INTERACTIVE TOOLS
Road Safety Tools
Compare road fatality risk across U.S. states and counties using NHTSA FARS data joined with Census population and FHWA vehicle-miles-traveled.
12.9
National avg fatality rate per 100k (50 states plus DC)
349,812
Total fatalities in dataset (2015-2023)
Mississippi
Deadliest state at 24.9 per 100k
Massachusetts
Safest state at 4.9 per 100k
Safety by Route lookup
Select any U.S. state to see its fatality rate, total fatalities, and cause breakdown compared to the national average.
Open the lookup tool →National Reference
Use these baseline numbers to interpret any county or state page on PlainRoadSafety.
| Reference value | Latest year |
|---|---|
| Average state fatality rate (50 states + DC) | 12.9 per 100K residents |
| Total state-level fatalities (2015-2023) | 349,812 |
| States covered | 51 |
| Counties covered | 3,137 |
Lowest fatality rates (5 states)
- 1. Massachusetts 4.9 / 100K
- 2. New York 5.7 / 100K
- 3. District of Columbia 6.5 / 100K
- 4. Hawaii 6.5 / 100K
- 5. New Jersey 6.5 / 100K
Highest fatality rates (5 states)
- 1. Mississippi 24.9 / 100K
- 2. Wyoming 24.7 / 100K
- 3. New Mexico 20.7 / 100K
- 4. South Carolina 19.5 / 100K
- 5. Arkansas 19.4 / 100K
How to compare a place to the national baseline
- Find the location's per-100K fatality rate on its state page or county page.
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Divide that rate by the national 50-state average (12.9) to get a relative-risk multiplier:
- 1.0× means the location matches the national baseline.
- 2.0× means double the national average risk per resident.
- 0.5× means half the national average risk per resident.
- For per-VMT comparisons (which control for how much driving happens), see the methodology page on how PlainRoadSafety joins FARS, Census, and FHWA data.
Source datasets
- NHTSA FARS (raw fatality census) - annual coded files covering every fatal motor vehicle crash since 1975.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program - denominators for per-100K rate calculations.
- FHWA Traffic Volume Trends (VMT) - denominators for per-100M-vehicle-mile risk calculations.
These are reference tools for research and informational purposes only. PlainRoadSafety does not provide insurance, legal, or safety-engineering advice. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), U.S. Census Bureau, FHWA.
Every figure on PlainRoadSafety is computed directly from NHTSA FARS census data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.