How many traffic fatalities occurred in El Paso County, Colorado?

El Paso County recorded 595 total traffic fatalities across 562 reported crashes over the data period (2016-2023). The most recent year saw 78 fatalities. The county averages approximately 66.1 fatalities per year.

What is the leading cause of road fatalities in El Paso County?

Despite a comparatively active crash history (562 recorded crashes), individual cause-code breakdowns are not published for El Paso County in the current FARS release. Statewide data for Colorado may provide additional context.

Is the trend of road fatalities in El Paso County increasing or decreasing?

The trend in El Paso County is increasing. This indicates that traffic fatalities have risen over the data period, warranting attention to road safety initiatives.

What is the fatality rate per capita in El Paso County?

El Paso County has a fatality rate of 10.5 per 100,000 residents, which leaves it safer than most U.S. counties by that per-capita measure among the 3,137 U.S. counties in this dataset.

How does El Paso County compare to the rest of Colorado?

El Paso County's per-capita rate of 10.5 per 100,000 residents is below the Colorado county average of 15.8. Visit the Colorado state page for the full county-by-county breakdown.

Where does the road fatality data for El Paso County come from?

All road fatality data comes from the NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), a census of fatal motor vehicle crashes on public roads in the United States. FARS data covers the period 2016-2023 and includes all crashes resulting in at least one fatality within 30 days.

COUNTY FATALITY DATA

El Paso County, Colorado

Road fatality data for El Paso County (CO). Data period: 2016-2023.

Compiled by PlainRoadSafety · August 9, 2026

595
Total Fatalities (2016-2023): 78
Latest Year Deaths: 10.5
Per 100k Residents: Increasing
Trend

The verdict

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System, El Paso County ranks #1,713 of 2,328 U.S. counties by road-fatality rate per 100,000 residents (highest first) and #23 of 33 rated counties in CO. El Paso County's fatality rate of 10.5 per 100,000 residents leaves it safer than most U.S. counties by that per-capita measure.

#1,713 of 2,328
national by fatality rate: #23 of 33
in CO by rate: 73%
of rated U.S. counties are deadlier per capita: Increasing
fatality trend

Highway fatality milepost

Milepost EL-PASO-41 · El Paso 10.5/100k · #1,713 of 2,328

El Paso County · 10.5/100k · increasing · cause n/a

YOY 10.5/100k
RATE #1,713 of 2,328
RANK 595 book
BOOK Increasing
TREND near Broward
CAUSE -33.4% vs CO

Stamps derive from this county's NHTSA FARS row (per-100k or book, corpus rank, trend, nationwide peer NAME, vs-state gap), not a trip-risk forecast. PlainRoadSafety is informational only. See our disclaimer. Verify with NHTSA FARS → · Read with methodology → · Understanding road fatality data → · Colorado state profile →

Fulton

10
Suffolk

10
El Paso

11
Broward

11
Ingham

11

What this shows El Paso County sits among nearest nationwide per-capita peers.

How does El Paso County compare?

2023 road deaths per 100,000 residents. Choose any comparison from the menu.

Compare with

El Paso County

10.5 per 100k

Colorado county average

15.8 per 100k

El Paso County is 34% safer than the comparison

2023 road deaths from the NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System over population from the U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (Vintage 2023). Rates shown for counties with 10,000+ residents and a 2023 FARS record.

Among the 15 rated counties in Colorado, El Paso County ranks 15 for per-capita risk, below the state's own per-capita average of 15.8 per 100,000 -- nationally, this rate leaves it safer than most U.S. counties by that per-capita measure. The gap between El Paso County's rate and the state average is 5.3 per 100,000. Its closest per-capita peer statewide is Fremont County, at 13.9 per 100,000 (a difference of 3.4). Its peer counties, highest to lowest per 100,000 residents: Park County (38.6), Routt County (35.9), Archuleta County (35.2), Logan County (29.1), Rio Grande County (26.8), Montezuma County (26.4), Pueblo County (23.6), La Plata County (21.3), Morgan County (20.3), Delta County (18.9), Gunnison County (17.3), Summit County (16.4), Weld County (16.1), Fremont County (13.9).

El Paso County's rate vs. every rated U.S. county

Deaths per 100,000 residents -- counties with 10,000+ people, NHTSA FARS over Census population

11 Lower than most a lower per-capita rate than 73% of 2,328 rated counties

rated U.S. counties, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more rated counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source NHTSA FARS over U.S. Census Bureau population estimates · 2026-08-09

El Paso County's rate vs. the Colorado state average

← Back to Colorado All States

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) This information is for research and informational purposes only

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Counties with similar FARS profiles

Two cross-state peer sets for El Paso County. Same-state rate comparisons stay in the chart above; these neighborhoods are nearest other-state counties with population at least 250,000.

Similar per-capita fatality rate

Nearest counties by deaths per 100,000 residents (10.5 here), outside Colorado.

Broward County 10.5 /100k · FL Ingham County 10.5 /100k · MI Fulton County 10.4 /100k · GA Suffolk County 10.4 /100k · NY

Similar fatality volume

Nearest counties by recorded FARS deaths (595 here), excluding the rate-peer set.

Salt Lake County 587 deaths · UT East Baton Rouge County 607 deaths · LA Nassau County 611 deaths · NY Mobile County 612 deaths · AL

Verify with NHTSA FARS →

Verify with FHWA →

Source and method. PlainRoadSafety is rendered directly from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). PlainRoadSafety aggregates published FARS records and does not invent a fatality count the census does not report. County figures are computed directly from NHTSA FARS census data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our Editorial & Corrections Policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or Report a correction. Data current as of October 2024.