STATE FATALITY DATA
US States Road Fatality Data
Fatality rates, causes, and trends for all 51 states and DC, drawn from NHTSA FARS. Select a state for full county-level detail.
Top 10 states by traffic-fatality rate
Road deaths per 100,000 residents (NHTSA FARS, most recent year)
- MS
Mississippi
25 per 100k
- WY
Wyoming
25 per 100k
- NM
New Mexico
21 per 100k
- SC
South Carolina
20 per 100k
- AR
Arkansas
19 per 100k
- AL
Alabama
19 per 100k
- TN
Tennessee
19 per 100k
- MT
Montana
18 per 100k
- KY
Kentucky
18 per 100k
- LA
Louisiana
18 per 100k
What this shows Mississippi has the highest rate among all states at 24.9 per 100,000 residents. The table below covers all 51 states and DC.
This directory covers 51 jurisdictions with 40,901 road deaths in the latest FARS year (2023). Rates are deaths per 100,000 residents, population-normalized, not a road-quality score.
Mississippi posts the highest rate (24.9 per 100k), while Massachusetts posts the lowest (4.9). On absolute volume, Texas recorded the most deaths in the latest year (4,291). Rankings below sort the same FARS extract both ways; open any state for county drill-downs and cause shares.
Lowest fatality rates (safest by population)
| # | State | Rate / 100k |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | 4.9 |
| 2 | New York | 5.7 |
| 3 | District of Columbia | 6.5 |
| 4 | Hawaii | 6.5 |
| 5 | New Jersey | 6.5 |
| 6 | Rhode Island | 6.5 |
| 7 | Minnesota | 7.1 |
| 8 | Alaska | 8.2 |
| 9 | Utah | 8.2 |
| 10 | Connecticut | 8.5 |
| 11 | New Hampshire | 9.3 |
| 12 | Pennsylvania | 9.3 |
Most deaths in the latest FARS year
| # | State | Latest-year deaths |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 4,291 |
| 2 | California | 4,061 |
| 3 | Florida | 3,396 |
| 4 | Georgia | 1,615 |
| 5 | North Carolina | 1,561 |
| 6 | Tennessee | 1,323 |
| 7 | Arizona | 1,304 |
| 8 | Ohio | 1,242 |
| 9 | Illinois | 1,241 |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | 1,211 |
| 11 | New York | 1,114 |
| 12 | Michigan | 1,094 |
Absolute counts scale with population and VMT, pair with the rate table, never alone.
All states & DC (A–Z)
| State | Rate / 100K | Total Fatalities | Latest Year | Drunk % | Speed % | Pedestrian % | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama (AL) | 19.1 | 8,643 | 974 | 21.9% | 26.7% | 11.9% | ↔ stable |
| Alaska (AK) | 8.2 | 651 | 60 | 33.2% | 37.8% | 17.4% | ↓ decreasing |
| Arizona (AZ) | 17.5 | 9,706 | 1,304 | 20.1% | 31.2% | 21.0% | ↔ stable |
| Arkansas (AR) | 19.4 | 5,243 | 596 | 24.0% | 22.0% | 11.0% | ↓ decreasing |
| California (CA) | 10.4 | 35,718 | 4,061 | 27.3% | 28.9% | 25.7% | ↓ decreasing |
| Colorado (CO) | 12.2 | 5,829 | 720 | 31.3% | 33.2% | 13.8% | ↓ decreasing |
| Connecticut (CT) | 8.5 | 2,673 | 308 | 32.0% | 33.1% | 18.7% | ↓ decreasing |
| Delaware (DE) | 13.1 | 1,161 | 135 | 25.3% | 27.0% | 22.7% | ↓ decreasing |
| District of Columbia (DC) | 6.5 | 288 | 44 | 25.7% | 45.5% | 38.2% | ↑ increasing |
| Florida (FL) | 15.0 | 29,564 | 3,396 | 20.6% | 9.9% | 21.7% | ↓ decreasing |
| Georgia (GA) | 14.6 | 14,403 | 1,615 | 17.3% | 18.3% | 16.8% | ↓ decreasing |
| Hawaii (HI) | 6.5 | 933 | 93 | 33.3% | 30.4% | 25.9% | ↓ decreasing |
| Idaho (ID) | 14.0 | 2,149 | 275 | 30.1% | 21.7% | 7.0% | ↑ increasing |
| Illinois (IL) | 9.9 | 10,246 | 1,241 | 22.9% | 28.2% | 15.2% | ↓ decreasing |
| Indiana (IN) | 13.1 | 7,935 | 898 | 18.9% | 15.3% | 11.2% | ↓ decreasing |
| Iowa (IA) | 11.8 | 3,119 | 377 | 26.0% | 20.5% | 6.9% | ↑ increasing |
| Kansas (KS) | 13.2 | 3,706 | 387 | 20.6% | 22.2% | 8.1% | ↓ decreasing |
| Kentucky (KY) | 18.0 | 6,977 | 814 | 23.5% | 16.3% | 10.8% | ↑ increasing |
| Louisiana (LA) | 17.7 | 7,293 | 811 | 29.5% | 19.9% | 17.6% | ↓ decreasing |
| Maine (ME) | 9.7 | 1,416 | 135 | 32.4% | 28.7% | 10.3% | ↓ decreasing |
| Maryland (MD) | 10.0 | 4,970 | 621 | 24.7% | 27.8% | 22.7% | ↑ increasing |
| Massachusetts (MA) | 4.9 | 3,303 | 343 | 25.0% | 25.0% | 20.3% | ↓ decreasing |
| Michigan (MI) | 10.9 | 9,467 | 1,094 | 28.1% | 2.6% | 15.4% | ↓ decreasing |
| Minnesota (MN) | 7.1 | 3,641 | 409 | 26.9% | 26.0% | 11.1% | ↓ decreasing |
| Mississippi (MS) | 24.9 | 6,303 | 732 | 18.7% | 14.8% | 11.3% | ↑ increasing |
| Missouri (MO) | 16.0 | 8,602 | 991 | 24.1% | 37.4% | 11.6% | ↓ decreasing |
| Montana (MT) | 18.4 | 1,840 | 208 | 43.5% | 33.2% | 7.8% | ↓ decreasing |
| Nebraska (NE) | 11.5 | 2,095 | 227 | 29.6% | 16.7% | 7.8% | ↓ decreasing |
| Nevada (NV) | 12.2 | 3,123 | 389 | 25.2% | 28.9% | 23.3% | ↓ decreasing |
| New Hampshire (NH) | 9.3 | 1,098 | 130 | 26.2% | 36.8% | 10.0% | ↓ decreasing |
| New Jersey (NJ) | 6.5 | 5,481 | 606 | 22.8% | 11.3% | 29.2% | ↓ decreasing |
| New Mexico (NM) | 20.7 | 3,684 | 437 | 23.8% | 24.6% | 20.3% | ↓ decreasing |
| New York (NY) | 5.7 | 9,578 | 1,114 | 18.1% | 6.6% | 26.3% | ↓ decreasing |
| North Carolina (NC) | 14.4 | 13,557 | 1,561 | 24.5% | 30.2% | 14.7% | ↓ decreasing |
| North Dakota (ND) | 13.5 | 970 | 106 | 37.5% | 25.5% | 6.6% | ↑ increasing |
| Ohio (OH) | 10.5 | 10,742 | 1,242 | 26.6% | 19.5% | 11.9% | ↓ decreasing |
| Oklahoma (OK) | 17.7 | 6,127 | 718 | 22.5% | 21.2% | 12.4% | ↔ stable |
| Oregon (OR) | 13.9 | 4,673 | 587 | 24.9% | 25.4% | 16.0% | ↓ decreasing |
| Pennsylvania (PA) | 9.3 | 10,523 | 1,211 | 23.3% | 31.6% | 14.2% | ↑ increasing |
| Rhode Island (RI) | 6.5 | 549 | 71 | 32.2% | 19.9% | 18.2% | ↑ increasing |
| South Carolina (SC) | 19.5 | 9,435 | 1,047 | 31.1% | 41.1% | 15.8% | ↓ decreasing |
| South Dakota (SD) | 15.2 | 1,177 | 140 | 33.4% | 28.0% | 7.9% | ↑ increasing |
| Tennessee (TN) | 18.6 | 10,379 | 1,323 | 24.3% | 16.2% | 13.0% | ↔ stable |
| Texas (TX) | 14.1 | 35,453 | 4,291 | 24.9% | 25.0% | 17.5% | ↓ decreasing |
| Utah (UT) | 8.2 | 2,547 | 280 | 19.6% | 28.3% | 14.0% | ↓ decreasing |
| Vermont (VT) | 10.7 | 584 | 69 | 33.6% | 32.2% | 9.1% | ↓ decreasing |
| Virginia (VA) | 10.5 | 7,746 | 913 | 23.7% | 19.7% | 14.0% | ↓ decreasing |
| Washington (WA) | 10.4 | 5,528 | 810 | 26.7% | 30.7% | 18.1% | ↑ increasing |
| West Virginia (WV) | 14.7 | 2,470 | 260 | 23.1% | 25.9% | 8.6% | ↓ decreasing |
| Wisconsin (WI) | 9.9 | 5,361 | 583 | 32.7% | 30.7% | 9.5% | ↓ decreasing |
| Wyoming (WY) | 24.7 | 1,153 | 144 | 31.3% | 31.0% | 5.8% | ↑ increasing |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which U.S. state has the highest traffic-fatality rate?
Mississippi leads this NHTSA FARS extract at 24.9 road deaths per 100,000 residents (732 deaths in the latest year). The rate is population-normalized; it is not a ranking of road quality or enforcement.
Which state has the lowest traffic-fatality rate?
Massachusetts has the lowest rate in this extract at 4.9 per 100,000 residents (343 deaths in the latest year). Dense urban states often post lower population rates even when absolute death counts remain material.
Which state records the most traffic deaths in a single year?
Texas recorded 4,291 fatalities in the latest FARS year, a count driven by population and vehicle-miles, not only by rate. Nationwide this hub tallies 40,901 deaths across 51 jurisdictions for that year.
Where does PlainRoadSafety source state fatality data?
Counts and rates come from NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), currently covering 2023 as the latest year on this page. Cause shares (drunk, speeding, pedestrian) are computed from the same FARS person/crash extracts. See the methodology page for vintage notes, PlainRoadSafety does not publish driving advice.
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) Rates are per 100,000 population
Download the FARS state extract cited on this page: fars-state-fatality-statistics.csv (NHTSA FARS · CC BY 4.0).