Deer Collision Season in Mississippi

Q: What are the odds of hitting a deer in Mississippi?

1 in 81, according to State Farm’s 2025-2026 analysis of animal collision claims, which ranks Mississippi 7th of 51 (the 50 states and the District of Columbia) and places it in the high likelihood category. The national figure is 1 in 145. That is a lower likelihood than 1 in 77 in the 2024-2025 edition.

Q: How many fatal animal crashes happen in Mississippi?

25 from 2015 to 2024, about 2.5 a year, with 26 deaths, according to NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System. That is 0.4 percent of all fatal crashes in the state, and 26th among the 50 states by count. FARS counts crashes with any animal, not deer alone.

Q: When are deer collisions most common in Mississippi?

Nationally, State Farm names November, October and December as the peak months for large animal collisions. December is the month with the most fatal animal crashes in Mississippi, 5 of 25 across the ten years. The deer rut in Mississippi runs December 1 to February 10.

Q: How much earlier does it get dark after the clock change in Mississippi?

About an hour. On November 7, 2027, sunset in Jackson moves from 6:06 PM on the Saturday to 5:06 PM on the Sunday, computed with the U.S. Naval Observatory method.

Q: What time of day do animal crashes happen in Mississippi?

Mostly after dark. Of Mississippi’s 25 fatal animal crashes from 2015 to 2024, 88 percent happened in the dark and none at dusk or dawn, and 56 percent happened between 5 PM and midnight.

1 in 81 odds of an animal collision claim, 7th of 51 in State Farm’s 2025-2026 ranking. Mississippi deer live in the Delta, the pine belt and the hardwood hills, and in much of the state the rut runs from December into February.

Odds of a claim

1 in 81

State Farm rank

7 of 51

Likelihood category

High

The odds

Odds of hitting a deer in Mississippi

1 in 81, from State Farm’s analysis of industry animal collision claims between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026. That ranks Mississippi 7th of 51 (the 50 states and the District of Columbia), in the high likelihood category, against a national figure of 1 in 145. That is a lower likelihood than 1 in 77 in the 2024-2025 edition.

Source: State Farm, How likely are you to have an animal collision? (2025-2026). Compiled 2026-09-21.

When in the year

Fatal animal crashes in Mississippi by month

NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System recorded 25 fatal animal crashes in Mississippi from 2015 to 2024, about 2.5 a year, with 26 deaths. That is 0.4 percent of all fatal crashes in the state and 26th among the states by count. December is the month with the most fatal animal crashes in Mississippi, 5 of 25 across the ten years. FARS counts crashes with any animal; the insurance claim season, October to December, is shaded.

Fatal animal crashes by month, Mississippi, 2015 to 2024, 25 in all. Any animal, not deer alone. Shaded: October to December, the months insurance claims for animal collisions peak. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), first harmful event Live Animal, 2015 to 2024. Compiled 2026-09-21.

The rut

When the deer rut runs in Mississippi

The deer rut in Mississippi runs December 1 to February 10.

Source: Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, What Triggers the Whitetail Rut? (Peak Rut regional timing list).

The clock change

Sunset in Jackson when the clocks fall back

On November 7, 2027, clocks fall back an hour and sunset in Jackson moves from 6:06 PM to 5:06 PM, putting the evening drive home in dusk and darkness.

Sunset the day before6:06 PM

Sunset on November 75:06 PM

Jackson, 61 minutes earlier by the clock.

A white-tailed doe half hidden among young spruce and bare trunks in snowy woods, looking straight out — A white-tailed deer watching from the tree line along a road in St. Louis County, Minnesota. Photo by Courtney Celley, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “White-tailed deer (54250118546)”, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region, Public domain

Clock change: Uniform Time Act, 15 U.S.C. 260a, and 49 CFR part 71. Sunset calculated for Jackson and checked against the U.S. Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department.

In their words

What state agencies tell drivers

“If you cannot avoid hitting a deer with your vehicle, brake firmly and stay in your lane. Avoid sudden swerving, which can result in a loss of control and a more serious crash.”

Wisconsin Department of Transportation, quoted exactly.

“If a deer runs in front of you, do not swerve. Brake firmly and stay in your lane.”

Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security / Tennessee Highway Patrol, quoted exactly.

“Don’t swerve to avoid hitting a deer. Swerving can cause motorists to lose control and travel off the road or into oncoming traffic.”

Missouri Department of Transportation, quoted exactly.

Questions people ask about deer collisions in Mississippi

What are the odds of hitting a deer in Mississippi?

How many fatal animal crashes happen in Mississippi?

When are deer collisions most common in Mississippi?

When is the deer rut in Mississippi?

How much earlier does it get dark after the clock change in Mississippi?

What time of day do animal crashes happen in Mississippi?

Which large animals share the road in Mississippi?

Fatal animal crash counts compiled 2026-09-21 from the NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). State Farm odds, agency counts and quotes compiled 2026-09-21 from the pages linked above, quoted exactly.

Deer rut in MississippiWhen bucks chase does, the reason deer cross roads in daylight in November.Deer season in MississippiThe hunting season dates, which overlap the collision peak and keep deer moving.Daylight in MississippiSunrise and sunset in Jackson through the year, and the clock change.Deer collision season, every stateOdds, fatal animal crashes by month and hour, and the national picture.