Counties in Illinois by traffic fatalities

Cook County had the highest traffic fatalities of 102 counties in 2021, at 458. Pulaski County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 5 and the figure for Illinois was 1,334. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Highest458Cook County

Lowest0Pulaski County

Median5102 counties

Illinois1,334History

Map of counties, 2021

Under 1
1 to 3
3 to 5
5 to 8
8 to 14
14 and over

count, 2021. 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, 2021

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	2021 count	Change on 2020
1	Cook County	458	+23.5%
2	Will County	70	+14.8%
3	Winnebago County	49	+96%
4	DuPage County	46	-6.1%
5	Kane County	42	+90.9%
6	St. Clair County	40	+25%
7	Lake County	37	-26%
8	Madison County	28	-12.5%
9	Sangamon County	24	+33.3%
10	Champaign County	22	+46.7%
10	Peoria County	22	-15.4%
12	Kendall County	21	+200%
12	McHenry County	21	-8.7%
14	Kankakee County	19	+26.7%
15	Iroquois County	15	+66.7%
15	Tazewell County	15	+114.3%
17	Bureau County	14	-6.7%
17	LaSalle County	14	-39.1%
19	Christian County	13	+85.7%
19	DeKalb County	13	+44.4%
19	Franklin County	13	+160%
19	McLean County	13	+18.2%
23	Effingham County	11	+83.3%
23	Macon County	11	-50%
25	Boone County	10	+100%
25	Fayette County	10	+42.9%
25	Grundy County	10	-23.1%
25	Whiteside County	10	+25%
29	Jefferson County	9	+12.5%
29	Macoupin County	9	+28.6%
29	Montgomery County	9	+80%
29	Williamson County	9	-18.2%
33	Clinton County	8	+33.3%
33	Coles County	8	-27.3%
33	Knox County	8	+60%
33	Logan County	8	+33.3%
33	Ogle County	8	+60%
33	Rock Island County	8	-38.5%
33	Stephenson County	8	+300%
33	Vermilion County	8	-11.1%
41	Mason County	7	+75%
41	Randolph County	7	+16.7%
41	Shelby County	7	+133.3%
44	Adams County	6	-45.5%
44	Bond County	6	+50%
44	Fulton County	6	-14.3%
44	Jersey County	6	+50%
48	Cumberland County	5	+400%
48	Henry County	5	+150%
48	Livingston County	5	-44.4%
48	Morgan County	5	+25%
52	Alexander County	4	+33.3%
52	Ford County	4	-20%
52	Hancock County	4	-20%
52	Jackson County	4	-50%
52	Lawrence County	4	-33.3%
52	Marion County	4	-33.3%
52	Mercer County	4	n/a
52	Monroe County	4	+300%
52	Piatt County	4	0%
52	Pike County	4	-42.9%
62	De Witt County	3	+50%
62	Lee County	3	-25%
62	Marshall County	3	+50%
62	Richland County	3	-40%
62	Union County	3	+200%
62	Warren County	3	0%
62	Wayne County	3	-25%
62	White County	3	+50%
62	Woodford County	3	-75%
71	Calhoun County	2	n/a
71	Clay County	2	-33.3%
71	Johnson County	2	-50%
71	Moultrie County	2	0%
71	Saline County	2	-50%
71	Schuyler County	2	-60%
71	Stark County	2	-50%
71	Wabash County	2	n/a
79	Carroll County	1	-66.7%
79	Cass County	1	n/a
79	Clark County	1	-85.7%
79	Crawford County	1	-66.7%
79	Douglas County	1	-83.3%
79	Gallatin County	1	-50%
79	Hamilton County	1	0%
79	Hardin County	1	0%
79	McDonough County	1	-50%
79	Menard County	1	-50%
79	Perry County	1	0%
79	Pope County	1	-66.7%
79	Putnam County	1	-50%
79	Scott County	1	0%
79	Washington County	1	-83.3%
94	Brown County	0	n/a
94	Edgar County	0	-100%
94	Edwards County	0	n/a
94	Greene County	0	-100%
94	Henderson County	0	n/a
94	Jasper County	0	n/a
94	Jo Daviess County	0	-100%
94	Massac County	0	-100%
94	Pulaski 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/2021/National/FARS2021NationalCSV.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, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2021/National/FARS2021NationalCSV.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, 2021. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2021/National/FARS2021NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/illinois-counties?period=2021. 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, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2021/National/FARS2021NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/illinois-counties?period=2021.

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, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2021/National/FARS2021NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/illinois-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{national_counties_in_illinois_by_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2021/National/FARS2021NationalCSV.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/illinois-counties?period=2021. 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/2021/National/FARS2021NationalCSV.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, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/24
PB  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2021/National/FARS2021NationalCSV.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/illinois-counties?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/illinois-counties?period=2021.
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/2021/National/FARS2021NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

Which county has the highest traffic fatalities?

Cook County, with 458 in 2021, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which county has the lowest traffic fatalities?

Pulaski County, with 0 in 2021.

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.