Deer Collision Season in New Jersey

1 in 245, according to State Farm’s 2025-2026 analysis of animal collision claims, which ranks New Jersey 39th of 51 (the 50 states and the District of Columbia) and places it in the low likelihood category. The national figure is 1 in 145. That is a lower likelihood than 1 in 226 in the 2024-2025 edition.

23 from 2015 to 2024, about 2.3 a year, with 24 deaths, according to NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System. That is 0.4 percent of all fatal crashes in the state, and 29th among the 50 states by count. FARS counts crashes with any animal, not deer alone.

Nationally, State Farm names November, October and December as the peak months for large animal collisions. November is the month with the most fatal animal crashes in New Jersey, 8 of 23 across the ten years. The deer rut in New Jersey runs October 1 to January 31. Peak, as the agency describes it: November 3-23 for northern adults and November 10-20 for southern adults.

The deer rut in New Jersey runs October 1 to January 31. Peak, as the agency describes it: November 3-23 for northern adults and November 10-20 for southern adults. That is the timing the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection publishes, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety ties the autumn collision peak to the rut, when deer are most active.

About an hour. On November 7, 2027, sunset in Newark moves from 5:47 PM on the Saturday to 4:46 PM on the Sunday, computed with the U.S. Naval Observatory method.

Mostly after dark. Of New Jersey’s 23 fatal animal crashes from 2015 to 2024, 78 percent happened in the dark and none at dusk or dawn, and 48 percent happened between 5 PM and midnight.

New Jersey is the most densely populated state and still has deer in nearly every township, and the Turnpike posts autumn deer warnings on its message signs.