Counties in Iowa by traffic fatalities

Polk County had the highest traffic fatalities of 99 counties in 2023, at 39. Worth County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 2 and the figure for Iowa was 379. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Highest39Polk County

Lowest0Worth County

Median299 counties

Iowa379History

Top 40 counties, 2023

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	2023 count	Change on 2022
1	Polk County	39	+18.2%
2	Linn County	27	+92.9%
3	Scott County	16	-11.1%
4	Dallas County	14	+40%
5	Black Hawk County	13	+85.7%
5	Pottawattamie County	13	+30%
7	Johnson County	10	+100%
8	Woodbury County	9	+80%
9	Webster County	8	+300%
10	Boone County	7	+250%
10	Harrison County	7	+40%
10	Jasper County	7	+133.3%
10	Louisa County	7	+600%
10	Marshall County	7	+75%
15	Sioux County	6	-25%
15	Union County	6	n/a
17	Cass County	5	+150%
17	Cedar County	5	+150%
17	Clinton County	5	-44.4%
17	Floyd County	5	n/a
17	Fremont County	5	+25%
17	Greene County	5	n/a
17	Iowa County	5	+150%
17	Lee County	5	-28.6%
17	Plymouth County	5	+66.7%
17	Poweshiek County	5	+150%
17	Winneshiek County	5	+150%
28	Davis County	4	+100%
28	Decatur County	4	+100%
28	Dubuque County	4	-66.7%
28	Grundy County	4	n/a
28	Keokuk County	4	n/a
28	Madison County	4	+100%
28	Mahaska County	4	+100%
28	Muscatine County	4	-33.3%
28	Page County	4	n/a
28	Story County	4	-42.9%
28	Wapello County	4	+33.3%
28	Warren County	4	-33.3%
40	Allamakee County	3	0%
40	Buena Vista County	3	+200%
40	Carroll County	3	-25%
40	Clarke County	3	+50%
40	Clayton County	3	+50%
40	Crawford County	3	+50%
40	Franklin County	3	n/a
40	Jones County	3	-25%
40	Wright County	3	0%
49	Benton County	2	-60%
49	Buchanan County	2	+100%
49	Butler County	2	0%
49	Chickasaw County	2	-50%
49	Delaware County	2	+100%
49	Fayette County	2	+100%
49	Hamilton County	2	-33.3%
49	Ida County	2	-33.3%
49	Marion County	2	0%
49	Mitchell County	2	+100%
49	Monroe County	2	-33.3%
49	Montgomery County	2	-50%
49	Osceola County	2	0%
49	Ringgold County	2	+100%
49	Washington County	2	-33.3%
64	Appanoose County	1	0%
64	Audubon County	1	-50%
64	Bremer County	1	-66.7%
64	Cerro Gordo County	1	-75%
64	Cherokee County	1	-50%
64	Clay County	1	0%
64	Des Moines County	1	-75%
64	Dickinson County	1	0%
64	Emmet County	1	-66.7%
64	Guthrie County	1	0%
64	Hancock County	1	0%
64	Henry County	1	-66.7%
64	Humboldt County	1	-75%
64	Jackson County	1	-66.7%
64	Jefferson County	1	-50%
64	Kossuth County	1	-66.7%
64	Lucas County	1	0%
64	Lyon County	1	0%
64	Mills County	1	-80%
64	Monona County	1	n/a
64	Sac County	1	-50%
64	Shelby County	1	-50%
64	Taylor County	1	n/a
87	Adair County	0	-100%
87	Adams County	0	n/a
87	Calhoun County	0	-100%
87	Hardin County	0	-100%
87	Howard County	0	-100%
87	O'Brien County	0	-100%
87	Palo Alto County	0	-100%
87	Pocahontas County	0	-100%
87	Tama County	0	-100%
87	Van Buren County	0	-100%
87	Wayne County	0	-100%
87	Winnebago County	0	-100%
87	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/2023/National/FARS2023NationalCSV.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, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2023/National/FARS2023NationalCSV.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, 2023. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2023/National/FARS2023NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2023. 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, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2023/National/FARS2023NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2023.

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, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2023/National/FARS2023NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{national_counties_in_iowa_by_2023,
  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, 2023}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2023/National/FARS2023NationalCSV.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2023. 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/2023/National/FARS2023NationalCSV.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, 2023
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/24
PB  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2023/National/FARS2023NationalCSV.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2023.
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/2023/National/FARS2023NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

Which county has the highest traffic fatalities?

Polk County, with 39 in 2023, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which county has the lowest traffic fatalities?

Worth County, with 0 in 2023.

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.