STATE FATALITY DATA - 2023

New Jersey: lower-rate fatality band

New Jersey is in the lower per-capita third: 606 traffic deaths in 2023 at 6.5 per 100,000 (#48 of 51).

606
Deaths (2023)
6.5
Per 100k residents
Below average
0.8
Per 100M VMT
-83
2022–2023 deaths

Lower per-capita fatality band

New Jersey ranks #48 of 51 by deaths per 100,000 residents (6.5/100k) - bottom-third rate among 51 states and D.C.

New Jersey in the lower-rate third

According to NHTSA FARS, New Jersey sits in the lower-rate third at 6.5 per 100k (#48 of 51), 47% below the U.S. 12.2 benchmark, with nighttime the largest contributing factor.

#48 of 51
lower-rate third
6.5/100k
2023 fatality rate
#24/51
by total FARS fatalities
Nighttime
leading contributing factor

FARS milepost strip

Milepost NJ · New Jersey #48 of 51 · 6.5/100k

New Jersey · 6.5/100k · 606 in 2023 · #48 of 51

  • RUR 6.5/100k
  • VS-US #48 of 51
  • PHOTO 0.8/100M
  • YOY 5,481 book
  • FARS near District of Columbia
  • NHTSA 11.3% spd
  • MILE 29.2% ped
  • BAND -46.8% 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
63/100
New Jersey

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 A+
6.5/100k
Fatalities per 100,000 residents (NHTSA FARS + Census PEP population)
Exposure-Adjusted Rate A+
0.78/100M VMT
Fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (NHTSA FARS + FHWA Highway Statistics)
Pedestrian Safety F
29.2%
Share of fatalities that were pedestrians (NHTSA FARS)
Impaired-Driving Control B+
22.8%
Share of fatalities that were alcohol-impaired (NHTSA FARS)
Safety Trend F
+8.0%
Change in fatalities over the reporting period; negative is declining (NHTSA FARS)

Pedestrian-led roadside pattern in New Jersey

After vehicle-to-vehicle crashes, New Jersey's 2023 FARS first-harm leader is Pedestrian at 26.6%, 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 35.7% · 216
  • Pedestrian 26.6% · 161
  • Curb 7.8% · 47
  • Tree (Standing Only) 6.1% · 37
  • Pedalcyclist 4.5% · 27

Light condition

  • Daylight 43.0% · 260
  • Dark - Lighted 24.0% · 145
  • Dark - Not Lighted 14.5% · 88
  • Dark - Unknown Lighting 11.4% · 69
  • Dusk 3.3% · 20

Roadway class

  • County 30.9% · 187
  • State Highway 17.7% · 107
  • U.S. Highway 17.5% · 106
  • Not Signed 15.0% · 91
  • Interstate 10.7% · 65

Weather at crash

  • Clear 80.3% · 486
  • Rain 11.1% · 67
  • Cloudy 6.8% · 41
  • Fog, Smog, Smoke 1.5% · 9
  • Severe Crosswinds 0.2% · 1

New Jersey rate neighbourhood

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

per 100k

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

% of fatalities

What this shows Nighttime is the top contributing cause in New Jersey, involved in 51.2% of all road deaths. Note: categories overlap as a single crash may involve multiple factors.

Source NHTSA FARS As of 2023

New Jersey vs all states by fatality rate

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

7 Among the safer states a lower per-capita rate than 88% 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

New Jersey 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 New Jersey: per capita vs. per mile driven
New Jersey 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.

New Jersey 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 New Jersey's own, highlighted) for its exact figures.

Fatality Trend Analysis (2015–2023)

In the lower-rate third, New Jersey moved from 561 deaths in 2015 to 606 in 2023 (+8.0%).

Year Fatalities Rate Alcohol Speeding Pedestrian
2015 561 6.0 102 95 170
2016 602 6.5 145 59 163
2017 624 6.7 134 64 183
2018 563 6.1 127 71 173
2019 558 6.0 139 50 174
2020 586 6.3 144 68 174
2021 692 7.4 164 83 211
2022 689 7.4 164 63 186
2023 606 6.5 129 66 165

Per-capita county spikes in New Jersey: Salem and Atlantic

Fatalities are spread across 21 New Jersey counties (no single county exceeds 12% of the book). Per-capita leaders are Salem (18.4/100k) and Atlantic (14.5/100k), while volume still ranks Middlesex first.

#CountyTotal FatalitiesTrend
1MIDDLESEX (23)431↑ increasing
2ESSEX (13)383↑ increasing
3CAMDEN (7)377↑ increasing
4BURLINGTON (5)352↑ increasing
5OCEAN (29)341↑ increasing
6MONMOUTH (25)317↑ increasing
7GLOUCESTER (15)307↑ increasing
8ATLANTIC (1)300↑ increasing
9BERGEN (3)296↑ increasing
10UNION (39)235↑ increasing
11MERCER (21)212↑ increasing
12PASSAIC (31)197↑ increasing
13CUMBERLAND (11)191↑ increasing
14MORRIS (27)190↑ increasing
15HUDSON (17)187↑ increasing
16SOMERSET (35)155↑ increasing
17SALEM (33)118↑ increasing
18WARREN (41)96↑ increasing
19CAPE MAY (9)93↑ increasing
20SUSSEX (37)85↑ increasing

Showing top 20 of 21 counties by total fatalities.

States With Similar Fatality Rates

Among lower-rate peers, District of Columbia (6.5/100k) and Hawaii (6.5/100k) bracket New Jersey's 6.5 per 100k.

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

District of Columbia

6.5 per 100K

44 fatalities (2023)

Hawaii

6.5 per 100K

93 fatalities (2023)

Rhode Island

6.5 per 100K

71 fatalities (2023)

Minnesota

7.1 per 100K

409 fatalities (2023)

New York

5.7 per 100K

1,114 fatalities (2023)

Massachusetts

4.9 per 100K

343 fatalities (2023)

Salem-rate peers and New Jersey 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 New Jersey (#48 of 51; volume #24/51). See our methodology. Retrieved and formatted by PlainRoadSafety · vintage 2026-09-03

Verify with NHTSA FARS → · Verify with Census →