How many traffic fatalities occurred in Lake County, Florida?

Lake County recorded 502 total traffic fatalities across 449 reported crashes over the data period (2016-2023). The most recent year saw 85 fatalities. The county averages approximately 55.8 fatalities per year.

What is the leading cause of road fatalities in Lake County?

Despite a comparatively active crash history (449 recorded crashes), individual cause-code breakdowns are not published for Lake County in the current FARS release. Statewide data for Florida may provide additional context.

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

The trend in Lake 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 Lake County?

Lake County has a fatality rate of 20.0 per 100,000 residents, which places it close to the national middle by that per-capita measure among the 3,137 U.S. counties in this dataset.

How does Lake County compare to the rest of Florida?

Lake County's per-capita rate of 20.0 per 100,000 residents is below the Florida county average of 24.1. Visit the Florida state page for the full county-by-county breakdown.

Where does the road fatality data for Lake 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

Lake County, Florida

Road fatality data for Lake County (FL). Data period: 2016-2023.

Compiled by PlainRoadSafety · August 9, 2026

502
Total Fatalities (2016-2023): 85
Latest Year Deaths: 20.0
Per 100k Residents: Increasing
Trend

The verdict

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System, Lake County ranks #835 of 2,328 U.S. counties by road-fatality rate per 100,000 residents (highest first) and #29 of 65 rated counties in FL. Lake County's fatality rate of 20.0 per 100,000 residents places it close to the national middle by that per-capita measure.

#835 of 2,328
national by fatality rate: #29 of 65
in FL by rate: 36%
of rated U.S. counties are deadlier per capita: Increasing
fatality trend

FARS milepost strip

Milepost LAKE-69 · Lake 20.0/100k · #835 of 2,328

Lake County · 20.0/100k · increasing · cause n/a

PHOTO 20.0/100k
VS-ST #835 of 2,328
CRASH 502 book
FARS Increasing
NHTSA near Dekalb
MILE -17.0% vs FL

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 → · Florida state profile →

Kern

19
Davidson

19
Dekalb

20
Lake

20
Merced

20

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

How does Lake County compare?

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

Compare with

Lake County

20.0 per 100k

Florida county average

24.1 per 100k

Lake County is 17% 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 Florida, Lake County ranks 15 for per-capita risk, below the state's own per-capita average of 24.1 per 100,000 -- nationally, this rate places it close to the national middle by that per-capita measure. The gap between Lake County's rate and the state average is 4.1 per 100,000. Its closest per-capita peer statewide is Bradford County, at 35.9 per 100,000 (a difference of 15.9). Its peer counties, highest to lowest per 100,000 residents: Glades County (86.0), Hardee County (58.2), Dixie County (57.3), Madison County (54.0), Calhoun County (52.0), Gadsden County (47.9), Franklin County (47.6), Levy County (45.1), Suwannee County (41.2), Gulf County (38.2), Hamilton County (37.1), Hendry County (36.9), De Soto County (36.1), Bradford County (35.9).

Lake County's rate vs. every rated U.S. county

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

20 Around the middle a lower per-capita rate than 36% 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

Lake County's rate vs. the Florida state average

← Back to Florida 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 Lake 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 (20.0 here), outside Florida.

Dekalb County 19.8 /100k · GA Merced County 20.2 /100k · CA Davidson County 19.4 /100k · TN Kern County 19.3 /100k · CA

Similar fatality volume

Nearest counties by recorded FARS deaths (502 here), excluding the rate-peer set.

Sedgwick County 500 deaths · KS New Castle County 499 deaths · DE Adams County 507 deaths · CO Cobb County 508 deaths · GA

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.