ANNUAL CHANGE
Where Road Fatalities Changed Most
A state-by-state comparison of reported road fatalities in 2022 and 2023, calculated from consecutive NHTSA FARS annual releases.
- 51
- states compared
- 14
- with more fatalities
- 37
- with fewer fatalities
Largest increases in reported fatalities, 2023
Change from 2022; positive values mean more reported fatalities.
- KY
Kentucky
70 more deaths
- WA
Washington
67 more deaths
- ID
Idaho
60 more deaths
- MD
Maryland
55 more deaths
- IA
Iowa
41 more deaths
- PA
Pennsylvania
32 more deaths
- MS
Mississippi
29 more deaths
- RI 19
Rhode Island
19 more deaths
- DC 12
District of Columbia
12 more deaths
- TN 10
Tennessee
10 more deaths
What this shows Kentucky had the largest increase in reported fatalities in this comparison. The table below keeps the underlying counts and rate context visible.
Largest decreases in reported fatalities, 2023
Change from 2022; bars show the number of fewer reported fatalities.
- CA
California
478 fewer deaths
- GA 181
Georgia
181 fewer deaths
- FL 152
Florida
152 fewer deaths
- TX 117
Texas
117 fewer deaths
- LA 95
Louisiana
95 fewer deaths
- VA 93
Virginia
93 fewer deaths
- MA 92
Massachusetts
92 fewer deaths
- NJ 83
New Jersey
83 fewer deaths
- IN 78
Indiana
78 fewer deaths
- NC 70
North Carolina
70 fewer deaths
What this shows California had the largest decrease in reported fatalities in this comparison. These are annual counts, not a causal evaluation.
All state changes, 2022 to 2023
| State | 2022 | 2023 | Change | Rate change | Rate rank move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky (KY) | 744 | 814 | +70 (+9.4%) | +1.6 /100k | ↑ 4 |
| Washington (WA) | 743 | 810 | +67 (+9.0%) | +0.9 /100k | ↑ 6 |
| Idaho (ID) | 215 | 275 | +60 (+27.9%) | +3.1 /100k | ↑ 14 |
| Maryland (MD) | 566 | 621 | +55 (+9.7%) | +0.8 /100k | ↑ 7 |
| Iowa (IA) | 336 | 377 | +41 (+12.2%) | +1.3 /100k | ↑ 8 |
| Pennsylvania (PA) | 1,179 | 1,211 | +32 (+2.7%) | +0.2 /100k | ↑ 3 |
| Mississippi (MS) | 703 | 732 | +29 (+4.1%) | +1.0 /100k | - |
| Rhode Island (RI) | 52 | 71 | +19 (+36.5%) | +1.8 /100k | ↑ 2 |
| District of Columbia (DC) | 32 | 44 | +12 (+37.5%) | +1.8 /100k | ↑ 4 |
| Tennessee (TN) | 1,313 | 1,323 | +10 (+0.8%) | +0.2 /100k | ↑ 2 |
| Wyoming (WY) | 134 | 144 | +10 (+7.5%) | +1.8 /100k | - |
| North Dakota (ND) | 98 | 106 | +8 (+8.2%) | +1.0 /100k | ↑ 5 |
| Oklahoma (OK) | 710 | 718 | +8 (+1.1%) | +0.2 /100k | - |
| South Dakota (SD) | 137 | 140 | +3 (+2.2%) | +0.3 /100k | ↑ 5 |
| West Virginia (WV) | 266 | 260 | -6 (-2.3%) | -0.3 /100k | ↑ 2 |
| Montana (MT) | 215 | 208 | -7 (-3.3%) | -0.6 /100k | - |
| Vermont (VT) | 76 | 69 | -7 (-9.2%) | -1.0 /100k | ↓ 2 |
| Alabama (AL) | 988 | 974 | -14 (-1.4%) | -0.2 /100k | ↑ 1 |
| Oregon (OR) | 602 | 587 | -15 (-2.5%) | -0.3 /100k | ↑ 1 |
| Arizona (AZ) | 1,320 | 1,304 | -16 (-1.2%) | -0.3 /100k | ↓ 2 |
| New Hampshire (NH) | 146 | 130 | -16 (-11.0%) | -1.1 /100k | ↓ 3 |
| Nebraska (NE) | 244 | 227 | -17 (-7.0%) | -0.8 /100k | ↓ 1 |
| Wisconsin (WI) | 604 | 583 | -21 (-3.5%) | -0.3 /100k | - |
| Alaska (AK) | 82 | 60 | -22 (-26.8%) | -3.0 /100k | ↓ 11 |
| Hawaii (HI) | 116 | 93 | -23 (-19.8%) | -1.6 /100k | ↓ 2 |
| Kansas (KS) | 410 | 387 | -23 (-5.6%) | -0.7 /100k | - |
| Delaware (DE) | 162 | 135 | -27 (-16.7%) | -2.6 /100k | ↓ 9 |
| Illinois (IL) | 1,268 | 1,241 | -27 (-2.1%) | -0.2 /100k | ↑ 3 |
| Nevada (NV) | 417 | 389 | -28 (-6.7%) | -0.9 /100k | ↓ 3 |
| New Mexico (NM) | 466 | 437 | -29 (-6.2%) | -1.3 /100k | - |
| Michigan (MI) | 1,124 | 1,094 | -30 (-2.7%) | -0.3 /100k | ↑ 3 |
| Ohio (OH) | 1,274 | 1,242 | -32 (-2.5%) | -0.3 /100k | ↑ 3 |
| Minnesota (MN) | 444 | 409 | -35 (-7.9%) | -0.6 /100k | ↑ 1 |
| Utah (UT) | 319 | 280 | -39 (-12.2%) | -1.1 /100k | ↓ 2 |
| Arkansas (AR) | 637 | 596 | -41 (-6.4%) | -1.4 /100k | ↓ 1 |
| Colorado (CO) | 764 | 720 | -44 (-5.8%) | -0.8 /100k | ↓ 1 |
| Maine (ME) | 182 | 135 | -47 (-25.8%) | -3.3 /100k | ↓ 13 |
| South Carolina (SC) | 1,094 | 1,047 | -47 (-4.3%) | -0.9 /100k | ↑ 1 |
| Connecticut (CT) | 366 | 308 | -58 (-15.8%) | -1.6 /100k | ↓ 3 |
| Missouri (MO) | 1,057 | 991 | -66 (-6.2%) | -1.1 /100k | ↓ 1 |
| New York (NY) | 1,182 | 1,114 | -68 (-5.8%) | -0.3 /100k | ↓ 1 |
| North Carolina (NC) | 1,631 | 1,561 | -70 (-4.3%) | -0.7 /100k | ↓ 1 |
| Indiana (IN) | 976 | 898 | -78 (-8.0%) | -1.1 /100k | ↓ 4 |
| New Jersey (NJ) | 689 | 606 | -83 (-12.0%) | -0.9 /100k | ↓ 1 |
| Massachusetts (MA) | 435 | 343 | -92 (-21.1%) | -1.3 /100k | ↓ 3 |
| Virginia (VA) | 1,006 | 913 | -93 (-9.2%) | -1.0 /100k | ↓ 2 |
| Louisiana (LA) | 906 | 811 | -95 (-10.5%) | -2.1 /100k | ↓ 4 |
| Texas (TX) | 4,408 | 4,291 | -117 (-2.7%) | -0.4 /100k | ↑ 1 |
| Florida (FL) | 3,548 | 3,396 | -152 (-4.3%) | -0.7 /100k | ↑ 1 |
| Georgia (GA) | 1,796 | 1,615 | -181 (-10.1%) | -1.7 /100k | ↓ 3 |
| California (CA) | 4,539 | 4,061 | -478 (-10.5%) | -1.2 /100k | ↓ 4 |
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) Consecutive annual state aggregates, 2022 and 2023
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. This page computes each difference from two NHTSA FARS annual state aggregates; no change or causal claim is hand-typed. See our Editorial & Corrections Policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or Report a correction.