Counties in California by traffic fatalities

Los Angeles County had the highest traffic fatalities of 58 counties in 2015, at 651. Sierra County had the lowest, at 1. The median was 27 and the figure for California was 3,387. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Median2758 counties
California3,387History

Map of counties, 2015

Alameda County: 90 countAlpine County: 1 countAmador County: 8 countButte County: 33 countCalaveras County: 11 countColusa County: 5 countContra Costa County: 76 countDel Norte County: 15 countEl Dorado County: 26 countFresno County: 102 countGlenn County: 6 countHumboldt County: 28 countImperial County: 28 countInyo County: 6 countKern County: 138 countKings County: 35 countLake County: 17 countLassen County: 9 countLos Angeles County: 651 countMadera County: 29 countMarin County: 8 countMariposa County: 3 countMendocino County: 10 countMerced County: 54 countModoc County: 3 countMono County: 6 countMonterey County: 49 countNapa County: 15 countNevada County: 13 countOrange County: 183 countPlacer County: 21 countPlumas County: 5 countRiverside County: 242 countSacramento County: 139 countSan Benito County: 9 countSan Bernardino County: 260 countSan Diego County: 246 countSan Francisco County: 38 countSan Joaquin County: 98 countSan Luis Obispo County: 34 countSan Mateo County: 33 countSanta Barbara County: 35 countSanta Clara County: 133 countSanta Cruz County: 19 countShasta County: 40 countSierra County: 1 countSiskiyou County: 12 countSolano County: 45 countSonoma County: 46 countStanislaus County: 49 countSutter County: 17 countTehama County: 19 countTrinity County: 5 countTulare County: 75 countTuolumne County: 17 countVentura County: 56 countYolo County: 26 countYuba County: 9 count
  • Under 7
  • 7 to 15
  • 15 to 27
  • 27 to 40
  • 40 to 94
  • 94 and over
count, 2015. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2015

Los Angeles County: 651 countLos Angeles County651San Bernardino County: 260 countSan Bernardino County260San Diego County: 246 countSan Diego County246Riverside County: 242 countRiverside County242Orange County: 183 countOrange County183Sacramento County: 139 countSacramento County139Kern County: 138 countKern County138Santa Clara County: 133 countSanta Clara County133Fresno County: 102 countFresno County102San Joaquin County: 98 countSan Joaquin County98Alameda County: 90 countAlameda County90Contra Costa County: 76 countContra Costa County76Tulare County: 75 countTulare County75Ventura County: 56 countVentura County56Merced County: 54 countMerced County54Monterey County: 49 countMonterey County49Stanislaus County: 49 countStanislaus County49Sonoma County: 46 countSonoma County46Solano County: 45 countSolano County45Shasta County: 40 countShasta County40San Francisco County: 38 countSan Francisco County38Kings County: 35 countKings County35Santa Barbara County: 35 countSanta Barbara County35San Luis Obispo County: 34 countSan Luis Obispo County34Butte County: 33 countButte County33San Mateo County: 33 countSan Mateo County33Madera County: 29 countMadera County29Humboldt County: 28 countHumboldt County28Imperial County: 28 countImperial County28El Dorado County: 26 countEl Dorado County26Yolo County: 26 countYolo County26Placer County: 21 countPlacer County21Santa Cruz County: 19 countSanta Cruz County19Tehama County: 19 countTehama County19Lake County: 17 countLake County17Sutter County: 17 countSutter County17Tuolumne County: 17 countTuolumne County17Del Norte County: 15 countDel Norte County15Napa County: 15 countNapa County15Nevada County: 13 countNevada County13Siskiyou County: 12 countSiskiyou County12Calaveras County: 11 countCalaveras County11Mendocino County: 10 countMendocino County10Lassen County: 9 countLassen County9San Benito County: 9 countSan Benito County9Yuba County: 9 countYuba County9Amador County: 8 countAmador County8Marin County: 8 countMarin County8Glenn County: 6 countGlenn County6Inyo County: 6 countInyo County6Mono County: 6 countMono County6Colusa County: 5 countColusa County5Plumas County: 5 countPlumas County5Trinity County: 5 countTrinity County5Mariposa County: 3 countMariposa County3Modoc County: 3 countModoc County3Alpine County: 1 countAlpine County1Sierra County: 1 countSierra County1Los Angeles County: 651 countLos Angeles County651San Bernardino County: 260 countSan Bernardino County260San Diego County: 246 countSan Diego County246Riverside County: 242 countRiverside County242Orange County: 183 countOrange County183Sacramento County: 139 countSacramento County139Kern County: 138 countKern County138Santa Clara County: 133 countSanta Clara County133Fresno County: 102 countFresno County102San Joaquin County: 98 countSan Joaquin County98Alameda County: 90 countAlameda County90Contra Costa County: 76 countContra Costa County76Tulare County: 75 countTulare County75Ventura County: 56 countVentura County56Merced County: 54 countMerced County54Monterey County: 49 countMonterey County49Stanislaus County: 49 countStanislaus County49Sonoma County: 46 countSonoma County46Solano County: 45 countSolano County45Shasta County: 40 countShasta County40San Francisco County: 38 countSan Francisco County38Kings County: 35 countKings County35Santa Barbara County: 35 countSanta Barbara County35San Luis Obispo County: 34 countSan Luis Obispo County34Butte County: 33 countButte County33San Mateo County: 33 countSan Mateo County33Madera County: 29 countMadera County29Humboldt County: 28 countHumboldt County28Imperial County: 28 countImperial County28El Dorado County: 26 countEl Dorado County26Yolo County: 26 countYolo County26Placer County: 21 countPlacer County21Santa Cruz County: 19 countSanta Cruz County19Tehama County: 19 countTehama County19Lake County: 17 countLake County17Sutter County: 17 countSutter County17Tuolumne County: 17 countTuolumne County17Del Norte County: 15 countDel Norte County15Napa County: 15 countNapa County15Nevada County: 13 countNevada County13Siskiyou County: 12 countSiskiyou County12Calaveras County: 11 countCalaveras County11Mendocino County: 10 countMendocino County10Lassen County: 9 countLassen County9San Benito County: 9 countSan Benito County9Yuba County: 9 countYuba County9Amador County: 8 countAmador County8Marin County: 8 countMarin County8Glenn County: 6 countGlenn County6Inyo County: 6 countInyo County6Mono County: 6 countMono County6Colusa County: 5 countColusa County5Plumas County: 5 countPlumas County5Trinity County: 5 countTrinity County5Mariposa County: 3 countMariposa County3Modoc County: 3 countModoc County3Alpine County: 1 countAlpine County1Sierra County: 1 countSierra County1
count. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Other periods

About this ranking

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.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

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) by county of the crash. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.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) by county of the crash (Counties in California by traffic fatalities, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.zip

MLA 9

Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash, Counties in California by traffic fatalities, 2015. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/california-counties?period=2015. 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) by county of the crash. Counties in California by traffic fatalities, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/california-counties?period=2015.

Harvard

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2026) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash, Counties in California by traffic fatalities, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/california-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{national_counties_in_california_by_2015,
  author = {{National Highway Traffic Safety Administration}},
  title = {{Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash: Counties in California by traffic fatalities, 2015}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/california-counties?period=2015. 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) by county of the crash. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.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) by county of the crash: Counties in California by traffic fatalities, 2015
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/24
PB  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/california-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/california-counties?period=2015.
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) by county of the crash. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Rank Counties in California by traffic fatalities using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest traffic fatalities?

Los Angeles County, with 651 in 2015, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which county has the lowest traffic fatalities?

Sierra County, with 1 in 2015.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Traffic fatalities: other rankings

Counties in California: more rankings