A reportable crash happens on a Texas road about once a minute, and someone dies in one every day of the year. In 2025, the latest full year of published data, Texas recorded 538,860 reportable crashes and 3,769 traffic deaths, according to the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) 2025 Crash Facts and county tables. Deaths fell 9.38% from 4,159 in 2024, and the death rate dropped to 1.20 per 100 million vehicle miles, the lowest TxDOT has published for any year since 2003.
TL;DR — Texas crash numbers at a glance (2025, latest full year)
- 538,860 reportable crashes statewide, about one every 59 seconds (TxDOT, 2025).
- 3,769 people killed, the fewest since 2019 and 687 fewer than the 2021 peak of 4,456 (TxDOT 2003–2025 comparison table).
- 244,534 people injured, 17,420 of them seriously (TxDOT Crash Facts 2025).
- Crashes where a driver was under the influence of alcohol killed 906 people, 24.04% of all traffic deaths (TxDOT Crash Facts 2025).
- Rural roads accounted for 1,889 deaths, 50.12% of the statewide total (TxDOT Crash Facts 2025).
How many car accidents happen in Texas each year?
Texas had 538,860 reportable motor vehicle crashes in 2025, down from 554,146 in 2024 and 559,616 in 2023, according to TxDOT’s crashes-by-county tables. That works out to about 1,476 crashes a day. TxDOT’s 2025 Crash Facts put it as one reportable crash every 59 seconds across the state.
TxDOT counts a crash as “reportable” when a moving motor vehicle on a public trafficway is involved and someone is hurt or killed, or one person’s property shows at least $1,000 in apparent damage. Trucks, buses, motorcycles, pedestrians and cyclists are all inside the totals. Every number starts as an officer’s CR-3 crash report, which means a fender-bender settled privately between drivers never reaches these tables.
| Year | Total crashes | Fatal crashes | People killed | Suspected serious injury crashes | People with a suspected serious injury |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 538,860 | 3,476 | 3,769 | 14,395 | 17,418 |
| 2024 | 554,146 | 3,762 | 4,150 | 14,905 | 18,218 |
| 2023 | 559,616 | 3,874 | 4,291 | 15,227 | 18,765 |
Each row is shown as TxDOT published it for that year. TxDOT updates earlier years as late reports arrive: the 2024 death toll was 4,150 in the 2024 edition and 4,159 in TxDOT’s later 2003–2025 comparison table. The 2025 statewide Crash Facts summary gives 14,396 serious injury crashes and 17,420 people seriously injured, one or two more than the county table’s statewide total.
How many people die in Texas car accidents each year?
TxDOT counted 3,769 traffic deaths in Texas in 2025, a 9.38% drop from 4,159 in 2024 and the fourth straight yearly decline since deaths peaked at 4,456 in 2021. On average one person was killed every 2 hours 19 minutes. TxDOT also reports there was no day in 2025 without a traffic death on Texas roads.
Texans also drove more in 2025: 314.006 billion vehicle miles, up 1.79% from 2024. Fewer deaths over more miles is why the death rate fell to 1.20 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down 10.97% in one year. Every other year in TxDOT’s 2003–2025 comparison table has a rate of 1.26 or higher.
| Year | Deaths | Change from prior year | Deaths per 100 million vehicle miles | Estimated economic loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3,769 | −9.38% | 1.20 | $54.2 billion |
| 2024 | 4,159 | −3.08% | 1.35 | $59.9 billion |
| 2023 | 4,291 | −2.70% | 1.42 | $58.8 billion |
| 2022 | 4,410 | −1.03% | 1.52 | $57.8 billion |
| 2021 | 4,456 | +14.32% | 1.56 | $55.6 billion |
| 2020 | 3,898 | +7.62% | 1.50 | $44.6 billion |
| 2019 | 3,622 | −0.96% | 1.26 | $40.4 billion |
| 2018 | 3,657 | −1.88% | 1.30 | $39.7 billion |
| 2017 | 3,727 | −1.77% | 1.37 | $39.4 billion |
| 2016 | 3,794 | +5.83% | 1.40 | $38.8 billion |
The 2020 jump came in a year when miles driven fell 9.59%, so the rate rose even faster than the count. The 2025 row is based on reports TxDOT had processed by April 7, 2026.
Which Texas counties have the most car accidents and deaths?
Harris County leads Texas by a wide margin: 107,472 crashes and 503 deaths in 2025, about one in five crashes and 13% of traffic deaths statewide. Dallas, Bexar, Tarrant and Travis follow on deaths. These five of Texas’s 254 counties had about 45% of its crashes and 34% of its traffic deaths.
| County | Crashes 2025 | Crashes 2024 | Deaths 2025 | Deaths 2024 | People injured 2025* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris | 107,472 | 115,173 | 503 | 579 | 43,573 |
| Bexar | 46,744 | 48,522 | 190 | 215 | 19,763 |
| Dallas | 43,946 | 46,257 | 274 | 331 | 22,838 |
| Tarrant | 30,433 | 28,074 | 190 | 201 | 16,135 |
| Travis | 15,939 | 15,872 | 143 | 155 | 9,931 |
*People with a suspected serious, suspected minor or possible injury; people whose injury status was recorded as unknown are not included. Deaths fell in all five counties in 2025, but crashes rose in Tarrant and Travis. Dallas County had fewer crashes than Bexar but more deaths and more injured people. By crash count alone, El Paso County (17,848 crashes, 70 deaths) ranks fifth, ahead of Travis. For the City of Houston, Fort Bend, Montgomery, Galveston and Brazoria counties and nearby cities, see our Houston car accident statistics.
What causes the most deadly car accidents in Texas?
Run-off-the-road crashes and alcohol are the two largest factors in TxDOT’s 2025 death counts. Single-vehicle run-off-the-road crashes killed 1,201 people, 31.87% of all deaths, and crashes where a driver was under the influence of alcohol killed 906, or 24.04%. Intersection crashes killed 955, head-on crashes 555 and distracted-driving crashes 308.
| Crash type or factor | People killed, 2025 | What TxDOT reports alongside it |
|---|---|---|
| Single-vehicle run-off-the-road | 1,201 | 31.87% of all traffic deaths |
| At or related to an intersection | 955 | — |
| Driver under the influence of alcohol | 906 | 24.04% of all traffic deaths |
| Head-on | 555 | — |
| Distracted driving | 308 | 18.95% fewer than in 2024 |
The rows overlap and do not add up to 3,769, because one crash can be, for example, both a run-off-the-road crash and an alcohol crash. Restraint use stands out as well: of the people killed in vehicles where seat-belt use applied and was known, 45.94% were not restrained. For how these crash types become injury claims, see our pages on drunk driving accidents and distracted driving accidents, and our post on DWI statistics in Texas.
Who is most at risk on Texas roads?
People outside a car’s protection make up a large share of Texas traffic deaths. In 2025 TxDOT counted 695 pedestrians, 559 motorcyclists and 91 pedalcyclists killed, together 1,345 of the 3,769 deaths. Pedestrian deaths fell 10.09% from 2024, while cyclist deaths rose 13.75%, and 31% of the motorcyclists killed were not wearing a helmet.
| Road user | Killed, 2025 | Change or detail TxDOT reports |
|---|---|---|
| Pedestrians | 695 | 10.09% fewer than 2024 |
| Motorcyclists (operators and passengers) | 559 | 31% were not wearing a helmet |
| Pedalcyclists | 91 | 13.75% more than 2024 |
Cyclist deaths moved the opposite way from pedestrian deaths. ABC13 Houston (KTRK), citing TxDOT data on July 31, 2026, put them at 79 in 2024 and 90 in 2025; TxDOT’s processed 2025 Crash Facts give 91, a difference that comes from querying the crash database on a different date. If you were hit while walking, riding or on a motorcycle, see our pages on pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents and motorcycle accidents.
When do the most serious Texas car accidents happen?
TxDOT’s 2025 Crash Facts name March as the deadliest month, with 380 people killed, and Friday, July 25 as the deadliest single day, with 25 deaths. Alcohol-related crashes cluster in the early morning and at the weekend, with the single busiest hour starting at 2:00 a.m. and Saturday the busiest day.
TxDOT also reports that no single crash in 2025 killed six or more people. Its published summary does not give a full breakdown of all crashes by hour or day, so this page does not estimate one.
Are rural roads more dangerous than city roads in Texas?
Rural roads carry about half of Texas traffic deaths. TxDOT counted 1,889 deaths in rural crashes in 2025, 50.12% of the statewide total, while Harris, Dallas, Bexar, Tarrant and Travis counties had about 45% of all crashes but 34% of the deaths.
TxDOT’s 2025 summary gives the rural share of deaths but not the rural share of all crashes or of miles driven, and it does not split run-off-the-road deaths into rural and urban. So this page does not calculate a rural crash rate; the comparison above is between deaths and the five counties’ crash counts only.
What do car accidents cost Texas?
TxDOT estimates the economic loss from all Texas motor vehicle crashes at $54.2 billion in 2025, using the National Safety Council’s average economic cost per death. Nationally, NHTSA’s most recent cost study put the economic cost of U.S. crashes in 2019 at $340 billion, or about $1,035 for every person in the country.
The two figures are measured differently. TxDOT’s estimate is rounded to the nearest hundred million and, for 2025, uses the 2024 cost figure. NHTSA’s study (DOT HS 813 403, February 2023) adds up property damage ($115 billion), lost productivity ($106 billion), congestion ($36 billion), medical care ($31 billion) and other items, and reaches nearly $1.4 trillion once quality-of-life losses are included. For what these costs mean in a single claim, see how much a car accident claim is worth.
How does the Houston area compare with the rest of Texas?
Harris County alone had 503 of Texas’s 3,769 traffic deaths and 107,472 of its 538,860 crashes in 2025, more than Dallas and Bexar counties combined on crashes. The City of Houston accounted for 293 of those Harris County deaths, according to TxDOT’s 2025 cities and towns table.
The City of Houston adopted a Vision Zero goal of ending traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030 in Executive Order 1-60, signed in August 2019, and publishes a High Injury Network map on its Vision Zero page. Crash figures for the City of Houston, Fort Bend County and nearby cities are on our Houston statistics page. Local guidance for those cities is on our Katy personal injury and Sugar Land car accident pages, and for the city itself on our Houston car accident lawyers page.
What do Texas crash statistics mean if you were hurt in a wreck?
Statewide totals describe risk across 254 counties; an insurer or a court looks only at your collision. That one crash is proven by its own records: the officer’s CR-3 report, photographs, witness accounts, vehicle data and your treatment history. Of those, the CR-3 is the easiest to obtain and the one most other records refer back to.
TxDOT sells copies of Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Reports through its Crash Report Online Purchase System: $6 for a regular copy and $8 for a certified copy, with a small surcharge for using the online system. TxDOT says people directly concerned in the crash, including those involved, their representatives and insurers, receive the full report; other requesters get a redacted copy. For the steps that come after, see what to do after a car accident.
Texas car accident statistics: frequently asked questions
How many car accidents were there in Texas in 2025?
TxDOT’s 2025 county tables total 538,860 reportable crashes statewide, down 15,286 (2.76%) from 554,146 in 2024. The figures count crashes reported to police on form CR-3 that caused an injury, a death or at least $1,000 in apparent property damage, and were processed by TxDOT as of April 7, 2026.
How many people were injured in Texas car accidents in 2025?
TxDOT’s 2025 Crash Facts report 244,534 people injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes, about one every 2 minutes 9 seconds. Of them, 17,420 had a serious injury, which since 2010 TxDOT defines as an incapacitating injury that prevents the person from walking, driving or carrying on normal activities.
Is 2025 the safest year on Texas roads?
By death rate, yes: 1.20 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles is the lowest in TxDOT’s 2003–2025 comparison table. By total deaths, no. The 3,769 deaths in 2025 are the fewest since 2019, but every year from 2004 to 2015, and 2017 to 2019, had fewer deaths, when Texans drove far fewer miles.
Which county in Texas has the most car accidents?
Harris County, with 107,472 reportable crashes and 503 deaths in 2025. Bexar County was second for crashes (46,744) and Dallas County second for deaths (274), according to TxDOT’s 2025 Crashes and Injuries by County table.
Why do different sources give different Texas crash numbers?
TxDOT’s crash database keeps changing as late crash reports arrive, so a report or article that queries it on a different date can report a different number. TxDOT’s own 2024 death toll moved from 4,150 to 4,159 between editions. Reports can also differ by boundary, for example a city versus its county.
What percentage of Texas traffic deaths involve alcohol?
About one in four. TxDOT’s 2025 Crash Facts attribute 906 of the 3,769 Texas traffic deaths, 24.04%, to crashes in which a driver had been drinking to the point of being under the influence. TxDOT counts the people killed in those crashes; its summary does not say how many of the 906 were the impaired drivers themselves.
How often are Texas crash statistics updated?
TxDOT publishes one edition of Crash Facts and its county and city tables for each calendar year, a few months after the year ends: the 2025 edition carries a processing date of April 7, 2026, and the 2024 edition one in April 2025. Earlier years can still change slightly as late reports arrive. This page is updated with each new edition.
Sources
- TxDOT, Texas Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Facts, Calendar Year 2025 (data as of April 7, 2026; read October 27, 2026).
- TxDOT, Crashes and Injuries by County, 2025 (read October 27, 2026).
- TxDOT, Crashes and Injuries by County, 2024 (read October 27, 2026).
- TxDOT, Comparison of Motor Vehicle Traffic Deaths, Vehicle Miles, Death Rates, and Economic Loss, 2003–2025 (read October 27, 2026).
- TxDOT, Crashes and Injuries by Cities and Towns, 2025 (read October 27, 2026).
- TxDOT, Annual Motor Vehicle Crash Data Report Definitions (read October 27, 2026).
- TxDOT, Crash reports and records (read October 27, 2026).
- NHTSA, The Economic and Societal Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2019 (Revised), DOT HS 813 403, February 2023 (read October 27, 2026).
- City of Houston, Executive Order 1-60, Vision Zero (approved August 13, 2019; read October 27, 2026).
- ABC13 Houston (KTRK), Cycling deaths grow across Texas in 2025, TxDOT data shows, July 31, 2026 (read October 27, 2026).
About the authors
Sam A. Maida, Jr.
Owner and Managing Attorney
Sam A. Maida, Jr. has represented injured Texans in the greater Houston area since the firm opened in 1993.
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Bernard G. Johnson III
Litigation Managing Attorney
Bernard G. Johnson III is a board certified trial lawyer licensed in Texas since 1996 and a graduate of South Texas College of Law.
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