STATE FATALITY DATA - 2023

Maryland: lower-rate fatality band

Maryland is in the lower per-capita third: 621 traffic deaths in 2023 at 10.0 per 100,000 (#36 of 51).

621
Deaths (2023)
10.0
Per 100k residents
Below average
1.1
Per 100M VMT
+55
2022–2023 deaths

Lower per-capita fatality band

Maryland ranks #36 of 51 by deaths per 100,000 residents (10.0/100k) - bottom-third rate among 51 states and D.C.

Maryland in the lower-rate third

According to NHTSA FARS, Maryland sits in the lower-rate third at 10.0 per 100k (#36 of 51), 18% below the U.S. 12.2 benchmark, with nighttime the largest contributing factor.

#36 of 51
lower-rate third
10.0/100k
2023 fatality rate
#27/51
by total FARS fatalities
Nighttime
leading contributing factor

621 2023 Fatalities, By Roadway Setting

  • Urban 493 (79.4%)
  • Rural 127 (20.5%)
  • Trafficway Not in State Inventory 1 (0.2%)

FARS state milepost

Milepost MD · Maryland #36 of 51 · 10.0/100k

Maryland · 10.0/100k · 621 in 2023 · #36 of 51

  • RATE 10.0/100k
  • RANK #36 of 51
  • VMT 1.1/100M
  • BOOK 4,970 book
  • ALC near Illinois
  • SPD 27.8% spd
  • PED 22.7% ped
  • RUR -18.1% 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
50/100
Maryland

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 B
10.0/100k
Fatalities per 100,000 residents (NHTSA FARS + Census PEP population)
Exposure-Adjusted Rate B
1.08/100M VMT
Fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (NHTSA FARS + FHWA Highway Statistics)
Pedestrian Safety F
22.7%
Share of fatalities that were pedestrians (NHTSA FARS)
Impaired-Driving Control C
24.7%
Share of fatalities that were alcohol-impaired (NHTSA FARS)
Safety Trend F
+19.4%
Change in fatalities over the reporting period; negative is declining (NHTSA FARS)

Pedestrian-led roadside pattern in Maryland

After vehicle-to-vehicle crashes, Maryland's 2023 FARS first-harm leader is Pedestrian at 22.7%, a pedestrian-forward pattern relative to fixed-object states. 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 41.2% · 256
  • Pedestrian 22.7% · 141
  • Curb 6.8% · 42
  • Tree (Standing Only) 6.8% · 42
  • Guardrail Face 3.7% · 23

Light condition

  • Daylight 42.2% · 262
  • Dark - Lighted 29.5% · 183
  • Dark - Not Lighted 21.6% · 134
  • Dawn 2.3% · 14
  • Dark - Unknown Lighting 2.1% · 13

Roadway class

  • State Highway 44.0% · 273
  • County 18.5% · 115
  • U.S. Highway 16.4% · 102
  • Interstate 14.0% · 87
  • Municipal 4.7% · 29

Weather at crash

  • Clear 74.6% · 463
  • Cloudy 12.2% · 76
  • Rain 7.6% · 47
  • Fog, Smog, Smoke 1.6% · 10
  • Severe Crosswinds 0.3% · 2

Maryland rate neighbourhood

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

per 100k

What this shows Maryland 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 Maryland road deaths (2015-2023). Categories overlap.

% of fatalities

What this shows Nighttime is the top contributing cause in Maryland, involved in 53.8% of all road deaths. Note: categories overlap as a single crash may involve multiple factors.

Source NHTSA FARS As of 2023

Maryland vs all states by fatality rate

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

10 Lower than most a lower per-capita rate than 69% 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

Maryland plotted against a representative sample of 27 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 27 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 Maryland: per capita vs. per mile driven
Maryland plotted against a representative sample of 27 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.

Maryland 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 Maryland's own, highlighted) for its exact figures.

Fatality Trend Analysis (2015–2023)

In the lower-rate third, Maryland moved from 520 deaths in 2015 to 621 in 2023 (+19.4%).

Year Fatalities Rate Alcohol Speeding Pedestrian
2015 520 8.4 167 124 97
2016 522 8.4 129 130 108
2017 558 9.0 172 159 117
2018 512 8.3 136 128 131
2019 535 8.7 161 141 124
2020 573 9.3 171 169 134
2021 563 9.1 93 170 129
2022 566 9.2 110 176 129
2023 621 10.0 87 184 160

Prince George`S leads Maryland's county fatality book

Prince George`S County alone accounts for 20.1% of Maryland's 4,450 FARS fatalities over 2015-2023 (893 deaths); on a per-100k basis, Caroline sits higher at 35.7/100k.

#CountyTotal FatalitiesTrend
1PRINCE GEORGE`S (33)893↑ increasing
2BALTIMORE (5)571↑ increasing
3BALTIMORE (CITY) (510)388↑ increasing
4ANNE ARUNDEL (3)365↑ increasing
5MONTGOMERY (31)330↑ increasing
6HOWARD (27)197↑ increasing
7CHARLES (17)194↔ stable
8FREDERICK (21)193↑ increasing
9CECIL (15)178↑ increasing
10HARFORD (25)155↑ increasing
11WASHINGTON (43)135↑ increasing
12ST. MARY`S (37)117↑ increasing
13CARROLL (13)115↓ decreasing
14WICOMICO (45)95↑ increasing
15WORCESTER (47)93↑ increasing
16CALVERT (9)70↑ increasing
17ALLEGANY (1)60↑ increasing
18CAROLINE (11)59↑ increasing
19QUEEN ANNE`S (35)55↓ decreasing
20GARRETT (23)54↑ increasing

Showing top 20 of 24 counties by total fatalities.

States With Similar Fatality Rates

Among lower-rate peers, Illinois (9.9/100k) and Wisconsin (9.9/100k) bracket Maryland's 10.0 per 100k.

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

Illinois

9.9 per 100K

1,241 fatalities (2023)

Wisconsin

9.9 per 100K

583 fatalities (2023)

Maine

9.7 per 100K

135 fatalities (2023)

California

10.4 per 100K

4,061 fatalities (2023)

Washington

10.4 per 100K

810 fatalities (2023)

Ohio

10.5 per 100K

1,242 fatalities (2023)

Prince George`S County and related Maryland 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 Maryland (#36 of 51; volume #27/51). See our methodology. Retrieved and formatted by PlainRoadSafety · vintage 2026-09-03

Verify with NHTSA FARS → · Verify with Census →