How many traffic fatalities occurred in San Diego County, California?

San Diego County recorded 2,176 total traffic fatalities across 2,047 reported crashes over the data period (2016-2023). The most recent year saw 278 fatalities. The county averages approximately 241.8 fatalities per year.

What is the leading cause of road fatalities in San Diego County?

Despite a comparatively active crash history (2,047 recorded crashes), individual cause-code breakdowns are not published for San Diego County in the current FARS release. Statewide data for California may provide additional context.

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

The trend in San Diego 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 San Diego County?

San Diego County has a fatality rate of 8.5 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 San Diego County compare to the rest of California?

San Diego County's per-capita rate of 8.5 per 100,000 residents is below 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 San Diego 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

San Diego County, California

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

Compiled by PlainRoadSafety · August 9, 2026

2,176
Total Fatalities (2016-2023): 278
Latest Year Deaths: 8.5
Per 100k Residents: Increasing
Trend

The verdict

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System, San Diego County ranks #1,919 of 2,328 U.S. counties by road-fatality rate per 100,000 residents (highest first) and #43 of 54 rated counties in CA. San Diego County's fatality rate of 8.5 per 100,000 residents leaves it safer than most U.S. counties by that per-capita measure.

#1,919 of 2,328
national by fatality rate: #43 of 54
in CA by rate: 82%
of rated U.S. counties are deadlier per capita: Increasing
fatality trend

NHTSA FARS milepost

Milepost SAN-DIEGO-73 · San Diego 8.5/100k · #1,919 of 2,328

San Diego County · 8.5/100k · increasing · cause n/a

FARS 8.5/100k
NHTSA #1,919 of 2,328
MILE 2,176 book
POST Increasing
BAND near Brazoria
VOL -49.7% 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 →

Benton

8
San Diego

9
Brazoria

9
Lake

9
Boulder

9

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

How does San Diego County compare?

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

Compare with

San Diego County

8.5 per 100k

California county average

16.9 per 100k

San Diego County is 50% 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 California, San Diego County ranks 15 for per-capita risk, below the state's own per-capita average of 16.9 per 100,000 -- nationally, this rate leaves it safer than most U.S. counties by that per-capita measure. The gap between San Diego County's rate and the state average is 8.4 per 100,000. Its closest per-capita peer statewide is Colusa County, at 22.7 per 100,000 (a difference of 14.2). 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).

San Diego County's rate vs. every rated U.S. county

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

9 Among the safer counties a lower per-capita rate than 82% 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

San Diego 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 San Diego 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 (8.5 here), outside California.

Brazoria County 8.5 /100k · TX Lake County 8.5 /100k · IL Benton County 8.4 /100k · AR Boulder County 8.6 /100k · CO

Similar fatality volume

Nearest counties by recorded FARS deaths (2,176 here), excluding the rate-peer set.

Broward County 1,965 deaths · FL Miami-Dade County 2,472 deaths · FL Dallas County 2,537 deaths · TX Clark County 1,776 deaths · NV

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.