New Hampshire car accident statistics (2020-2024)

Car accident deaths in New Hampshire by year

Car accident deaths rose from 79 in 2020 to 96 in 2021 and reached 126 in 2022. The count then fell to 108 in 2023 before rising to 113 in 2024. Within this period, 2022 had the highest count and 2020 had the lowest. The 2024 count was 34 deaths higher than the 2020 count.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

New Hampshire's share of the national car accident death total was 0.2% in 2020 and 0.3% in each year from 2021 through 2024. Across the full period, the state's 522 deaths represented 0.3% of the national total of 176,219. The share of state traffic deaths counted as car accident deaths ranged from 76.0% in 2020 to 86.3% in 2022.^{[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 New Hampshire car accidents

People in cars, SUVs, pickups or vans accounted for 369 deaths, or 70.7%, from 2020 through 2024. This was the largest person category in the car accident death count. People in other vehicles accounted for 78 deaths, or 14.9%. Nonoccupants (FARS person-type grouping) accounted for 75 deaths, or 14.4%.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Each category counts deaths in fatal crashes involving a passenger vehicle. The categories describe the people counted, rather than separate crash totals. Nonoccupants (FARS person-type grouping) follows the FARS classification and is not a literal test of whether someone was outside a vehicle.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Collision types and setting

Head-on collisions accounted for 101 deaths (19.3%); Angle (side impact), 95 (18.2%); Rear-end, 24 (4.6%); and Sideswipe, 16 (3.1%). Not a collision with a motor vehicle in transport accounted for 286 deaths (54.8%). That row means the first harmful event was not a collision between motor vehicles in transport, such as a rollover or striking a fixed object. Transport does not require physical movement.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Daytime accounted for 298 car accident deaths (57.1%), and nighttime for 224 (42.9%). Urban locations recorded 250 deaths (47.9%); rural locations recorded 269 (51.5%). Land use was unknown for 3 deaths (0.6%).^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Counties with the most car accident deaths

Hillsborough County had the most car accident deaths in the county table, with 115 from 2020 through 2024. Rockingham County followed with 101, then Merrimack County with 78 and Strafford County with 57. Cheshire County recorded 39 deaths. Belknap County and Carroll County each recorded 35, while Grafton County recorded 34, Sullivan County recorded 15 and Coos County recorded 13.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Death counts and population-based rates give different comparisons. Among the listed counties, Carroll County had the highest average annual deaths per 100,000 residents at 13.5, while Hillsborough County had the lowest at 5.4. Rockingham County's rate was 6.3, and Merrimack County's was 10.0. Each county count refers to where the crash happened.^{[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 New Hampshire compares with the national rate

New Hampshire's car accident death rate was 7.5, compared with the national rate of 10.5. Both figures measure average annual deaths per 100,000 residents for 2020 through 2024. The state rate was lower than the national rate. The corresponding death counts were 522 for New Hampshire 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. The separately reported 2024 population estimate of 1,408,518 is not the denominator. For a reader searching for a car accident lawyer, the grouping to remember is crash location, regardless of residence.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

About these figures

FARS is NHTSA's 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 death within 30 days. Nonfatal crashes and injuries are excluded. State and county counts follow crash location, not residence.^[8][6][7]

The 2020 through 2023 records are Final Files; 2024 uses the Annual Report File, subject to revision with the Final File. Rates divide 2020 through 2024 deaths by summed annual Census Bureau population estimates, Vintage 2025, and multiply by 100,000 for average annual deaths per 100,000 residents. They do not adjust for miles driven or visitors. The separate July 1, 2024 population estimate is not the denominator.^[8][6][7]

See also

• FARS Annual Report File and Final File