Counties in Iowa by traffic fatalities

Polk County had the highest traffic fatalities of 99 counties in 2018, at 27. Wayne County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 2 and the figure for Iowa was 319. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Highest27Polk County

Lowest0Wayne County

Median299 counties

Iowa319History

Top 40 counties, 2018

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

Rank	Counties	2018 count	Change on 2017
1	Polk County	27	+3.8%
2	Linn County	13	-18.8%
2	Scott County	13	+62.5%
4	Pottawattamie County	11	-8.3%
5	Black Hawk County	10	+25%
6	Webster County	9	+80%
7	Benton County	7	+40%
7	Johnson County	7	-12.5%
9	Clinton County	6	+500%
9	Dubuque County	6	-40%
9	Mills County	6	+100%
9	Pocahontas County	6	+200%
9	Warren County	6	+20%
14	Cass County	5	+400%
14	Cerro Gordo County	5	-58.3%
14	Clayton County	5	+400%
14	Dallas County	5	+150%
14	Floyd County	5	0%
14	Harrison County	5	0%
14	Marion County	5	+400%
14	Woodbury County	5	-37.5%
22	Adair County	4	+100%
22	Boone County	4	+300%
22	Cedar County	4	+100%
22	Clarke County	4	+33.3%
22	Decatur County	4	-42.9%
22	Delaware County	4	+100%
22	Hamilton County	4	+300%
22	Hardin County	4	n/a
22	Henry County	4	+100%
22	Humboldt County	4	+300%
22	Jasper County	4	0%
22	Jefferson County	4	+33.3%
22	Lee County	4	0%
22	Marshall County	4	-66.7%
22	Monona County	4	-42.9%
22	Muscatine County	4	0%
22	Tama County	4	-33.3%
22	Wapello County	4	0%
40	Bremer County	3	n/a
40	Crawford County	3	n/a
40	Davis County	3	n/a
40	Dickinson County	3	+200%
40	Fayette County	3	0%
40	Page County	3	n/a
40	Plymouth County	3	-25%
40	Poweshiek County	3	-50%
40	Sac County	3	0%
49	Appanoose County	2	0%
49	Calhoun County	2	-50%
49	Cherokee County	2	+100%
49	Chickasaw County	2	n/a
49	Des Moines County	2	-33.3%
49	Fremont County	2	-33.3%
49	Greene County	2	+100%
49	Hancock County	2	0%
49	Ida County	2	+100%
49	Iowa County	2	-77.8%
49	Jackson County	2	-50%
49	Louisa County	2	0%
49	Mitchell County	2	n/a
49	Monroe County	2	n/a
49	O'Brien County	2	n/a
49	Palo Alto County	2	-50%
49	Sioux County	2	-33.3%
49	Story County	2	-60%
49	Winneshiek County	2	0%
49	Worth County	2	n/a
69	Allamakee County	1	-50%
69	Buchanan County	1	-66.7%
69	Buena Vista County	1	0%
69	Carroll County	1	-66.7%
69	Grundy County	1	0%
69	Jones County	1	0%
69	Keokuk County	1	0%
69	Lyon County	1	-50%
69	Ringgold County	1	-50%
69	Union County	1	0%
69	Washington County	1	-66.7%
69	Winnebago County	1	-50%
69	Wright County	1	0%
82	Adams County	0	n/a
82	Audubon County	0	-100%
82	Butler County	0	-100%
82	Clay County	0	-100%
82	Emmet County	0	n/a
82	Franklin County	0	-100%
82	Guthrie County	0	-100%
82	Howard County	0	n/a
82	Kossuth County	0	-100%
82	Lucas County	0	-100%
82	Madison County	0	-100%
82	Mahaska County	0	-100%
82	Montgomery County	0	-100%
82	Osceola County	0	-100%
82	Shelby County	0	-100%
82	Taylor County	0	-100%
82	Van Buren County	0	-100%
82	Wayne County	0	-100%

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/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.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 Iowa by traffic fatalities, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.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 Iowa by traffic fatalities, 2018. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2018. 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 Iowa by traffic fatalities, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2018.

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 Iowa by traffic fatalities, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{national_counties_in_iowa_by_2018,
  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 Iowa by traffic fatalities, 2018}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2018. 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/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.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 Iowa by traffic fatalities, 2018
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/24
PB  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2018.
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/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

Which county has the highest traffic fatalities?

Polk County, with 27 in 2018, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which county has the lowest traffic fatalities?

Wayne County, with 0 in 2018.

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.