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States where you are most likely to hit an animal

·Dom DiFurio, Jacob Osborn

Michael Tatman // Shutterstock
Michael Tatman // Shutterstock
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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.

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

StillRude // Shutterstock

1 / 51

#51. Washington DC

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

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

Brester Irina // Shutterstock

2 / 51

#50. Nevada

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

A rooster walking across the street in Honolulu.

John Drew Dow // Shutterstock

3 / 51

#49. Hawaii

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

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

Troutnut // Shutterstock

4 / 51

#48. Alaska

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

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

Tony Campbell // Shutterstock

6 / 51

#46. Florida

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

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

M. Vinuesa // Shutterstock

7 / 51

#45. California

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

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

knelson20 // Shutterstock

8 / 51

#44. Washington

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

A snapping turtle crossing a road in Windsor Locks.

Jennifer Yakey-Ault // Shutterstock

9 / 51

#43. Connecticut

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

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

LanaG // Shutterstock

11 / 51

#41. Colorado

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

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

EQRoy // Shutterstock

12 / 51

#40. New Jersey

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

Cattle crossing the desert road in Moab.

Logan Bush // Shutterstock

13 / 51

#39. Utah

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

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

Natalia Bratslavsky // Shutterstock

14 / 51

#38. Oregon

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

Coyote crossing a road in Big Bend National Park.

Henryk Sadura // Shutterstock

16 / 51

#36. Texas

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

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

LMortell // Shutterstock

17 / 51

#35. New Hampshire

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

Deer crossing a suburban road.

A.E. Blair Photography // Shutterstock

18 / 51

#34. Illinois

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

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

VIKVAD // Shutterstock

19 / 51

#33. Delaware

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

A deer crossing a road in McCall.

Arne Beruldsen // Shutterstock

21 / 51

#31. Idaho

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

A large snapping turtle crossing a road.

Amanda Schell // Shutterstock

22 / 51

#30. Nebraska

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

A bison crossing a road in the Wichita Mountains.

ken1979 // Shutterstock

23 / 51

#29. Oklahoma

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

A muddy wild horse crossing a road.

kathleen collins // Shutterstock

24 / 51

#28. Maryland

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

Geese crossing a road while cars are waiting.

flysnowfly // Shutterstock

26 / 51

#26. Massachusetts

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

A rat snake on a road in northeastern Georgia.

Charles F. Gibson // Shutterstock

27 / 51

#25. Georgia

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

A large male turkey walking on a Tennessee road.

Carolyn Franks // Shutterstock

28 / 51

#24. Tennessee

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

A common ribbon snake crawling on a road.

AlyoshinE // Shutterstock

29 / 51

#23. Indiana

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

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

Canva

31 / 51

#21. Rhode Island

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

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

Photo Spirit // Shutterstock

32 / 51

#20. Kansas

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

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

Bradley Huchteman // Shutterstock

33 / 51

#19. Alabama

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

A snapping turtle crossing a road.

Michele Korfhage // Shutterstock

34 / 51

#18. Kentucky

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

An elk about to cross a road.

Lorri Carter // Shutterstock

35 / 51

#17. Arkansas

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

A deer on the side of a wooded road.

Tyler Miller // Shutterstock

36 / 51

#16. North Carolina

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

A deer crossing a road in Arcadia National Park.

MH Anderson Photography // Shutterstock

37 / 51

#15. Maine

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

An alligator crossing a road.

David McManus // Shutterstock

38 / 51

#14. South Carolina

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

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

Fotos593 // Shutterstock

39 / 51

#13. Wyoming

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

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

Bram Reusen // Shutterstock

40 / 51

#12. North Dakota

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

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

BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock

41 / 51

#11. Minnesota

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

Three deer crossing a street during a snow storm.

LanaG // Shutterstock

42 / 51

#10. Missouri

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

A deer running across a road in Shenandoah National Park.

Kristi Blokhin // Shutterstock

43 / 51

#9. Virginia

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

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

Tami Freed // Shutterstock

44 / 51

#8. South Dakota

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

A deer crossing a road.

Canva

45 / 51

#7. Mississippi

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

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

Bella Bender // Shutterstock

46 / 51

#6. Iowa

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

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

Michael Tatman // Shutterstock

47 / 51

#5. Wisconsin

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

Geese crossing a road at Belle Isle Park in Detroit.

StompingGirl // Shutterstock

48 / 51

#4. Michigan

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

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

Rosemarie Mosteller // Shutterstock

49 / 51

#3. Pennsylvania

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

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

EQRoy // Shutterstock

50 / 51

#2. Montana

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

A deer crossing a road.

DSBurnside // Shutterstock

51 / 51

#1. West Virginia

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

Data work by Emma Rubin. 

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