STATE FATALITY DATA - 2023

Texas: larger FARS fatality book

Texas holds a larger FARS book (35,453 across 2015-2023, #2/51 by volume) with 4,291 deaths in 2023.

4,291
Deaths (2023)
14.1
Per 100k residents
Above average
1.4
Per 100M VMT
-117
2022–2023 deaths

Larger fatality book

Texas ranks #2 of 51 by total FARS fatalities (35,453 across 2015-2023) - top-third book size.

Texas in the larger-book third

According to NHTSA FARS, Texas carries a top-third fatality book (35,453 across 2015-2023, volume rank #2/51) at 14.1/100k.

#19 of 51
among US states by rate
14.1/100k
2023 fatality rate
#2/51
by total FARS fatalities
Nighttime
leading contributing factor

NHTSA fatality milepost

Milepost TX · Texas #19 of 51 · 14.1/100k

Texas · 14.1/100k · 4,291 in 2023 · #19 of 51

  • BOOK 14.1/100k
  • ALC #19 of 51
  • SPD 1.4/100M
  • PED 35,453 book
  • RUR near Idaho
  • VS-US 25.0% spd
  • PHOTO 17.5% ped
  • YOY +15.5% 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 →

F
Road Safety Index
30/100
Texas

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 F
14.1/100k
Fatalities per 100,000 residents (NHTSA FARS + Census PEP population)
Exposure-Adjusted Rate F
1.43/100M VMT
Fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (NHTSA FARS + FHWA Highway Statistics)
Pedestrian Safety F
17.5%
Share of fatalities that were pedestrians (NHTSA FARS)
Impaired-Driving Control C-
24.9%
Share of fatalities that were alcohol-impaired (NHTSA FARS)
Safety Trend F
+19.8%
Change in fatalities over the reporting period; negative is declining (NHTSA FARS)

Pedestrian-led roadside pattern in Texas

After vehicle-to-vehicle crashes, Texas's 2023 FARS first-harm leader is Pedestrian at 17.3%, 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 45.1% · 1,937
  • Pedestrian 17.3% · 742
  • Rollover/Overturn 7.6% · 328
  • Tree (Standing Only) 4.2% · 179
  • Curb 3.5% · 152

Light condition

  • Daylight 40.1% · 1,724
  • Dark - Not Lighted 31.6% · 1,356
  • Dark - Lighted 23.7% · 1,018
  • Dawn 1.8% · 78
  • Dusk 1.6% · 68

Roadway class

  • State Highway 22.1% · 951
  • Municipal 18.9% · 812
  • U.S. Highway 17.8% · 765
  • Interstate 13.9% · 596
  • County 5.3% · 226

Weather at crash

  • Clear 77.9% · 3,346
  • Cloudy 14.9% · 638
  • Rain 5.6% · 241
  • Fog, Smog, Smoke 1.0% · 45
  • Sleet or Hail 0.3% · 11

Texas rate neighbourhood

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

per 100k

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

% of fatalities

What this shows Nighttime is the top contributing cause in Texas, involved in 55.0% of all road deaths. Note: categories overlap as a single crash may involve multiple factors.

Source NHTSA FARS As of 2023

Texas vs all states by fatality rate

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

14 Around the middle a lower per-capita rate than 35% 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

Texas 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 Texas: per capita vs. per mile driven
Texas 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.

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

Fatality Trend Analysis (2015–2023)

On a larger fatality book (#2/51), Texas went from 3,582 in 2015 to 4,291 in 2023.

Year Fatalities Rate Alcohol Speeding Pedestrian
2015 3,582 11.7 944 782 549
2016 3,797 12.4 989 765 675
2017 3,732 12.2 1,008 770 608
2018 3,648 12.0 922 751 616
2019 3,619 11.9 891 836 649
2020 3,876 12.7 990 1,075 688
2021 4,500 14.8 1,055 1,408 817
2022 4,408 14.5 1,078 1,292 796
2023 4,291 14.1 939 1,190 800

Harris leads Texas's county fatality book

Harris County alone accounts for 12.2% of Texas's 31,871 FARS fatalities over 2015-2023 (3,876 deaths); on a per-100k basis, Leon sits higher at 96.7/100k.

#CountyTotal FatalitiesTrend
1HARRIS (201)3,876↑ increasing
2DALLAS (113)2,537↑ increasing
3BEXAR (29)1,644↑ increasing
4TARRANT (439)1,539↑ increasing
5TRAVIS (453)1,106↑ increasing
6EL PASO (141)673↑ increasing
7HIDALGO (215)509↑ increasing
8MONTGOMERY (339)484↑ increasing
9COLLIN (85)467↑ increasing
10SMITH (423)448↑ increasing
11DENTON (121)433↑ increasing
12LUBBOCK (303)387↑ increasing
13ECTOR (135)380↑ increasing
14BELL (27)379↑ increasing
15WILLIAMSON (491)370↑ increasing
16NUECES (355)355↑ increasing
17BRAZORIA (39)341↑ increasing
18MIDLAND (329)338↑ increasing
19JEFFERSON (245)337↑ increasing
20GALVESTON (167)328↑ increasing

Showing top 20 of 254 counties by total fatalities.

States With Similar Fatality Rates

Idaho and Oregon are the nearest fatality-rate neighbours to Texas at 14.1 per 100k.

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

Idaho

14.0 per 100K

275 fatalities (2023)

Oregon

13.9 per 100K

587 fatalities (2023)

North Carolina

14.4 per 100K

1,561 fatalities (2023)

Georgia

14.6 per 100K

1,615 fatalities (2023)

North Dakota

13.5 per 100K

106 fatalities (2023)

West Virginia

14.7 per 100K

260 fatalities (2023)

Harris County and related Texas 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 Texas (#19 of 51; volume #2/51). See our methodology. Retrieved and formatted by PlainRoadSafety · vintage 2026-09-03

Verify with NHTSA FARS → · Verify with Census →