NATIONAL RANKING
Safest States for Driving
All 51 US states ranked by road fatality rate per 100,000 population, from safest to deadliest. Lower rates mean fewer deaths relative to population. NHTSA FARS data.
- Massachusetts
- #1 Safest State
- 4.9
- Lowest rate per 100k
Massachusetts
#1 safest state at 4.9 per 100k residents
12.9
National average per 100k (50 states plus DC)
5.1x
How much safer MA is vs. the deadliest state (MS)
Top 10 Safest States by Fatality Rate
Road deaths per 100,000 population. Lower values indicate safer roads relative to population size.
- MA
Massachusetts
4.9 per 100k
- NY
New York
5.7 per 100k
- DC
District of Columbia
6.5 per 100k
- HI
Hawaii
6.5 per 100k
- NJ
New Jersey
6.5 per 100k
- RI
Rhode Island
6.5 per 100k
- MN
Minnesota
7.1 per 100k
- AK
Alaska
8.2 per 100k
- UT
Utah
8.2 per 100k
- CT
Connecticut
8.5 per 100k
What this shows Massachusetts has the lowest fatality rate at 4.9 per 100,000 residents, well below the national average of 12.9.
| # | State | Rate / 100K | VMT Rate | Total Fatalities | Latest Year | Drunk % | Speed % | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts (MA) | 4.9 | 0.6 | 3,303 | 343 | 25.0% | 25.0% | ↓ decreasing |
| 2 | New York (NY) | 5.7 | 0.9 | 9,578 | 1,114 | 18.1% | 6.6% | ↓ decreasing |
| 3 | District of Columbia (DC) | 6.5 | 1.3 | 288 | 44 | 25.7% | 45.5% | ↑ increasing |
| 4 | Hawaii (HI) | 6.5 | 0.9 | 933 | 93 | 33.3% | 30.4% | ↓ decreasing |
| 5 | New Jersey (NJ) | 6.5 | 0.8 | 5,481 | 606 | 22.8% | 11.3% | ↓ decreasing |
| 6 | Rhode Island (RI) | 6.5 | 0.9 | 549 | 71 | 32.2% | 19.9% | ↑ increasing |
| 7 | Minnesota (MN) | 7.1 | 0.7 | 3,641 | 409 | 26.9% | 26.0% | ↓ decreasing |
| 8 | Alaska (AK) | 8.2 | 1.1 | 651 | 60 | 33.2% | 37.8% | ↓ decreasing |
| 9 | Utah (UT) | 8.2 | 0.8 | 2,547 | 280 | 19.6% | 28.3% | ↓ decreasing |
| 10 | Connecticut (CT) | 8.5 | 1.0 | 2,673 | 308 | 32.0% | 33.1% | ↓ decreasing |
| 11 | New Hampshire (NH) | 9.3 | 1.0 | 1,098 | 130 | 26.2% | 36.8% | ↓ decreasing |
| 12 | Pennsylvania (PA) | 9.3 | 1.2 | 10,523 | 1,211 | 23.3% | 31.6% | ↑ increasing |
| 13 | Maine (ME) | 9.7 | 0.9 | 1,416 | 135 | 32.4% | 28.7% | ↓ decreasing |
| 14 | Illinois (IL) | 9.9 | 1.2 | 10,246 | 1,241 | 22.9% | 28.2% | ↓ decreasing |
| 15 | Wisconsin (WI) | 9.9 | 0.9 | 5,361 | 583 | 32.7% | 30.7% | ↓ decreasing |
| 16 | Maryland (MD) | 10.0 | 1.1 | 4,970 | 621 | 24.7% | 27.8% | ↑ increasing |
| 17 | California (CA) | 10.4 | 1.3 | 35,718 | 4,061 | 27.3% | 28.9% | ↓ decreasing |
| 18 | Washington (WA) | 10.4 | 1.4 | 5,528 | 810 | 26.7% | 30.7% | ↑ increasing |
| 19 | Ohio (OH) | 10.5 | 1.1 | 10,742 | 1,242 | 26.6% | 19.5% | ↓ decreasing |
| 20 | Virginia (VA) | 10.5 | 1.0 | 7,746 | 913 | 23.7% | 19.7% | ↓ decreasing |
| 21 | Vermont (VT) | 10.7 | 1.0 | 584 | 69 | 33.6% | 32.2% | ↓ decreasing |
| 22 | Michigan (MI) | 10.9 | 1.1 | 9,467 | 1,094 | 28.1% | 2.6% | ↓ decreasing |
| 23 | Nebraska (NE) | 11.5 | 1.1 | 2,095 | 227 | 29.6% | 16.7% | ↓ decreasing |
| 24 | Iowa (IA) | 11.8 | 1.1 | 3,119 | 377 | 26.0% | 20.5% | ↑ increasing |
| 25 | Colorado (CO) | 12.2 | 1.3 | 5,829 | 720 | 31.3% | 33.2% | ↓ decreasing |
| 26 | Nevada (NV) | 12.2 | 1.4 | 3,123 | 389 | 25.2% | 28.9% | ↓ decreasing |
| 27 | Delaware (DE) | 13.1 | 1.4 | 1,161 | 135 | 25.3% | 27.0% | ↓ decreasing |
| 28 | Indiana (IN) | 13.1 | 1.1 | 7,935 | 898 | 18.9% | 15.3% | ↓ decreasing |
| 29 | Kansas (KS) | 13.2 | 1.2 | 3,706 | 387 | 20.6% | 22.2% | ↓ decreasing |
| 30 | North Dakota (ND) | 13.5 | 1.1 | 970 | 106 | 37.5% | 25.5% | ↑ increasing |
| 31 | Oregon (OR) | 13.9 | 1.6 | 4,673 | 587 | 24.9% | 25.4% | ↓ decreasing |
| 32 | Idaho (ID) | 14.0 | 1.4 | 2,149 | 275 | 30.1% | 21.7% | ↑ increasing |
| 33 | Texas (TX) | 14.1 | 1.4 | 35,453 | 4,291 | 24.9% | 25.0% | ↓ decreasing |
| 34 | North Carolina (NC) | 14.4 | 1.3 | 13,557 | 1,561 | 24.5% | 30.2% | ↓ decreasing |
| 35 | Georgia (GA) | 14.6 | 1.3 | 14,403 | 1,615 | 17.3% | 18.3% | ↓ decreasing |
| 36 | West Virginia (WV) | 14.7 | 1.6 | 2,470 | 260 | 23.1% | 25.9% | ↓ decreasing |
| 37 | Florida (FL) | 15.0 | 1.4 | 29,564 | 3,396 | 20.6% | 9.9% | ↓ decreasing |
| 38 | South Dakota (SD) | 15.2 | 1.4 | 1,177 | 140 | 33.4% | 28.0% | ↑ increasing |
| 39 | Missouri (MO) | 16.0 | 1.2 | 8,602 | 991 | 24.1% | 37.4% | ↓ decreasing |
| 40 | Arizona (AZ) | 17.5 | 1.7 | 9,706 | 1,304 | 20.1% | 31.2% | ↔ stable |
| 41 | Louisiana (LA) | 17.7 | 1.5 | 7,293 | 811 | 29.5% | 19.9% | ↓ decreasing |
| 42 | Oklahoma (OK) | 17.7 | 1.6 | 6,127 | 718 | 22.5% | 21.2% | ↔ stable |
| 43 | Kentucky (KY) | 18.0 | 1.7 | 6,977 | 814 | 23.5% | 16.3% | ↑ increasing |
| 44 | Montana (MT) | 18.4 | 1.5 | 1,840 | 208 | 43.5% | 33.2% | ↓ decreasing |
| 45 | Tennessee (TN) | 18.6 | 1.6 | 10,379 | 1,323 | 24.3% | 16.2% | ↔ stable |
| 46 | Alabama (AL) | 19.1 | 1.4 | 8,643 | 974 | 21.9% | 26.7% | ↔ stable |
| 47 | Arkansas (AR) | 19.4 | 1.5 | 5,243 | 596 | 24.0% | 22.0% | ↓ decreasing |
| 48 | South Carolina (SC) | 19.5 | 1.7 | 9,435 | 1,047 | 31.1% | 41.1% | ↓ decreasing |
| 49 | New Mexico (NM) | 20.7 | 1.6 | 3,684 | 437 | 23.8% | 24.6% | ↓ decreasing |
| 50 | Wyoming (WY) | 24.7 | 1.5 | 1,153 | 144 | 31.3% | 31.0% | ↑ increasing |
| 51 | Mississippi (MS) | 24.9 | 1.8 | 6,303 | 732 | 18.7% | 14.8% | ↑ increasing |
What Makes a State Safer?
States with lower fatality rates often benefit from combinations of factors: stricter traffic enforcement, better road infrastructure, lower speed limits, urban density (lower-speed roads), stronger seatbelt laws, and lower rates of alcohol-impaired driving. Population density plays a role too – states with more urban driving tend to have lower-speed collisions that are less likely to be fatal. According to NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System, this ranking draws on the full 2015-2023 census across all 51 states; see our methodology for how the per-capita rate is computed.
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) Rates are per 100,000 population
Every figure on PlainRoadSafety is computed directly from NHTSA FARS census data, no number is typed in by an editor. Rankings are computed directly from NHTSA FARS census data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.