Counties in Illinois by traffic fatalities

Cook County had the highest traffic fatalities of 102 counties in 2018, at 268. Wabash County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 5 and the figure for Illinois was 1,035. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Highest268Cook County

Lowest0Wabash County

Median5102 counties

Illinois1,035History

Map of counties, 2018

Under 1
1 to 3
3 to 5
5 to 6
6 to 12
12 and over

count, 2018. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2018

count. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2018 count	Change on 2017
1	Cook County	268	-6.9%
2	Will County	58	-1.7%
3	Lake County	40	-13%
4	DuPage County	38	-2.6%
5	Madison County	35	-20.5%
6	St. Clair County	30	-16.7%
7	Winnebago County	29	+26.1%
8	Kane County	27	-12.9%
9	McHenry County	23	-30.3%
9	Sangamon County	23	+27.8%
11	Peoria County	20	+53.8%
12	Champaign County	19	+35.7%
13	Williamson County	17	+41.7%
14	Rock Island County	13	+85.7%
15	DeKalb County	12	+9.1%
15	Iroquois County	12	+100%
15	Kankakee County	12	-33.3%
15	McLean County	12	+9.1%
15	Vermilion County	12	-25%
20	LaSalle County	11	-35.3%
20	Macon County	11	-8.3%
22	Grundy County	10	+150%
23	Boone County	9	+28.6%
23	Fayette County	9	+200%
23	Henry County	9	+12.5%
23	Jackson County	9	-25%
23	Montgomery County	9	+350%
28	Bureau County	8	+14.3%
28	Lee County	8	+60%
28	Livingston County	8	-20%
31	Adams County	7	+40%
31	Coles County	7	-36.4%
31	Marion County	7	+16.7%
31	Tazewell County	7	-30%
35	Christian County	6	0%
35	Clinton County	6	0%
35	Ford County	6	+500%
35	Franklin County	6	+50%
35	Kendall County	6	-40%
35	Ogle County	6	+20%
35	Warren County	6	+100%
35	Washington County	6	-14.3%
43	Crawford County	5	+25%
43	Edgar County	5	+66.7%
43	Jefferson County	5	-50%
43	Jo Daviess County	5	+66.7%
43	Johnson County	5	+150%
43	Knox County	5	-28.6%
43	Massac County	5	+66.7%
43	Monroe County	5	+400%
43	Saline County	5	0%
43	Shelby County	5	+66.7%
43	Union County	5	-50%
43	Wayne County	5	+150%
43	Woodford County	5	-16.7%
56	Clark County	4	+33.3%
56	Logan County	4	-20%
56	Macoupin County	4	-33.3%
56	Morgan County	4	-33.3%
56	Perry County	4	-20%
56	Randolph County	4	-42.9%
56	Whiteside County	4	-42.9%
63	Bond County	3	-25%
63	Carroll County	3	-57.1%
63	Cass County	3	0%
63	Clay County	3	0%
63	Douglas County	3	-40%
63	Effingham County	3	+50%
63	Fulton County	3	-72.7%
63	Mason County	3	+50%
63	Piatt County	3	+200%
63	Pike County	3	0%
63	Schuyler County	3	+50%
63	Stephenson County	3	-40%
63	White County	3	0%
76	Alexander County	2	+100%
76	Hancock County	2	+100%
76	Henderson County	2	+100%
76	Marshall County	2	-60%
76	Menard County	2	0%
76	Moultrie County	2	-33.3%
76	Pulaski County	2	0%
83	Brown County	1	n/a
83	Calhoun County	1	n/a
83	Cumberland County	1	-66.7%
83	De Witt County	1	-83.3%
83	Gallatin County	1	n/a
83	Greene County	1	-80%
83	Jasper County	1	0%
83	Lawrence County	1	-75%
83	McDonough County	1	-50%
83	Pope County	1	0%
83	Putnam County	1	0%
83	Scott County	1	n/a
95	Edwards County	0	n/a
95	Hamilton County	0	n/a
95	Hardin County	0	-100%
95	Jersey County	0	-100%
95	Mercer County	0	-100%
95	Richland County	0	-100%
95	Stark County	0	-100%
95	Wabash County	0	-100%

Other periods

About this ranking

People killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes during the year. FARS counts people who die within 30 days of a crash involving a motor vehicle travelling on a public road, by the place of the crash, not of residence.

A police-based count of deaths. It differs from death certificate counts (CDC) and from the WHO road traffic death rate (road_traffic_death_rate), which is modelled for international comparison.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2026). Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash (Counties in Illinois by traffic fatalities, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.zip

MLA 9

Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash, Counties in Illinois by traffic fatalities, 2018. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/illinois-counties?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 2026. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. Counties in Illinois by traffic fatalities, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/illinois-counties?period=2018.

Harvard

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2026) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash, Counties in Illinois by traffic fatalities, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/illinois-counties?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{national_counties_in_illinois_by_2018,
  author = {{National Highway Traffic Safety Administration}},
  title = {{Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash: Counties in Illinois by traffic fatalities, 2018}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/illinois-counties?period=2018. Publisher attribution: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
TI  - Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash: Counties in Illinois by traffic fatalities, 2018
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/24
PB  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/illinois-counties?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/illinois-counties?period=2018.
N1  - Publisher attribution: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Rank Counties in Illinois by traffic fatalities using official data, and cite the source.

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Questions

Which county has the highest traffic fatalities?

Cook County, with 268 in 2018, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which county has the lowest traffic fatalities?

Wabash County, with 0 in 2018.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. Retrieved 2026-10-12.