STATE FATALITY DATA - 2023

Kansas road fatality profile

According to NHTSA FARS, Kansas ranks #23 of 51 by fatality rate. 387 traffic deaths in 2023, 13.2 per 100,000.

387
Deaths (2023)
13.2
Per 100k residents
Near average
1.2
Per 100M VMT
-23
2022–2023 deaths

Lower alcohol-impaired share

Kansas ranks #45 of 51 by alcohol-impaired share (20.6%) - bottom-third alcohol involvement.

Kansas in the lower-alcohol third

According to NHTSA FARS, Kansas ranks #23 of 51 by fatality rate (13.2/100k vs U.S. 12.2); unrestrained leads contributing factors.

#23 of 51
among US states by rate
13.2/100k
2023 fatality rate
#29/51
by total FARS fatalities
Unrestrained
leading contributing factor

387 2023 Fatalities, By Roadway Setting

  • Rural 237 (61.2%)
  • Urban 149 (38.5%)
  • Trafficway Not in State Inventory 1 (0.3%)

NHTSA FARS milepost

Milepost KS · Kansas #23 of 51 · 13.2/100k

Kansas · 13.2/100k · 387 in 2023 · #23 of 51

  • RUR 13.2/100k
  • VS-US #23 of 51
  • PHOTO 1.2/100M
  • YOY 3,706 book
  • FARS near Delaware
  • NHTSA 22.2% spd
  • MILE 8.1% ped
  • BAND +8.1% vs US

Stamps derive from this state's NHTSA FARS row (per-100k rate, corpus rank, VMT rate, fatality book, nearest-rate peer, alcohol/speeding/pedestrian shares, vs-national gap), not a trip-risk forecast. PlainRoadSafety is informational only. See our disclaimer. Verify with NHTSA FARS → · Read with methodology → · Understanding road fatality data → · States ranked →

C
Road Safety Index
55/100
Kansas

Benchmarked against all 51 states (50 states + DC) on fatality rate, exposure-adjusted rate, pedestrian and impaired-driving fatality share, and safety trend from NHTSA FARS, US Census Bureau, and FHWA sources, not enforcement, infrastructure spend, or road-condition ratings.

Fatality Rate D
13.2/100k
Fatalities per 100,000 residents (NHTSA FARS + Census PEP population)
Exposure-Adjusted Rate C-
1.22/100M VMT
Fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (NHTSA FARS + FHWA Highway Statistics)
Pedestrian Safety A
8.1%
Share of fatalities that were pedestrians (NHTSA FARS)
Impaired-Driving Control A
20.6%
Share of fatalities that were alcohol-impaired (NHTSA FARS)
Safety Trend F
+9.0%
Change in fatalities over the reporting period; negative is declining (NHTSA FARS)

Rollover-heavy crash pattern in Kansas

Rollover/overturn leads Kansas's non-vehicle first-harm events in 2023 FARS (10.3%), with U.S. Highway the most common roadway class. Counts come from the NHTSA FARS accident microdata for 2023 (first harmful event, weather, light, route, and rural/urban setting), not from the seeded state rollup alone.

First harmful event

  • Motor Vehicle In-Transport 45.2% · 175
  • Rollover/Overturn 10.3% · 40
  • Pedestrian 9.3% · 36
  • Culvert 3.6% · 14
  • Ditch 3.4% · 13

Light condition

  • Daylight 52.2% · 202
  • Dark - Not Lighted 24.0% · 93
  • Dark - Lighted 16.5% · 64
  • Dawn 3.4% · 13
  • Dusk 3.1% · 12

Roadway class

  • U.S. Highway 28.9% · 112
  • Not Signed 25.8% · 100
  • State Highway 13.2% · 51
  • Interstate 11.1% · 43
  • Unknown/Not Reported 9.3% · 36

Weather at crash

  • Clear 20.9% · 81
  • Cloudy 8.3% · 32
  • Rain 6.7% · 26
  • Severe Crosswinds 2.6% · 10
  • Fog, Smog, Smoke 1.0% · 4

Kansas rate neighbourhood

Deaths per 100,000 residents vs nearest-rate peer states (NHTSA FARS).

per 100k

What this shows Kansas sits among the five nearest fatality-rate peers on the per-100k scale.

Source NHTSA FARS As of 2023

Leading Causes of Fatalities

Contributing factors in Kansas road deaths (2015-2023). Categories overlap.

% of fatalities

What this shows Unrestrained is the top contributing cause in Kansas, involved in 43.8% of all road deaths. Note: categories overlap as a single crash may involve multiple factors.

Source NHTSA FARS As of 2023

Kansas vs all states by fatality rate

Where this state's deaths-per-100k sits among every state and D.C. on PlainRoadSafety

13 Around the middle a lower per-capita rate than 43% of 51 states

States and D.C., banded by fatality rate per 100,000 residents

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. 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 Census population · 2026-09-03

Kansas plotted against a representative sample of 26 of 51 states and D.C. by deaths per 100,000 residents (x) and deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (y). Dashed lines mark the national median across all 51, computed from the full corpus. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 26 entities by Deaths per 100,000 residents (X) and Deaths per 100M vehicle miles (Y), with a crosshair dividing the plot into four quadrants. High both waysRiskier per mile drivenRiskier per residentSafer, both measures 051015202530 00.511.52 Deaths per 100,000 residents Deaths per 100M vehicle miles Kansas: per capita vs. per mile driven
Kansas plotted against a representative sample of 26 of 51 states and D.C. by deaths per 100,000 residents (x) and deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (y). Dashed lines mark the national median across all 51, computed from the full corpus.

Kansas can rank differently on each axis: population density pushes the per-capita rate one way, and rural-highway commute length pushes the per-mile rate another. Hover or tap any point (including Kansas's own, highlighted) for its exact figures.

Fatality Trend Analysis (2015–2023)

Between 2015 and 2023, road fatalities in Kansas increased by 9.0%, going from 355 to 387 annual deaths.

Year Fatalities Rate Alcohol Speeding Pedestrian
2015 355 12.1 77 120 24
2016 429 14.6 94 88 41
2017 461 15.7 91 86 33
2018 405 13.8 69 80 28
2019 410 13.9 75 98 16
2020 426 14.5 85 97 46
2021 423 14.4 104 85 43
2022 410 13.9 98 92 32
2023 387 13.2 70 78 38

Sedgwick leads Kansas's county fatality book

Sedgwick County alone accounts for 14.9% of Kansas's 3,351 FARS fatalities over 2015-2023 (500 deaths); on a per-100k basis, Marion sits higher at 42.8/100k.

#CountyTotal FatalitiesTrend
1SEDGWICK (173)500↑ increasing
2JOHNSON (91)214↑ increasing
3WYANDOTTE (209)206↑ increasing
4SHAWNEE (177)161↑ increasing
5LEAVENWORTH (103)94↔ stable
6BUTLER (15)77↑ increasing
7RENO (155)73↓ decreasing
8DOUGLAS (45)71↑ increasing
9MONTGOMERY (125)62↓ decreasing
10SALINE (169)59↑ increasing
11FRANKLIN (59)58↔ stable
12SUMNER (191)54↑ increasing
13FORD (57)46↑ increasing
14MCPHERSON (113)46↑ increasing
15HARVEY (79)45↔ stable
16CRAWFORD (37)44↑ increasing
17COWLEY (35)42↑ increasing
18LYON (111)42↔ stable
19JEFFERSON (87)41↓ decreasing
20MIAMI (121)40↑ increasing

Showing top 20 of 105 counties by total fatalities.

States With Similar Fatality Rates

Delaware and Indiana are the nearest fatality-rate neighbours to Kansas at 13.2 per 100k.

6 of 50 other states are shown here, ranked by closeness to Kansas's fatality rate.

Delaware

13.1 per 100K

135 fatalities (2023)

Indiana

13.1 per 100K

898 fatalities (2023)

North Dakota

13.5 per 100K

106 fatalities (2023)

Oregon

13.9 per 100K

587 fatalities (2023)

Idaho

14.0 per 100K

275 fatalities (2023)

Texas

14.1 per 100K

4,291 fatalities (2023)

Sedgwick County and related Kansas road data

Contextual links from this profile to rankings, tools, research, and peer geographies on PlainRoadSafety.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from official public datasets for Kansas (#23 of 51; volume #29/51). See our methodology. Retrieved and formatted by PlainRoadSafety · vintage 2026-09-03

Verify with NHTSA FARS → · Verify with Census →