How Many Car Accidents Happen a Day?
Quick answer: Of the cities we track from official open data, Chicago records the most: about 303 police-recorded crashes a day over the last year. Across the United States, about 112 people died in traffic crashes each day in 2020–2024 (NHTSA FARS). Each city below shows its crashes per day, its total so far this year and the same dates last year, straight from the police data its government publishes.
Crashes per day and so far this year
| City | Crashes per day | This year so far | Same dates last year | Change* | Killed this year | Killed, same dates last year | Data to |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago United States |
303 | 88,620 | 87,837 | — | 81 | — | 2026-10-20 |
| New York City United States |
231 | 36,096 | 36,297 | +1% | 65 | 81 | 2026-06-11 |
| Nashville United States |
75 | 21,830 | 21,364 | +4% | 82 | 85 | 2026-10-19 |
| Denver United States |
55 | 15,872 | 13,866 | +17% | 26 | 25 | 2026-10-17 |
| Washington, DC United States |
48 | 14,213 | 14,886 | -6% | — | — | 2026-10-18 |
| Austin United States |
30 | 7,985 | 9,016 | -11% | 60 | 79 | 2026-10-06 |
| Montgomery County, MD United States |
28 | 7,799 | 7,924 | +1% | — | — | 2026-10-14 |
| St. Louis County, MO United States |
26 | 7,127 | 7,065 | +2% | 25 | 20 | 2026-10-12 |
| Toronto Canada · injury and fatal collisions |
24 | 6,449 | 6,418 | +1% | 37 fatal crashes | 33 | 2026-09-30 |
| Colorado Springs United States |
20 | 5,755 | 5,527 | +5% | 30 | 28 | 2026-10-17 |
| Canberra Australia |
15 | 3,859 | 4,054 | -5% | — | — | 2026-09-07 |
| Halifax Canada |
15 | 3,343 | 3,574 | -1% | — | — | 2026-08-31 |
| Tucson United States |
14 | 3,970 | 4,149 | -1% | 67 | 69 | 2026-10-19 |
| Des Moines, IA United States |
14 | 3,884 | 3,889 | 0% | 14 | 9 | 2026-10-19 |
| Seattle United States |
13 | 3,210 | 4,338 | -20% | 12 | 24 | 2026-10-05 |
| Virginia Beach United States |
13 | 2,646 | 2,985 | -13% | 16 | 14 | 2026-07-31 |
| Gainesville, FL United States |
12 | 2,739 | 2,609 | +6% | — | — | 2026-08-19 |
| Richmond, VA United States |
12 | 2,353 | 2,681 | -13% | 10 | 13 | 2026-07-31 |
| Grand Rapids, MI United States |
11 | 3,057 | 2,806 | +10% | — | — | 2026-09-30 |
| Norfolk, VA United States |
11 | 2,445 | 2,322 | +5% | 9 | 15 | 2026-07-31 |
| Overland Park, KS United States |
11 | 2,964 | 3,487 | -16% | — | — | 2026-10-18 |
| Milwaukee United States |
11 | 3,150 | 3,068 | +9% | 41 | 56 | 2026-10-18 |
| Boston United States · crashes Boston police and EMS responded to |
9.6 | 2,308 | 2,205 | +7% | — | — | 2026-09-01 |
| San Francisco United States |
8.8 | 2,130 | 1,857 | +15% | 21 | 18 | 2026-08-31 |
| Yamagata Prefecture Japan |
6.7 | 1,111 | 1,167 | 0% | 8 | 6 | 2026-06-29 |
| Cedar Rapids, IA United States |
6.1 | 1,669 | 1,504 | +14% | 4 | 0 | 2026-10-15 |
| Vancouver, WA United States |
5.1 | 1,286 | 1,578 | -10% | 6 | 7 | 2026-09-28 |
| Chesapeake, VA United States |
4.8 | 953 | 1,265 | -29% | 9 | 10 | 2026-07-31 |
| Johns Creek, GA United States |
4.6 | 1,284 | 1,234 | +5% | — | — | 2026-10-19 |
| Arlington, VA United States |
4.3 | 905 | 1,034 | -15% | 3 | 3 | 2026-07-31 |
| Appleton, WI United States |
3.8 | 1,030 | 956 | +10% | 4 | 3 | 2026-10-05 |
| Ventura, CA United States |
3.8 | 1,049 | 1,001 | +5% | 6 | 7 | 2026-10-13 |
| Alexandria, VA United States |
2.3 | 544 | 605 | -14% | 2 | 2 | 2026-07-31 |
| Somerville, MA United States |
1.2 | 298 | 268 | +16% | 0 | 0 | 2026-09-19 |
"This year so far" runs from 1 January to each city's newest record; last year's column covers the same dates. *Change compares the two years up to 30 days before the newest record, because police add late reports for weeks. Crashes per day = recorded crashes in the 365 days to the newest record ÷ 365. Killed figures are the portal's own counts and can differ from final official death tolls. Sources: each city's police open-data portal, linked on its city page.
Related: most dangerous intersections by city · most dangerous counties in the US · odds of dying in a car crash · road death statistics