Counties in California by traffic fatalities
Los Angeles County had the highest traffic fatalities of 58 counties in 2020, at 760. Sierra County had the lowest, at 1. The median was 26 and the figure for California was 3,980. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Map of counties, 2020
- Under 7
- 7 to 16
- 16 to 26
- 26 to 40
- 40 to 110
- 110 and over
All counties, 2020
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/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.Citation styles
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, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.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, 2020. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/california-counties?period=2020. 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, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/california-counties?period=2020.
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, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/california-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{national_counties_in_california_by_2020,
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, 2020}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.zip},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/california-counties?period=2020. 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/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.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, 2020
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/24
PB - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB - Invokely
UR - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.zip
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/california-counties?period=2020
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/california-counties?period=2020.
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/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
Rank Counties in California by traffic fatalities using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"traffic_fatalities","level":"province","within":"California","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=traffic_fatalities&level=province&within=California&limit=10Questions
Which county has the highest traffic fatalities?
Los Angeles County, with 760 in 2020, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Which county has the lowest traffic fatalities?
Sierra County, with 1 in 2020.
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
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- Uninsured rate, ages 18 to 64 (US model-based estimate)
- Uninsured rate, ages 19 to 34 (US, ACS)
- Uninsured rate, under 19 (US, ACS)
- White (non-Hispanic) population share
- Population density
- Black or African American population share
- Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over