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States where you are most likely to hit an animal


Michael Tatman // Shutterstock

States where you are most likely to hit an animal

White tail deer standing in the middle of a Wisconsin road in the fall.

Your odds of being killed by an animal in the U.S. are incredibly low.

An academic analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data covering all animal-involved deaths from 2008 to 2015 found that Americans have a 1 in 1.6 million chance of dying yearly due to animal interaction.

The most common culprits when those tragedies occur aren’t the alligators, scorpions, or snakes you may expect and fear the most—they’re deer.

As people continue to build homes and communities where deer and other animals have lived for millennia, these creatures are more likely to run into the middle of the road. They caused about 1.8 million vehicular accidents over the 12 months ending in June 2023.

Accidents involving deer are more common between October and December, which is deer mating season. The odds of hitting a deer are higher around dawn and during the night when deer are most active and roads are dark. Deer-vehicle crashes are dangerous and expensive, costing drivers north of $4,000 or more depending on the vehicle and the extent of the damage.

Stacker used State Farm’s annual animal collision study to rank all 50 states and Washington D.C. by the chance a driver there will hit an animal. State Farm based its rankings on claims filed between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023, and the number of licensed drivers in each state.

State Farm’s claims analysis also found that the 2022-2023 period was safer for drivers and animals on the road than the year prior, with animal-involved collision claims dropping by about 100,000. The odds that a driver collided with any animal on the road and resulted in a claim was about 1 in 127 over the year. The four victims other than deer rounding out the top five of car-animal collisions were rodents, dogs, raccoons, and unidentified animals.

It may come as no surprise that the more rural areas of Appalachia and the Midwest had some of the highest car-animal crash odds in the country, while the desert Southwest had some of the lowest.

Are you curious to see if your state topped the list? Read on on to find out—and remember always to keep your eyes on the road, no matter the odds.



StillRude // Shutterstock

#51. Washington DC

A squirrel eating an apple on the side of a road in D.C. with a police car in the background.

– Chances of hitting an animal, resulting in a claim: 1 in 977
– Risk level: Low



Brester Irina // Shutterstock

#50. Nevada

Wild goats walking across a road in the Valley of Fire.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 770
– Risk level: Low



John Drew Dow // Shutterstock

#49. Hawaii

A rooster walking across the street in Honolulu.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 710
– Risk level: Low



Troutnut // Shutterstock

#48. Alaska

A large grizzly bear walking off into the sunset and toward a car on a road in Denali National Park.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 522
– Risk level: Low



Mattia Cioni // Shutterstock

#47. Arizona

A donkey on the side of the road in Oatman.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 508
– Risk level: Low



Tony Campbell // Shutterstock

#46. Florida

An alligator crossing a road in St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 487
– Risk level: Low



M. Vinuesa // Shutterstock

#45. California

A wild black bear crossing the road in Kings Canyon National Park.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 388
– Risk level: Low



knelson20 // Shutterstock

#44. Washington

A wild turkey crossing a sunny state highway in Kittitas County.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 286
– Risk level: Low



Jennifer Yakey-Ault // Shutterstock

#43. Connecticut

A snapping turtle crossing a road in Windsor Locks.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 267
– Risk level: Low



Joseph Sohm // Shutterstock

#42. New Mexico

A car stopping for a large bull that is crossing a highway in Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 262
– Risk level: Low



LanaG // Shutterstock

#41. Colorado

A bull elk walking on a highway in Rocky Mountain National Park.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 240
– Risk level: Low



EQRoy // Shutterstock

#40. New Jersey

A wild deer on the side of the road in the Sandy Hook Gateway National Recreation Area Park.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 213
– Risk level: Low



Logan Bush // Shutterstock

#39. Utah

Cattle crossing the desert road in Moab.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 205
– Risk level: Low



Natalia Bratslavsky // Shutterstock

#38. Oregon

Cattle and cowboys on crossing a road in Outback Scenic Byway.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 197
– Risk level: Low



mark smith nsb // Shutterstock

#37. Louisiana

An alligator crossing a road in New Orleans.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 193
– Risk level: Low



Henryk Sadura // Shutterstock

#36. Texas

Coyote crossing a road in Big Bend National Park.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 191
– Risk level: Low



LMortell // Shutterstock

#35. New Hampshire

A snapping turtle with an outstretched neck crossing a dirt road.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 169
– Risk level: Low



A.E. Blair Photography // Shutterstock

#34. Illinois

Deer crossing a suburban road.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 152
– Risk level: Medium



VIKVAD // Shutterstock

#33. Delaware

A red fox on the side of a road in the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 148
– Risk level: Medium



Andrea Izzotti // Shutterstock

#32. New York

A white tail deer crossing the road near houses in Oneonta.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 144
– Risk level: Medium



Arne Beruldsen // Shutterstock

#31. Idaho

A deer crossing a road in McCall.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 136
– Risk level: Medium



Amanda Schell // Shutterstock

#30. Nebraska

A large snapping turtle crossing a road.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 127
– Risk level: Medium



ken1979 // Shutterstock

#29. Oklahoma

A bison crossing a road in the Wichita Mountains.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 119
– Risk level: Medium



kathleen collins // Shutterstock

#28. Maryland

A muddy wild horse crossing a road.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 116
– Risk level: Medium



Joseph Sohm // Shutterstock

#27. Vermont

A herd of cow grazing near a road with a tractor driving down it.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 110
– Risk level: Medium



flysnowfly // Shutterstock

#26. Massachusetts

Geese crossing a road while cars are waiting.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 109
– Risk level: Medium



Charles F. Gibson // Shutterstock

#25. Georgia

A rat snake on a road in northeastern Georgia.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 108
– Risk level: Medium



Carolyn Franks // Shutterstock

#24. Tennessee

A large male turkey walking on a Tennessee road.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 107
– Risk level: Medium



AlyoshinE // Shutterstock

#23. Indiana

A common ribbon snake crawling on a road.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 100
– Risk level: Medium



Eric Glenn // Shutterstock

#22. Ohio

A deer walking toward a road in Columbus.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 97
– Risk level: Medium



Canva

#21. Rhode Island

A young deer stands at the edge of a road on a sunny day.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 96
– Risk level: Medium



Photo Spirit // Shutterstock

#20. Kansas

A herd of cow and a cowboy on the side of a Kansas road.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 96
– Risk level: Medium



Bradley Huchteman // Shutterstock

#19. Alabama

A gopher tortoise crossing a road at Gulf State Park with grass in its mouth.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 93
– Risk level: Medium



Michele Korfhage // Shutterstock

#18. Kentucky

A snapping turtle crossing a road.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 91
– Risk level: Medium



Lorri Carter // Shutterstock

#17. Arkansas

An elk about to cross a road.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 88
– Risk level: High



Tyler Miller // Shutterstock

#16. North Carolina

A deer on the side of a wooded road.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 87
– Risk level: High



MH Anderson Photography // Shutterstock

#15. Maine

A deer crossing a road in Arcadia National Park.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 83
– Risk level: High



David McManus // Shutterstock

#14. South Carolina

An alligator crossing a road.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 83
– Risk level: High



Fotos593 // Shutterstock

#13. Wyoming

Two white-tailed deers crossing a road in Yellowstone National Park.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 83
– Risk level: High



Bram Reusen // Shutterstock

#12. North Dakota

A herd of bison crossing the Scenic Drive in Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 82
– Risk level: High



BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock

#11. Minnesota

A deer walking along the side of a road in Voyageurs National Park.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 81
– Risk level: High



LanaG // Shutterstock

#10. Missouri

Three deer crossing a street during a snow storm.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 80
– Risk level: High



Kristi Blokhin // Shutterstock

#9. Virginia

A deer running across a road in Shenandoah National Park.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 78
– Risk level: High



Tami Freed // Shutterstock

#8. South Dakota

A bison crossing a dirt road with traffic in the background at Custer State Park.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 69
– Risk level: High



Canva

#7. Mississippi

A deer crossing a road.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 64
– Risk level: High



Bella Bender // Shutterstock

#6. Iowa

A herd of American Bison causing a traffic jam on a rural road in the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 63
– Risk level: High



Michael Tatman // Shutterstock

#5. Wisconsin

A group of white-tailed deer crossing a county highway road.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 60
– Risk level: High



StompingGirl // Shutterstock

#4. Michigan

Geese crossing a road at Belle Isle Park in Detroit.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 60
– Risk level: High



Rosemarie Mosteller // Shutterstock

#3. Pennsylvania

A white tail deer standing in the middle of a Pennsylvania road.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 59
– Risk level: High



EQRoy // Shutterstock

#2. Montana

A herd of wild bison crossing a road in front of stopped cars in Yellowstone National Park.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 53
– Risk level: High



DSBurnside // Shutterstock

#1. West Virginia

A deer crossing a road.

– Chances of hitting an animal: 1 in 38
– Risk level: High

Data work by Emma Rubin. 


Article Topic Follows: stacker-Science

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