How many traffic fatalities occurred in Manatee County, Florida?

Manatee County recorded 532 total traffic fatalities across 502 reported crashes over the data period (2016-2023). The most recent year saw 71 fatalities. The county averages approximately 59.1 fatalities per year.

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

Despite a comparatively active crash history (502 recorded crashes), individual cause-code breakdowns are not published for Manatee County in the current FARS release. Statewide data for Florida may provide additional context.

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

The trend in Manatee 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 Manatee County?

Manatee County has a fatality rate of 16.1 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 Manatee County compare to the rest of Florida?

Manatee County's per-capita rate of 16.1 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 Manatee 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

Manatee County, Florida

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

Compiled by PlainRoadSafety · August 9, 2026

532
Total Fatalities (2016-2023): 71
Latest Year Deaths: 16.1
Per 100k Residents: Increasing
Trend

The verdict

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System, Manatee County ranks #1,160 of 2,328 U.S. counties by road-fatality rate per 100,000 residents (highest first) and #40 of 65 rated counties in FL. Manatee County's fatality rate of 16.1 per 100,000 residents places it close to the national middle by that per-capita measure.

#1,160 of 2,328
national by fatality rate: #40 of 65
in FL by rate: 50%
of rated U.S. counties are deadlier per capita: Increasing
fatality trend

FARS county milepost

Milepost MANATEE-81 · Manatee 16.1/100k · #1,160 of 2,328

Manatee County · 16.1/100k · increasing · cause n/a

TREND 16.1/100k
CAUSE #1,160 of 2,328
PHOTO 532 book
VS-ST Increasing
CRASH near Weld
FARS -33.2% 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 →

Manatee

16
Weld

16
East Baton…

16
Pinal

16
Orleans

17

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

How does Manatee County compare?

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

Compare with

Manatee County

16.1 per 100k

Florida county average

24.1 per 100k

Manatee County is 33% 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, Manatee 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 Manatee County's rate and the state average is 8.0 per 100,000. Its closest per-capita peer statewide is Bradford County, at 35.9 per 100,000 (a difference of 19.8). 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).

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

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

16 Lower than most a lower per-capita rate than 50% 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

Manatee 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 Manatee 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 (16.1 here), outside Florida.

Weld County 16.1 /100k · CO East Baton Rouge County 16.3 /100k · LA Pinal County 16.3 /100k · AZ Orleans County 16.5 /100k · LA

Similar fatality volume

Nearest counties by recorded FARS deaths (532 here), excluding the rate-peer set.

Oakland County 532 deaths · MI Spartanburg County 531 deaths · SC Knox County 523 deaths · TN Guilford County 518 deaths · NC

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.