Labor Day 2020: fatal car accidents and deaths
Over Labor Day weekend 2020, Saturday to Monday (September 5 to 7), 455 people died in 419 fatal car accidents on US roads, 12% more than the 406 on the same weekdays around it. It was the second most of the ten from 2015 to 2024. Labor Day (the Monday) alone: 123 deaths, against 107 on a normal day.
2019 · 2021 · Every year together, day by day and state by state.
Labor Day 2020 road deaths in every state
California had the most, 49 deaths, then Florida with 35. 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 | 49 | 45 | 10 |
| Florida | 35 | 30 | 4 |
| Texas | 27 | 27 | 5 |
| North Carolina | 20 | 20 | 2 |
| Georgia | 20 | 18 | 6 |
| Illinois | 19 | 17 | 1 |
| New York | 17 | 17 | 3 |
| Pennsylvania | 17 | 14 | 1 |
| Michigan | 15 | 15 | 2 |
| Tennessee | 15 | 14 | 2 |
| Virginia | 15 | 13 | 2 |
| Alabama | 14 | 13 | 0 |
| Ohio | 14 | 12 | 1 |
| South Carolina | 13 | 11 | 1 |
| Missouri | 12 | 12 | 5 |
| Oregon | 12 | 10 | 1 |
| Wisconsin | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| Washington | 9 | 8 | 0 |
| Indiana | 8 | 8 | 2 |
| Iowa | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Arizona | 7 | 7 | 3 |
| Arkansas | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| Mississippi | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| New Jersey | 7 | 7 | 4 |
| Colorado | 7 | 5 | 0 |
| Maryland | 6 | 6 | 1 |
| New Mexico | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| Oklahoma | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| Kentucky | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| Minnesota | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Nebraska | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Louisiana | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| Kansas | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Connecticut | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Nevada | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| New Hampshire | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Delaware | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Idaho | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Massachusetts | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Montana | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| South Dakota | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Alaska | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| District of Columbia | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Maine | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Utah | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Vermont | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Wyoming | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Hawaii | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| North Dakota | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| West Virginia | 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 Labor Day 2020 fatal car accidents
- How many people died in car crashes on Labor Day 2020?
- 455 people died in 419 fatal crashes on US roads over Labor Day weekend 2020, Saturday to Monday (September 5 to 7), 12% more than the 406 on the same weekdays around it. Of them, 61 were pedestrians. Source: NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
- Which state had the most road deaths on Labor Day 2020?
- California, with 49 deaths. In 48 of 51 states and DC at least one person died on the roads.
- Was Labor Day 2020 deadlier than usual?
- 455 road deaths was the second most of the ten from 2015 to 2024; the average is 410. The deadliest was 2021 and the least deadly 2017.
Where the Labor Day 2020 numbers come from
Every fatal crash NHTSA dated from Saturday to Monday of Labor Day weekend in 2020, 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.