Georgia car accident statistics (2020-2024)

Car accident deaths in Georgia by year

Car accident deaths rose from 1,462 in 2020 to 1,621 in 2021, the highest annual count in the period. Deaths then fell to 1,544 in 2022, 1,420 in 2023 and 1,233 in 2024. The lowest count was in 2024, with 229 fewer deaths than in 2020. Each annual figure counts deaths rather than fatal crashes.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Georgia's share of the national car accident death total fell each year: 4.4% in 2020, 4.3% in 2021, 4.2% in 2022, 4.0% in 2023 and 3.7% in 2024. Across 2020 through 2024, Georgia accounted for 4.1% of the national total of 176,219 deaths. The 2024 count remains subject to revision.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

2024 figures come from the FARS Annual Report File and can be revised when NHTSA publishes the final file.

Who died in Georgia car accidents

People in cars, SUVs, pickups or vans accounted for 5,195 deaths, or 71.4% of car accident deaths in Georgia from 2020 through 2024. This was the largest person category. People in other vehicles accounted for 675 deaths, or 9.3%, the smallest category. Nonoccupants (FARS person-type grouping) accounted for 1,410 deaths, or 19.4%.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Each category describes people killed in the selected passenger-vehicle-involved crashes. The nonoccupant label follows the FARS person-type classification; it is not a literal test of whether someone was outside a vehicle. These are death counts grouped by crash location, not residency.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Collision types and setting

By first harmful event, Angle (side impact) recorded 1,491 deaths; Head-on, 1,013; Rear-end, 600; Sideswipe, 229; Other, 23; and Unknown, 4. Not a collision with a motor vehicle in transport recorded 3,920 deaths. That label means the first harmful event was not a collision between motor vehicles in transport, such as a rollover or striking a fixed object. Vehicles stopped in traffic can be in transport.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Daytime accounted for 3,268 car accident deaths (44.9%); nighttime accounted for 3,994 (54.9%). Urban locations recorded 4,718 deaths (64.8%), and rural locations recorded 2,558 (35.1%). Unknown classifications accounted for 18 deaths by time and 4 by land use.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Counties with the most car accident deaths

Fulton County had the most car accident deaths, with 598, followed by DeKalb County with 549. Cobb County recorded 305 deaths, Gwinnett County 278 and Clayton County 226. The listed counts continued with Richmond County at 180, Bibb County at 178, Chatham County at 153 and Henry County at 138.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Muscogee County recorded 110 deaths, Hall County 108, Bartow County 107, Carroll County 99, Coweta County 91 and Newton County 88. These counts cover 2020 through 2024 and follow the county where the crash occurred. Rates measure something distinct from the death counts: Bibb County had the highest average annual deaths per 100,000 residents among the listed counties, at 22.7; Gwinnett County had the lowest among the listed counties, at 5.7.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Up to 15 counties with the most deaths in the period, largest first. Rates for counties with few deaths change sharply with each death.

How Georgia compares with the national rate

Georgia's car accident death rate was 13.3, compared with the national rate of 10.5. Both figures measure average annual deaths per 100,000 residents for 2020 through 2024. Georgia's rate was higher than the national rate. The corresponding death counts were 7,280 for Georgia and 176,219 for the United States.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

The calculation divides deaths during the period by the sum of annual Census Bureau population estimates, then multiplies by 100,000. It does not adjust for miles driven or visitors. Georgia's separately displayed 2024 population estimate of 11,204,208 is not the denominator for this calculation. For readers searching for a car accident lawyer, keep the distinction between death counts and population-based rates in view.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

About these figures

FARS is a census of fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes. Inclusion requires a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and an occupant or nonoccupant dying within 30 days. Nonfatal crashes and injuries are excluded. State and county counts follow crash location, not where those killed lived.^[8][6][7]

Records for 2020 through 2023 use FARS Final Files. The 2024 Annual Report File can change when NHTSA publishes its Final File. Rates use deaths divided by summed annual Census Bureau population estimates from Vintage 2025, multiplied by 100,000. This gives average annual deaths per 100,000 residents; the separately shown July 1, 2024 population is not the denominator.^[8][6][7]

See also

• Liability and comparative fault in Georgia
• FARS Annual Report File and Final File
• Car accident statistics for Fulton County, Georgia (2020-2024)
• Car accident statistics for DeKalb County, Georgia (2020-2024)
• Car accident statistics for Cobb County, Georgia (2020-2024)
• Car accident statistics for Gwinnett County, Georgia (2020-2024)
• Car accident statistics for Clayton County, Georgia (2020-2024)