Deadliest States for Driving
All 51 US states ranked by road fatality rate per 100,000 population (highest to lowest). States with higher rates have more traffic deaths relative to their population.
| # | State | Rate / 100K | VMT Rate | Total Fatalities | Latest Year | Drunk % | Speed % | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mississippi (MS) | 24.9 | 1.8 | 6,303 | 732 | 18.7% | 14.8% | ↑ increasing |
| 2 | Wyoming (WY) | 24.7 | 1.5 | 1,153 | 144 | 31.3% | 31.0% | ↑ increasing |
| 3 | New Mexico (NM) | 20.7 | 1.6 | 3,684 | 437 | 23.8% | 24.6% | ↓ decreasing |
| 4 | South Carolina (SC) | 19.5 | 1.7 | 9,435 | 1,047 | 31.1% | 41.1% | ↓ decreasing |
| 5 | Arkansas (AR) | 19.4 | 1.5 | 5,243 | 596 | 24.0% | 22.0% | ↓ decreasing |
| 6 | Alabama (AL) | 19.1 | 1.4 | 8,643 | 974 | 21.9% | 26.7% | ↔ stable |
| 7 | Tennessee (TN) | 18.6 | 1.6 | 10,379 | 1,323 | 24.3% | 16.2% | ↔ stable |
| 8 | Montana (MT) | 18.4 | 1.5 | 1,840 | 208 | 43.5% | 33.2% | ↓ decreasing |
| 9 | Kentucky (KY) | 18.0 | 1.7 | 6,977 | 814 | 23.5% | 16.3% | ↑ increasing |
| 10 | Louisiana (LA) | 17.7 | 1.5 | 7,293 | 811 | 29.5% | 19.9% | ↓ decreasing |
| 11 | Oklahoma (OK) | 17.7 | 1.6 | 6,127 | 718 | 22.5% | 21.2% | ↔ stable |
| 12 | Arizona (AZ) | 17.5 | 1.7 | 9,706 | 1,304 | 20.1% | 31.2% | ↔ stable |
| 13 | Missouri (MO) | 16.0 | 1.2 | 8,602 | 991 | 24.1% | 37.4% | ↓ decreasing |
| 14 | South Dakota (SD) | 15.2 | 1.4 | 1,177 | 140 | 33.4% | 28.0% | ↑ increasing |
| 15 | Florida (FL) | 15.0 | 1.4 | 29,564 | 3,396 | 20.6% | 9.9% | ↓ decreasing |
| 16 | West Virginia (WV) | 14.7 | 1.6 | 2,470 | 260 | 23.1% | 25.9% | ↓ decreasing |
| 17 | Georgia (GA) | 14.6 | 1.3 | 14,403 | 1,615 | 17.3% | 18.3% | ↓ decreasing |
| 18 | North Carolina (NC) | 14.4 | 1.3 | 13,557 | 1,561 | 24.5% | 30.2% | ↓ decreasing |
| 19 | Texas (TX) | 14.1 | 1.4 | 35,453 | 4,291 | 24.9% | 25.0% | ↓ decreasing |
| 20 | Idaho (ID) | 14.0 | 1.4 | 2,149 | 275 | 30.1% | 21.7% | ↑ increasing |
| 21 | Oregon (OR) | 13.9 | 1.6 | 4,673 | 587 | 24.9% | 25.4% | ↓ decreasing |
| 22 | North Dakota (ND) | 13.5 | 1.1 | 970 | 106 | 37.5% | 25.5% | ↑ increasing |
| 23 | Kansas (KS) | 13.2 | 1.2 | 3,706 | 387 | 20.6% | 22.2% | ↓ decreasing |
| 24 | Delaware (DE) | 13.1 | 1.4 | 1,161 | 135 | 25.3% | 27.0% | ↓ decreasing |
| 25 | Indiana (IN) | 13.1 | 1.1 | 7,935 | 898 | 18.9% | 15.3% | ↓ decreasing |
| 26 | Colorado (CO) | 12.2 | 1.3 | 5,829 | 720 | 31.3% | 33.2% | ↓ decreasing |
| 27 | Nevada (NV) | 12.2 | 1.4 | 3,123 | 389 | 25.2% | 28.9% | ↓ decreasing |
| 28 | Iowa (IA) | 11.8 | 1.1 | 3,119 | 377 | 26.0% | 20.5% | ↑ increasing |
| 29 | Nebraska (NE) | 11.5 | 1.1 | 2,095 | 227 | 29.6% | 16.7% | ↓ decreasing |
| 30 | Michigan (MI) | 10.9 | 1.1 | 9,467 | 1,094 | 28.1% | 2.6% | ↓ decreasing |
| 31 | Vermont (VT) | 10.7 | 1.0 | 584 | 69 | 33.6% | 32.2% | ↓ decreasing |
| 32 | Ohio (OH) | 10.5 | 1.1 | 10,742 | 1,242 | 26.6% | 19.5% | ↓ decreasing |
| 33 | Virginia (VA) | 10.5 | 1.0 | 7,746 | 913 | 23.7% | 19.7% | ↓ decreasing |
| 34 | California (CA) | 10.4 | 1.3 | 35,718 | 4,061 | 27.3% | 28.9% | ↓ decreasing |
| 35 | Washington (WA) | 10.4 | 1.4 | 5,528 | 810 | 26.7% | 30.7% | ↑ increasing |
| 36 | Maryland (MD) | 10.0 | 1.1 | 4,970 | 621 | 24.7% | 27.8% | ↑ increasing |
| 37 | Illinois (IL) | 9.9 | 1.2 | 10,246 | 1,241 | 22.9% | 28.2% | ↓ decreasing |
| 38 | Wisconsin (WI) | 9.9 | 0.9 | 5,361 | 583 | 32.7% | 30.7% | ↓ decreasing |
| 39 | Maine (ME) | 9.7 | 0.9 | 1,416 | 135 | 32.4% | 28.7% | ↓ decreasing |
| 40 | New Hampshire (NH) | 9.3 | 1.0 | 1,098 | 130 | 26.2% | 36.8% | ↓ decreasing |
| 41 | Pennsylvania (PA) | 9.3 | 1.2 | 10,523 | 1,211 | 23.3% | 31.6% | ↑ increasing |
| 42 | Connecticut (CT) | 8.5 | 1.0 | 2,673 | 308 | 32.0% | 33.1% | ↓ decreasing |
| 43 | Alaska (AK) | 8.2 | 1.1 | 651 | 60 | 33.2% | 37.8% | ↓ decreasing |
| 44 | Utah (UT) | 8.2 | 0.8 | 2,547 | 280 | 19.6% | 28.3% | ↓ decreasing |
| 45 | Minnesota (MN) | 7.1 | 0.7 | 3,641 | 409 | 26.9% | 26.0% | ↓ decreasing |
| 46 | District of Columbia (DC) | 6.5 | 1.3 | 288 | 44 | 25.7% | 45.5% | ↑ increasing |
| 47 | Hawaii (HI) | 6.5 | 0.9 | 933 | 93 | 33.3% | 30.4% | ↓ decreasing |
| 48 | New Jersey (NJ) | 6.5 | 0.8 | 5,481 | 606 | 22.8% | 11.3% | ↓ decreasing |
| 49 | Rhode Island (RI) | 6.5 | 0.9 | 549 | 71 | 32.2% | 19.9% | ↑ increasing |
| 50 | New York (NY) | 5.7 | 0.9 | 9,578 | 1,114 | 18.1% | 6.6% | ↓ decreasing |
| 51 | Massachusetts (MA) | 4.9 | 0.6 | 3,303 | 343 | 25.0% | 25.0% | ↓ decreasing |
Understanding Fatality Rates
The fatality rate per 100,000 population normalizes crash deaths by state population, enabling fair comparisons between large and small states. A higher rate means more road deaths relative to the number of people living there. The VMT rate (per 100 million vehicle miles traveled) accounts for driving volume, which can provide additional context — a state may have a high per-capita rate partly because its residents drive more miles.
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Rates are per 100,000 population.