Counties in Iowa by traffic fatalities

Polk County had the highest traffic fatalities of 99 counties in 2021, at 45. Van Buren County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 3 and the figure for Iowa was 356. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Highest45Polk County

Lowest0Van Buren County

Median399 counties

Iowa356History

Top 40 counties, 2021

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	2021 count	Change on 2020
1	Polk County	45	+18.4%
2	Scott County	16	-23.8%
3	Linn County	14	+16.7%
4	Marion County	11	+120%
4	Pottawattamie County	11	-15.4%
6	Black Hawk County	9	0%
6	Johnson County	9	+200%
8	Benton County	8	+166.7%
8	Cerro Gordo County	8	+300%
8	Marshall County	8	+166.7%
8	Woodbury County	8	-20%
12	Jones County	7	+75%
12	Muscatine County	7	+75%
14	Bremer County	6	+200%
14	Clayton County	6	+50%
16	Butler County	5	n/a
16	Clinton County	5	+25%
16	Dallas County	5	-44.4%
16	Fremont County	5	+25%
16	Henry County	5	+400%
16	Jackson County	5	+66.7%
16	Wapello County	5	+25%
16	Webster County	5	+66.7%
24	Buchanan County	4	+100%
24	Cass County	4	+300%
24	Cedar County	4	-20%
24	Clarke County	4	n/a
24	Dubuque County	4	+33.3%
24	Emmet County	4	+300%
24	Fayette County	4	0%
24	Floyd County	4	+300%
24	Jasper County	4	0%
24	Lee County	4	-55.6%
24	Monona County	4	+100%
24	Plymouth County	4	-55.6%
24	Story County	4	+100%
24	Winneshiek County	4	+100%
38	Allamakee County	3	+50%
38	Buena Vista County	3	n/a
38	Delaware County	3	+50%
38	Des Moines County	3	+200%
38	Dickinson County	3	+50%
38	Greene County	3	+200%
38	Grundy County	3	+50%
38	Hamilton County	3	+200%
38	Harrison County	3	+200%
38	Mitchell County	3	+50%
38	Sioux County	3	0%
38	Tama County	3	+200%
38	Warren County	3	-62.5%
38	Worth County	3	n/a
52	Adair County	2	-66.7%
52	Adams County	2	0%
52	Audubon County	2	n/a
52	Boone County	2	-60%
52	Chickasaw County	2	+100%
52	Clay County	2	-50%
52	Crawford County	2	+100%
52	Franklin County	2	+100%
52	Iowa County	2	-66.7%
52	Louisa County	2	-33.3%
52	Mahaska County	2	-60%
52	Poweshiek County	2	n/a
52	Washington County	2	0%
52	Wayne County	2	n/a
52	Winnebago County	2	n/a
67	Appanoose County	1	-50%
67	Cherokee County	1	-75%
67	Hancock County	1	-50%
67	Hardin County	1	-83.3%
67	Howard County	1	0%
67	Humboldt County	1	-50%
67	Lucas County	1	-75%
67	Lyon County	1	0%
67	Madison County	1	-85.7%
67	Osceola County	1	0%
67	Page County	1	-66.7%
67	Ringgold County	1	n/a
67	Sac County	1	-50%
67	Taylor County	1	0%
67	Wright County	1	-50%
82	Calhoun County	0	-100%
82	Carroll County	0	-100%
82	Davis County	0	-100%
82	Decatur County	0	-100%
82	Guthrie County	0	-100%
82	Ida County	0	-100%
82	Jefferson County	0	-100%
82	Keokuk County	0	-100%
82	Kossuth County	0	-100%
82	Mills County	0	-100%
82	Monroe County	0	-100%
82	Montgomery County	0	-100%
82	O'Brien County	0	-100%
82	Palo Alto County	0	-100%
82	Pocahontas County	0	-100%
82	Shelby County	0	-100%
82	Union County	0	-100%
82	Van Buren County	0	n/a

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/2021/National/FARS2021NationalCSV.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, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2021/National/FARS2021NationalCSV.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, 2021. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2021/National/FARS2021NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2021. 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, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2021/National/FARS2021NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2021.

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, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2021/National/FARS2021NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{national_counties_in_iowa_by_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2021/National/FARS2021NationalCSV.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2021. 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/2021/National/FARS2021NationalCSV.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, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/24
PB  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2021/National/FARS2021NationalCSV.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2021.
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/2021/National/FARS2021NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

Which county has the highest traffic fatalities?

Polk County, with 45 in 2021, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which county has the lowest traffic fatalities?

Van Buren County, with 0 in 2021.

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.