Counties in Iowa by traffic fatalities

Polk County had the highest traffic fatalities of 99 counties in 2020, at 38. Worth County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 2 and the figure for Iowa was 343. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Highest38Polk County

Lowest0Worth County

Median299 counties

Iowa343History

Top 40 counties, 2020

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	2020 count	Change on 2019
1	Polk County	38	+11.8%
2	Scott County	21	+133.3%
3	Pottawattamie County	13	0%
4	Linn County	12	-20%
5	Woodbury County	10	-23.1%
6	Black Hawk County	9	-18.2%
6	Dallas County	9	+200%
6	Lee County	9	+80%
6	Plymouth County	9	+350%
10	Warren County	8	+700%
11	Madison County	7	+600%
12	Adair County	6	0%
12	Hardin County	6	+20%
12	Iowa County	6	+50%
15	Boone County	5	+150%
15	Cedar County	5	+400%
15	Mahaska County	5	+150%
15	Marion County	5	+150%
15	Mills County	5	+150%
20	Cherokee County	4	+300%
20	Clay County	4	0%
20	Clayton County	4	+100%
20	Clinton County	4	-50%
20	Fayette County	4	-20%
20	Fremont County	4	+33.3%
20	Jasper County	4	-33.3%
20	Jones County	4	+300%
20	Kossuth County	4	+100%
20	Lucas County	4	+300%
20	Muscatine County	4	0%
20	Wapello County	4	-20%
32	Benton County	3	-25%
32	Carroll County	3	+200%
32	Dubuque County	3	-62.5%
32	Guthrie County	3	n/a
32	Jackson County	3	+50%
32	Johnson County	3	-66.7%
32	Keokuk County	3	+200%
32	Louisa County	3	n/a
32	Marshall County	3	-40%
32	Montgomery County	3	n/a
32	O'Brien County	3	0%
32	Page County	3	+50%
32	Sioux County	3	+50%
32	Union County	3	+200%
32	Webster County	3	-70%
47	Adams County	2	+100%
47	Allamakee County	2	0%
47	Appanoose County	2	+100%
47	Bremer County	2	-50%
47	Buchanan County	2	-33.3%
47	Cerro Gordo County	2	-71.4%
47	Delaware County	2	n/a
47	Dickinson County	2	+100%
47	Grundy County	2	-33.3%
47	Hancock County	2	n/a
47	Humboldt County	2	0%
47	Mitchell County	2	+100%
47	Monona County	2	0%
47	Palo Alto County	2	+100%
47	Sac County	2	+100%
47	Story County	2	-77.8%
47	Washington County	2	-33.3%
47	Winneshiek County	2	-60%
47	Wright County	2	+100%
66	Calhoun County	1	-50%
66	Cass County	1	-50%
66	Chickasaw County	1	n/a
66	Crawford County	1	-80%
66	Davis County	1	0%
66	Decatur County	1	0%
66	Des Moines County	1	-66.7%
66	Emmet County	1	0%
66	Floyd County	1	0%
66	Franklin County	1	-50%
66	Greene County	1	0%
66	Hamilton County	1	-66.7%
66	Harrison County	1	-50%
66	Henry County	1	-87.5%
66	Howard County	1	0%
66	Ida County	1	-66.7%
66	Jefferson County	1	n/a
66	Lyon County	1	-75%
66	Monroe County	1	-50%
66	Osceola County	1	-50%
66	Pocahontas County	1	0%
66	Shelby County	1	-80%
66	Tama County	1	0%
66	Taylor County	1	0%
90	Audubon County	0	-100%
90	Buena Vista County	0	-100%
90	Butler County	0	n/a
90	Clarke County	0	-100%
90	Poweshiek County	0	-100%
90	Ringgold County	0	n/a
90	Van Buren County	0	-100%
90	Wayne County	0	-100%
90	Winnebago County	0	n/a
90	Worth 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/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.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, 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 Iowa 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/iowa-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 Iowa 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/iowa-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 Iowa 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/iowa-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{national_counties_in_iowa_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 Iowa 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/iowa-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 Iowa 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/iowa-counties?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-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  -

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Questions

Which county has the highest traffic fatalities?

Polk County, with 38 in 2020, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which county has the lowest traffic fatalities?

Worth County, with 0 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.