How many traffic fatalities occurred in Pierce County, Washington?

Pierce County recorded 627 total traffic fatalities across 577 reported crashes over the data period (2016-2023). The most recent year saw 117 fatalities. The county averages approximately 69.7 fatalities per year.

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

Despite a comparatively active crash history (577 recorded crashes), individual cause-code breakdowns are not published for Pierce County in the current FARS release. Statewide data for Washington may provide additional context.

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

The trend in Pierce 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 Pierce County?

Pierce County has a fatality rate of 12.6 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 Pierce County compare to the rest of Washington?

Pierce County's per-capita rate of 12.6 per 100,000 residents is below the Washington county average of 16.5. Visit the Washington state page for the full county-by-county breakdown.

Where does the road fatality data for Pierce 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

Pierce County, Washington

Road fatality data for Pierce County (WA). Data period: 2016-2023.

Compiled by PlainRoadSafety · August 9, 2026

627
Total Fatalities (2016-2023): 117
Latest Year Deaths: 12.6
Per 100k Residents: Increasing
Trend

The verdict

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System, Pierce County ranks #1,501 of 2,328 U.S. counties by road-fatality rate per 100,000 residents (highest first) and #20 of 35 rated counties in WA. Pierce County's fatality rate of 12.6 per 100,000 residents places it close to the national middle by that per-capita measure.

#1,501 of 2,328
national by fatality rate: #20 of 35
in WA by rate: 64%
of rated U.S. counties are deadlier per capita: Increasing
fatality trend

NHTSA FARS milepost

Milepost PIERCE-53 · Pierce 12.6/100k · #1,501 of 2,328

Pierce County · 12.6/100k · increasing · cause n/a

TREND 12.6/100k
CAUSE #1,501 of 2,328
PHOTO 627 book
VS-ST Increasing
CRASH near Palm Beach
FARS -23.7% vs WA

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 → · Washington state profile →

Clayton

12
Madison

12
Pierce

13
Palm Beach

13
McLennan

13

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

How does Pierce County compare?

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

Compare with

Pierce County

12.6 per 100k

Washington county average

16.5 per 100k

Pierce County is 24% 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 Washington, Pierce County ranks 15 for per-capita risk, below the state's own per-capita average of 16.5 per 100,000 -- nationally, this rate places it close to the national middle by that per-capita measure. The gap between Pierce County's rate and the state average is 3.9 per 100,000. Its closest per-capita peer statewide is Cowlitz County, at 14.2 per 100,000 (a difference of 1.6). Its peer counties, highest to lowest per 100,000 residents: Lincoln County (59.6), Adams County (48.0), Kittitas County (35.2), Mason County (29.2), Jefferson County (23.7), Grant County (23.4), Pend Oreille County (20.9), Pacific County (20.7), Lewis County (19.7), Stevens County (18.4), Yakima County (18.3), Klickitat County (17.0), Skamania County (15.8), Cowlitz County (14.2).

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

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

13 Lower than most a lower per-capita rate than 64% 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

Pierce County's rate vs. the Washington state average

← Back to Washington 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 Pierce 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 (12.6 here), outside Washington.

Palm Beach County 12.6 /100k · FL McLennan County 12.7 /100k · TX Clayton County 12.4 /100k · GA Madison County 12.4 /100k · AL

Similar fatality volume

Nearest counties by recorded FARS deaths (627 here), excluding the rate-peer set.

Wake County 625 deaths · NC Tulsa County 637 deaths · OK Mobile County 612 deaths · AL Nassau County 611 deaths · NY

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.