The Deadliest States to Drive on July 4th, Ranked by Fatality Rate

Nathan Paulus, Head of Content and SEO, MoneyGeek NP
By Nathan Paulus

Updated: June 29, 2026

Advertising & Editorial Disclosure

From 2020 to 2024, the five most recent years of final federal crash data, 2,724 people were killed in crashes during the Fourth of July holiday period. Of the drivers killed, 38% were legally drunk, the highest impaired-driver share of any major U.S. holiday. MoneyGeek ranked all 50 states and Washington, D.C., by holiday-period fatality rate per mile driven, drawing on NHTSA crash data.

North Dakota ranked most dangerous at 0.28 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, more than seven times the rate in Rhode Island, the safest state at 0.04. The deadliest states are low-density places where drivers cover long distances on high-speed rural highways far from trauma care.

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WHAT THE JULY 4TH CRASH DATA SHOWS
  • The deadliest July 4th driving states span the rural West and South: North Dakota, Delaware, Nevada, New Mexico and Montana top the rate ranking, which runs 7.3 times higher in North Dakota (0.28) than in Rhode Island (0.04).
  • Of the 1,728 drivers killed during the holiday window, 38% were legally drunk, the highest impaired share of any major holiday.
  • From 2020 to 2024, 2,724 people died during the Fourth of July holiday period.
  • The deadliest hours fell between 9 p.m. and midnight, when 23% of all holiday deaths occurred.
  • The biggest-population states lead the raw death count (California 284, Texas 274, Florida 209) but sit mid-pack on rate per mile driven.

Where July 4th Driving Is Deadliest, State by State

Holiday traffic fatality rate per 100 million miles driven, pooled 2020–2024. Darker states had the highest risk per mile traveled.

Source: MoneyGeek analysis of NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2020-2024 and Federal Highway Administration Highway Statistics 2024 (Table HM-44)

Note: Hatched states (DE, SD, DC, VT, WY, ID, AK, ME, NH, HI, MA, RI) are flagged for small sample sizes and should be interpreted with caution.

The Most Dangerous States to Drive on July 4th

The five highest July 4th holiday fatality rates belonged to North Dakota, Delaware, Nevada, New Mexico and Montana. The list leans rural and low-density, where long drives on high-speed highways and distance from trauma care push the per-mile death rate higher. Two of the five rest on small samples, so the rate is real but the year-to-year figure is volatile. The caveats below flag where that matters.

  • northDakota icon
    North Dakota

    At 0.28 deaths per 100 million miles driven, North Dakota ranked most dangerous, with 15 holiday deaths over five years. The state also ranks first per capita, at 1.88 deaths per 100,000 residents, placing it at the top on both exposure measures. The 43% drunk-driver share runs above the 38% national holiday figure, though it rests on 10 drivers killed, making it directional rather than precise.

  • delaware icon
    Delaware

    Delaware ranked second at 0.25, with 14 holiday deaths and a 33% drunk-driver share. It is the one top-five state below the reliability threshold: its rate rests on seven drivers killed over five years, so a single bad holiday weekend moves the number. The ranking holds on the pooled five-year rate, but the state belongs in any caveat about small-sample volatility, and its drunk share should not anchor a headline.

  • nevada icon
    Nevada

    Third on the list at 0.23, Nevada had the highest death count among the top five, with 33 holiday deaths and 19 drivers killed. That larger count makes Nevada the most statistically reliable entry in the group. Its 31% drunk-driver share sits below the national holiday figure, so Nevada's rate reflects overall crash risk on its rural highway corridors more than impaired driving.

  • newMexico icon
    New Mexico

    New Mexico ranked fourth at 0.23, with 32 holiday deaths and a 35% drunk-driver share. The state also ranks second per capita and places among the deadliest states in MoneyGeek's summer study. New Mexico is a year-round outlier, not a one-holiday anomaly. Its holiday numbers reflect a persistent statewide safety record rather than a one-weekend effect.

  • montana icon
    Montana

    Montana completed the top five at 0.23, with 17 holiday deaths and a 39% drunk-driver share, just above the national holiday figure. A third-place per-capita rank puts Montana near the top on both measures. Two higher-volume states sit just outside the top tier: Alabama (0.21, 67 deaths) and South Carolina (0.20, 65 deaths), each with high death counts and drunk-driver shares at or above 50%.

How July 4th Compares to a Normal Driving Day

More drivers are impaired on July 4th than on an ordinary driving day. MoneyGeek's drunk driving statistics rank it the second most dangerous U.S. holiday for impaired driving, behind only New Year's. 

The holiday's alcohol share runs eight points above the 30% rate for all U.S. traffic deaths in 2023, the most recent year NHTSA has published (DOT HS 813 726).

Which States Had the Most Drunk Driving on July 4th?

The national drunk-driver share of 38% masks wide variation by state. Among states with enough driver deaths to measure reliably, five had drunk-driver shares of 50% or more: Arkansas (53%), South Carolina (53%), Iowa (51%), Oregon (50%) and Connecticut (50%). Another cluster, including Maryland, Alabama, Minnesota, Ohio and Oklahoma, fell between 46% and 49%. The lowest reliable shares were in Mississippi (18%), New Jersey (24%) and New York (25%).

Deaths concentrate at night. 23% fell between 9 p.m. and midnight, a pattern MoneyGeek's analysis of nighttime driving risk confirms across every state. The holiday data follows the same pattern, with 23% of deaths falling between 9 p.m. and midnight.

North Dakota's combination of the highest fatality rate and a 43% drunk-driver share points to higher uninsured-motorist exposure than most states. MoneyGeek's analysis of car insurance options in North Dakota includes rate and coverage data for the state.

Why the July 4th Window Length Changes Each Year

The Fourth of July holiday period is not a fixed length. It runs from 6 p.m. the day before the first observed day to 5:59 a.m. the day after the last observed day, so the window stretches or shrinks depending on which weekday the Fourth lands on. The 2020 through 2022 windows ran three days; 2023 and 2024 ran four. Longer windows capture more driving, so they capture more deaths. The ranking pools five years and normalizes to deaths per mile driven rather than comparing raw single-year counts.

What the Data Shows for July 4th Drivers

The July 4th data points to two risks: time of night and impaired drivers. Nearly a quarter of holiday road deaths fall between 9 p.m. and midnight, the window when fireworks crowds head home and impaired driving peaks.

For a full-season view, see MoneyGeek's America's 100 Deadliest Driving Days by State, which ranks every state by summer fatality rate using the same federal crash data and normalization method.

The same fatality-rate method applies across seasons. MoneyGeek's worst states for winter driving ranks the December-through-February risk, completing a year-round picture of where road deaths concentrate.

Full Data Table: July 4th Holiday Fatalities and Rates by State, 2020 to 2024

Ranked by fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, pooled across 2020 to 2024 (1 = most dangerous). Drunk-driver share is the percentage of drivers killed who were legally drunk.

1
North Dakota
15
0.283
43%
2
Delaware †
14
0.247
33%*
3
Nevada
33
0.233
31%
4
New Mexico
32
0.228
35%
5
Montana
17
0.227
39%
6
South Dakota †
13
0.216
4%*
7
Washington, D.C. †
4
0.216
0%* (1 driver)
8
Vermont †
6
0.213
33%*
9
Alabama
67
0.206
48%
10
Kentucky
54
0.203
34%
11
Oregon
43
0.201
50%
12
South Carolina
65
0.198
53%
13
Indiana
60
0.192
41%
14
Iowa
36
0.188
51%
15
Mississippi
38
0.183
18%
16
Michigan
95
0.181
33%
17
Arizona
67
0.181
44%
18
Louisiana
50
0.178
27%
19
Georgia
114
0.176
34%
20
Oklahoma
42
0.176
46%
21
Tennessee
80
0.169
41%
22
Ohio
97
0.169
47%
23
Florida
209
0.167
32%
24
Colorado
57
0.165
42%
25
North Carolina
98
0.163
29%
26
Illinois
94
0.161
29%
27
Arkansas
30
0.153
53%
28
Texas
274
0.149
43%
29
Missouri
63
0.148
37%
30
Wyoming †
8
0.141
25%*
31
Wisconsin
49
0.139
37%
32
Idaho †
13
0.137
46%*
33
Alaska †
4
0.135
67%* (3 drivers)
34
Kansas
21
0.134
43%
35
California
284
0.131
39%
36
West Virginia
12
0.130
31%
37
Pennsylvania
71
0.130
29%
38
Washington
48
0.128
38%
39
New York
84
0.126
25%
40
Maine †
8
0.126
30%*
41
Minnesota
36
0.125
47%
42
Utah
27
0.121
32%
43
Nebraska
14
0.119
27%
44
Connecticut
21
0.110
50%
45
Virginia
56
0.106
40%
46
New Hampshire †
7
0.092
57%*
47
Maryland
33
0.092
49%
48
New Jersey
38
0.078
24%
49
Hawaii †
3
0.062
33%* (3 drivers)
50
Massachusetts †
18
0.049
27%*
51
Rhode Island †
2
0.039
100%* (1 driver)

Methodology

MoneyGeek ranked all 50 states and Washington, D.C., by traffic fatality rate during the Fourth of July holiday period, pooling 2020 through 2024. Fatality data comes from NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) final-year files. A death counts as a holiday-period fatality if it occurred within 30 days of a crash on a public trafficway during the window. The rate divides pooled holiday deaths by 2024 state vehicle miles traveled from the Federal Highway Administration, applying the same exposure-adjusted method used in MoneyGeek's America's 100 Deadliest Driving Days study.

The holiday period follows NHTSA's definition: 6 p.m. the day before the first observed day through 5:59 a.m. the day after the last. Window length varies by year (three or four days), so the ranking pools five years and reports a rate rather than raw counts. The pooled national total of 2,724 reconciles to NHTSA's published 2,719 within rounding.

Drunk-driver share uses NHTSA's multi-imputation method on FARS BAC data and matches NHTSA's published 38% national figure. Twelve low-population states had fewer than 10 driver deaths pooled over the five years; their drunk-share figures are flagged as unstable. Puerto Rico appears in pooled national totals but is excluded from the state ranking because FHWA does not publish a comparable VMT figure. The 2020-to-2024 window covers the five most recent years of final FARS data, the latest available as of June 2026. NHTSA's 2025 figures are early estimates only and are not final, so they are excluded from the state ranking to keep every state on verified, fully reported crash data.

About Nathan Paulus

Nathan Paulus, Head of Content and SEO, MoneyGeek

Nathan Paulus is Head of Content and SEO at MoneyGeek, where he leads content strategy and produces original data research across insurance, consumer costs, transportation safety, housing, public policy and personal finance. He also reviews published studies for methodology, source quality and factual accuracy before they reach readers.

Research and Analysis

In nearly six years at MoneyGeek, Paulus has published more than 100 original studies and explanatory guides. His insurance research includes 50-state comparisons of health care outcomes, costs and access; an analysis of how uninsured rates track with state Medicaid expansion decisions and electoral patterns; full coverage auto rate analyses across major insurers in all 50 states; and a study of how premium trends track with industry underwriting losses, with combined ratio data sourced from Fitch Ratings, AM Best and Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI figures. His research also covers vehicle pricing trends across the U.S. new car market, summer traffic fatality rates by state, homeowner underinsurance ratios using mortgage and policy data, and housing affordability across all 50 states.

His research has been cited by Bloomberg, the Los Angeles Times, Forbes, Fast Company, the San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today and NBC Los Angeles. Harvard, MIT, Stanford and Yale have also referenced his work.

Career

Growing up, Paulus developed an early interest in personal finance through his grandmother, who emphasized saving over earning as the foundation of financial stability. Her framing still shows up in how he writes about money for people without a financial background.

Paulus joined MoneyGeek in July 2020 as Director of Content Marketing. In that role, he led the content team and directed data journalism production across insurance and personal finance verticals. He was promoted to Head of Marketing and Communications in December 2023, where he took on digital PR and communications strategy. He has held his current role as Head of Content and SEO since January 2025.

Before MoneyGeek, he served as Director of Content Marketing and SEO at Ventrix Advertising. There, he helped build two content sites from scratch, contributed to link-building programs that secured more than 1,500 unique referring domains within a year, and co-managed a marketing team of more than 20 people. Earlier, he spent two and a half years at ABUV Media, moving up from Marketing Research Analyst to Senior Marketing Tactics Analyst, where he built his grounding in audience research, content strategy and SEO.

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