How many traffic fatalities occurred in Merced County, California?

Merced County recorded 494 total traffic fatalities across 438 reported crashes over the data period (2016-2023). The most recent year saw 59 fatalities. The county averages approximately 54.9 fatalities per year.

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

Despite a comparatively active crash history (438 recorded crashes), individual cause-code breakdowns are not published for Merced County in the current FARS release. Statewide data for California may provide additional context.

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

The trend in Merced 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 Merced County?

Merced County has a fatality rate of 20.2 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 Merced County compare to the rest of California?

Merced County's per-capita rate of 20.2 per 100,000 residents is above the California county average of 16.9. Visit the California state page for the full county-by-county breakdown.

Where does the road fatality data for Merced 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

Merced County, California

Road fatality data for Merced County (CA). Data period: 2016-2023.

Compiled by PlainRoadSafety · August 9, 2026

494
Total Fatalities (2016-2023): 59
Latest Year Deaths: 20.2
Per 100k Residents: Increasing
Trend

The verdict

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System, Merced County ranks #824 of 2,328 U.S. counties by road-fatality rate per 100,000 residents (highest first) and #16 of 54 rated counties in CA. Merced County's fatality rate of 20.2 per 100,000 residents places it close to the national middle by that per-capita measure.

#824 of 2,328
national by fatality rate: #16 of 54
in CA by rate: 35%
of rated U.S. counties are deadlier per capita: Increasing
fatality trend

NHTSA FARS milepost

Milepost MERCED-47 · Merced 20.2/100k · #824 of 2,328

Merced County · 20.2/100k · increasing · cause n/a

BOOK 20.2/100k
TREND #824 of 2,328
CAUSE 494 book
PHOTO Increasing
VS-ST near Alachua
CRASH +19.4% vs CA

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 → · California state profile →

Davidson

19
Dekalb

20
Lake

20
Merced

20
Alachua

20

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

How does Merced County compare?

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

Compare with

Merced County

20.2 per 100k

California county average

16.9 per 100k

Merced County is 20% deadlier 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 California, Merced County ranks 15 for per-capita risk, above the state's own per-capita average of 16.9 per 100,000 -- nationally, this rate places it close to the national middle by that per-capita measure. The gap between Merced County's rate and the state average is 3.3 per 100,000. Its closest per-capita peer statewide is Colusa County, at 22.7 per 100,000 (a difference of 2.5). Its peer counties, highest to lowest per 100,000 residents: Trinity County (51.1), Glenn County (46.2), Siskiyou County (42.0), Inyo County (37.8), Tuolumne County (35.1), Calaveras County (30.1), Lake County (28.0), Amador County (26.3), Kings County (24.9), Mendocino County (24.7), Lassen County (24.3), Sutter County (23.5), Yuba County (23.3), Colusa County (22.7).

Merced 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 35% 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

Merced County's rate vs. the California state average

← Back to California 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 Merced 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 (20.2 here), outside California.

Alachua County 20.3 /100k · FL Lake County 20.0 /100k · FL Dekalb County 19.8 /100k · GA Davidson County 19.4 /100k · TN

Similar fatality volume

Nearest counties by recorded FARS deaths (494 here), excluding the rate-peer set.

Denver County 493 deaths · CO Gwinnett County 491 deaths · GA New Castle County 499 deaths · DE Sedgwick County 500 deaths · KS

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.