Mississippi | 2.73 | 81 | 63 | 6 | +19.6% |
| 3 | Montana | 2.68 | 29 | 27 | 1 | +20.8% |
| 4 | New Mexico | 2.42 | 51 | 43 | 5 | +30.8% |
| 5 | Arkansas | 2.22 | 67 | 61 | 7 | +11.3% |
| 6 | Maine | 1.98 | 27 | 22 | 0 | Not enough data |
| 7 | South Carolina | 1.94 | 100 | 89 | 13 | +7.8% |
| 8 | Delaware | 1.92 | 19 | 18 | 5 | Not enough data |
| 9 | Oklahoma | 1.91 | 76 | 70 | 8 | +23.2% |
| 9 | South Dakota | 1.91 | 17 | 17 | 4 | Not enough data |
| 11 | Tennessee | 1.80 | 124 | 116 | 21 | +2.1% |
| 11 | Iowa | 1.80 | 57 | 50 | 1 | +38.0% |
| 13 | Missouri | 1.79 | 110 | 102 | 11 | +8.9% |
| 14 | Alabama | 1.75 | 87 | 77 | 8 | +2.0% |
| 15 | New Hampshire | 1.68 | 23 | 17 | 2 | Not enough data |
| 16 | Kentucky | 1.63 | 73 | 66 | 5 | -1.4% |
| 17 | Georgia | 1.58 | 169 | 151 | 26 | +18.0% |
| 18 | Kansas | 1.57 | 46 | 45 | 3 | +38.1% |
| 18 | Vermont | 1.57 | 10 | 10 | 0 | Not enough data |
| 20 | Louisiana | 1.53 | 71 | 66 | 14 | +8.4% |
| 21 | Colorado | 1.50 | 86 | 76 | 11 | +16.2% |
| 22 | North Dakota | 1.43 | 11 | 10 | 0 | Not enough data |
| 23 | Florida | 1.42 | 307 | 275 | 60 | +13.4% |
| 23 | Idaho | 1.42 | 26 | 24 | 0 | +2.8% |
| 25 | West Virginia | 1.39 | 25 | 22 | 1 | +1.2% |
| 26 | Alaska | 1.36 | 10 | 7 | 1 | Not enough data |
| 27 | Arizona | 1.30 | 94 | 90 | 20 | +0.5% |
| 28 | Oregon | 1.29 | 54 | 52 | 8 | +11.3% |
| 29 | Wisconsin | 1.28 | 75 | 71 | 3 | +3.9% |
| 30 | North Carolina | 1.25 | 131 | 125 | 17 | -0.2% |
| 31 | Indiana | 1.23 | 83 | 74 | 9 | -8.5% |
| 31 | Maryland | 1.23 | 75 | 70 | 17 | +30.0% |
| 33 | Michigan | 1.22 | 122 | 110 | 18 | +6.8% |
| 34 | Texas | 1.21 | 355 | 315 | 55 | -0.8% |
| 35 | Virginia | 1.20 | 103 | 92 | 11 | +21.2% |
| 36 | Illinois | 1.15 | 146 | 129 | 12 | +18.4% |
| 37 | Nebraska | 1.13 | 22 | 20 | 1 | -9.1% |
| 38 | Ohio | 1.04 | 122 | 116 | 7 | -3.6% |
| 39 | Washington | 1.02 | 78 | 69 | 8 | +22.8% |
| 40 | Pennsylvania | 1.01 | 130 | 118 | 19 | +18.5% |
| 41 | California | 0.99 | 387 | 354 | 76 | +2.1% |
| 42 | Minnesota | 0.96 | 54 | 49 | 2 | +19.2% |
| 43 | Connecticut | 0.89 | 32 | 28 | 1 | +11.5% |
| 44 | Hawaii | 0.77 | 11 | 10 | 3 | Not enough data |
| 45 | New York | 0.76 | 150 | 136 | 31 | +22.7% |
| 46 | Nevada | 0.75 | 23 | 22 | 5 | -30.9% |
| 47 | Utah | 0.74 | 24 | 23 | 2 | -19.5% |
| 48 | New Jersey | 0.67 | 61 | 59 | 16 | -5.0% |
| 49 | Massachusetts | 0.53 | 37 | 36 | 7 | +7.9% |
| Rhode Island | Not enough data | 9 | 9 | 2 | Not enough data | |
| District of Columbia | Not enough data | 3 | 3 | 2 | Not enough data |
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count
Download Labor Day road deaths in every state as CSV. Free to reuse with credit: “Fatal Crash Data, fatalcrashdata.com/labor-day-fatal-car-accidents/, from NHTSA FARS (2024 Annual Report File).”
Every Labor Day from 2015 to 2024
The deadliest was 2021 (September 4 to 6), with 458 road deaths; the least deadly 2017 (September 2 to 4), with 328.
| Year | Dates | Deaths | Fatal crashes | Normal (average) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | August 31 to September 2 | 430 | 383 | 366 | +17.6% |
| 2023 | September 2 to 4 | 441 | 390 | 396 | +11.4% |
| 2022 | September 3 to 5 | 420 | 390 | 436 | -3.7% |
| 2021 | September 4 to 6 | 458 | 428 | 423 | +8.4% |
| 2020 | September 5 to 7 | 455 | 419 | 406 | +12.2% |
| 2019 | August 31 to September 2 | 385 | 346 | 340 | +13.2% |
| 2018 | September 1 to 3 | 398 | 354 | 338 | +17.9% |
| 2017 | September 2 to 4 | 328 | 309 | 348 | -5.7% |
| 2016 | September 3 to 5 | 379 | 344 | 363 | +4.4% |
| 2015 | September 5 to 7 | 410 | 360 | 345 | +18.7% |
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count
Questions about Labor Day fatal car accidents
- How many car accidents happen on Labor Day?
- NHTSA's file counts only crashes in which someone died: 3,723 over the ten Labor Day weekends from 2015 to 2024 (Saturday to Monday of Labor Day weekend), about 372 a year, which killed 4,104 people. Crashes with injuries or damage only are not in it; those totals come from state police and transportation departments, and no national count of them exists by day. Source: NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
- Is Labor Day more dangerous to drive than a normal day?
- Counted from Saturday to Monday of Labor Day weekend, 9% more deaths than on the same days of the week in the weeks around it. Labor Day itself, the Monday, is the worst of the three days: 19% more deaths than a normal Monday. Motorcyclist deaths rose further: 973 died, against 754 on normal weekends, 29% more.
- Are motorcycle deaths higher on Labor Day?
- Yes. 973 motorcyclists died over the ten Labor Day weekends from 2015 to 2024, against 754 on the same days of the week around the weekend, 29% more. All deaths together rose 9%.
- Is drunk driving worse on Labor Day?
- 1,511 people died in crashes with a driver at .08 blood alcohol or more over the ten Labor Day weekends from 2015 to 2024, against 1,310 on the same days of the week around the weekend, 15% more. The count is NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure, with missing tests filled in by NHTSA.
- Which state has the most road deaths per resident on Labor Day?
- Wyoming, with 3.61 road deaths per million residents per weekend, against 1.24 across the United States. Massachusetts has the lowest of the 49 states with enough deaths to rank, at 0.53.
- Were more people killed on Labor Day in some years than others?
- The deadliest of the ten Labor Day weekends from 2015 to 2024 was 2021 (September 4 to 6), with 458 deaths; the least deadly 2017 (September 2 to 4), with 328.
How the Labor Day figures are counted
Every fatal crash NHTSA dated from Saturday to Monday of Labor Day weekend, in the years 2015 to 2024. The normal day it is set against is the same days of the week one, two and three weeks before and after, averaged for each year, so the weekday and the season match. Where one side of that would touch another holiday or run past the years the file holds, both sides are left out, so the average stays centred on Labor Day's own weeks: 6 comparison blocks a year. Deaths within 30 days of the crash count on the day of the crash. Drunk driving deaths are NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure: a driver at .08 or more, with missing tests filled in by NHTSA. Rates per million residents use Census Bureau population estimates summed over the years. The full method.