Memorial Day 2023: fatal car accidents and deaths
Over Memorial Day weekend 2023, Saturday to Monday (May 27 to 29), 426 people died in 378 fatal car accidents on US roads, 7% more than the 398 on the same weekdays around it. It was the second most of the ten from 2015 to 2024. Memorial Day (the Monday) alone: 108 deaths, against 101 on a normal day.
2022 · 2024 · Every year together, day by day and state by state.
Memorial Day 2023 road deaths in every state
California had the most, 47 deaths, then Florida with 38. In 45 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 | 47 | 43 | 7 |
| Florida | 38 | 32 | 5 |
| Texas | 35 | 29 | 3 |
| Ohio | 24 | 22 | 2 |
| Michigan | 18 | 16 | 2 |
| Illinois | 17 | 15 | 3 |
| Georgia | 16 | 14 | 1 |
| North Carolina | 15 | 12 | 2 |
| Arizona | 13 | 12 | 2 |
| Tennessee | 13 | 12 | 2 |
| Missouri | 12 | 12 | 0 |
| New York | 12 | 11 | 2 |
| Alabama | 11 | 10 | 0 |
| Colorado | 11 | 10 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania | 11 | 10 | 2 |
| Louisiana | 10 | 10 | 2 |
| Kansas | 10 | 7 | 1 |
| New Jersey | 9 | 9 | 1 |
| Massachusetts | 8 | 6 | 1 |
| Indiana | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| South Carolina | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| Washington | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Virginia | 7 | 5 | 0 |
| Wisconsin | 7 | 5 | 0 |
| Kentucky | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| Minnesota | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| New Mexico | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Oregon | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Oklahoma | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| Connecticut | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Nevada | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Arkansas | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Iowa | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Vermont | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Maine | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Idaho | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Maryland | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Mississippi | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| North Dakota | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| South Dakota | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Wyoming | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| District of Columbia | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Hawaii | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Utah | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Alaska | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Delaware | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Montana | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nebraska | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| New Hampshire | 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 Memorial Day 2023 fatal car accidents
- How many people died in car crashes on Memorial Day 2023?
- 426 people died in 378 fatal crashes on US roads over Memorial Day weekend 2023, Saturday to Monday (May 27 to 29), 7% more than the 398 on the same weekdays around it. Of them, 47 were pedestrians. Source: NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
- Which state had the most road deaths on Memorial Day 2023?
- California, with 47 deaths. In 45 of 51 states and DC at least one person died on the roads.
- Was Memorial Day 2023 deadlier than usual?
- 426 road deaths was the second most of the ten from 2015 to 2024; the average is 397. The deadliest was 2022 and the least deadly 2017.
Where the Memorial Day 2023 numbers come from
Every fatal crash NHTSA dated from Saturday to Monday of Memorial Day weekend in 2023, 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.