Traffic fatalities in California

Traffic fatalities in California was 3,876 in 2024, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That is down 7% from 2023. That is the 2nd highest of 51 states in 2024.

2024, count3,876 Provisional

Change on 2023-7%

Rank2nd of 51US states ranked

Series high5,5421979

Series low2,7202010

Next release: Thursday, 24 June 2027, estimated by Invokely from past publication dates (low confidence), not announced by the publisher. Release calendar

Traffic fatalities in California, 1975 to 2024

count. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv), United States and states. Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2026-06-24.

All 50 values

Period	count
2024	3,876 Provisional
2023	4,169
2022	4,539
2021	4,513
2020	3,980
2019	3,719
2018	3,798
2017	3,884
2016	3,837
2015	3,387
2014	3,102
2013	3,107
2012	2,966
2011	2,816
2010	2,720
2009	3,090
2008	3,434
2007	3,995
2006	4,240
2005	4,333
2004	4,120
2003	4,224
2002	4,088
2001	3,956
2000	3,753
1999	3,559
1998	3,494
1997	3,688
1996	3,989
1995	4,192
1994	4,232
1993	4,164
1992	4,192
1991	4,688
1990	5,192
1989	5,412
1988	5,392
1987	5,504
1986	5,253
1985	4,960
1984	5,020
1983	4,573
1982	4,615
1981	5,170
1980	5,496
1979	5,542
1978	5,310
1977	4,839
1976	4,395
1975	4,092

Compared with United States

Place	2024
California	3,876
United States	39,254

Rankings

US states by traffic fatalities 51 places

Definition

People killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes during the year. FARS counts people who die within 30 days of a crash involving a motor vehicle travelling on a public road, by the place of the crash, not of residence.

A police-based count of deaths. It differs from death certificate counts (CDC) and from the WHO road traffic death rate (road_traffic_death_rate), which is modelled for international comparison.

How to cite

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv), United States and states. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2024/National/FARS2024NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2026). Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv), United States and states (Traffic fatalities, California, 1975 to 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2024/National/FARS2024NationalCSV.zip

MLA 9

Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv), United States and states, Traffic fatalities, California, 1975 to 2024. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2024/National/FARS2024NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/traffic-fatalities/california. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 2026. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv), United States and states. Traffic fatalities, California, 1975 to 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2024/National/FARS2024NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/traffic-fatalities/california.

Harvard

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2026) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv), United States and states, Traffic fatalities, California, 1975 to 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2024/National/FARS2024NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/traffic-fatalities/california (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{national_traffic_fatalities_california_2024,
  author = {{National Highway Traffic Safety Administration}},
  title = {{Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv), United States and states: Traffic fatalities, California, 1975 to 2024}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2024/National/FARS2024NationalCSV.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/traffic-fatalities/california. Publisher attribution: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv), United States and states. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2024/National/FARS2024NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
TI  - Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv), United States and states: Traffic fatalities, California, 1975 to 2024
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/24
PB  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2024/National/FARS2024NationalCSV.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/traffic-fatalities/california
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/traffic-fatalities/california.
N1  - Publisher attribution: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv), United States and states. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2024/National/FARS2024NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

What is the traffic fatalities in California?

Traffic fatalities in California was 3,876 in 2024, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That is down 7% from 2023. That is the 2nd highest of 51 states in 2024.

Where does this figure come from?

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv), United States and states. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest traffic fatalities in California?

5,542 in 1979, the highest value since 1975 in this series.

Traffic fatalities elsewhere in United States

Related statistics for California

All statistics for California | California in figures