Counties in Massachusetts by traffic fatalities

Worcester County had the highest traffic fatalities of 14 counties in 2017, at 55. Nantucket County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 29 and the figure for Massachusetts was 347. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Median2914 counties
Massachusetts347History

Map of counties, 2017

Barnstable County: 14 countBerkshire County: 11 countBristol County: 45 countDukes County: 1 countEssex County: 36 countFranklin County: 8 countHampden County: 35 countHampshire County: 6 countMiddlesex County: 34 countNantucket County: 0 countNorfolk County: 32 countPlymouth County: 45 countSuffolk County: 25 countWorcester County: 55 count
  • Under 7
  • 7 to 16
  • 16 to 34
  • 34 to 40
  • 40 and over
count, 2017. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2017

Worcester County: 55 countWorcester County55Bristol County: 45 countBristol County45Plymouth County: 45 countPlymouth County45Essex County: 36 countEssex County36Hampden County: 35 countHampden County35Middlesex County: 34 countMiddlesex County34Norfolk County: 32 countNorfolk County32Suffolk County: 25 countSuffolk County25Barnstable County: 14 countBarnstable County14Berkshire County: 11 countBerkshire County11Franklin County: 8 countFranklin County8Hampshire County: 6 countHampshire County6Dukes County: 1 countDukes County1Nantucket County: 0 countNantucket County0Worcester County: 55 countWorcester County55Bristol County: 45 countBristol County45Plymouth County: 45 countPlymouth County45Essex County: 36 countEssex County36Hampden County: 35 countHampden County35Middlesex County: 34 countMiddlesex County34Norfolk County: 32 countNorfolk County32Suffolk County: 25 countSuffolk County25Barnstable County: 14 countBarnstable County14Berkshire County: 11 countBerkshire County11Franklin County: 8 countFranklin County8Hampshire County: 6 countHampshire County6Dukes County: 1 countDukes County1Nantucket County: 0 countNantucket County0
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

RankCounties2017
count
Change on 2016
1Worcester County55+12.2%
2Bristol County45-11.8%
2Plymouth County45+15.4%
4Essex County36+9.1%
5Hampden County35-12.5%
6Middlesex County34-46.9%
7Norfolk County32+3.2%
8Suffolk County25-26.5%
9Barnstable County14-22.2%
10Berkshire County11-8.3%
11Franklin County8+60%
12Hampshire County6-45.5%
13Dukes County1n/a
14Nantucket County0n/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/2017/National/FARS2017NationalCSV.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 Massachusetts by traffic fatalities, 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2017/National/FARS2017NationalCSV.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 Massachusetts by traffic fatalities, 2017. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2017/National/FARS2017NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/massachusetts-counties?period=2017. 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 Massachusetts by traffic fatalities, 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2017/National/FARS2017NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/massachusetts-counties?period=2017.

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 Massachusetts by traffic fatalities, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2017/National/FARS2017NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/massachusetts-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{national_counties_in_massachusetts_by_2017,
  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 Massachusetts by traffic fatalities, 2017}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2017/National/FARS2017NationalCSV.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/massachusetts-counties?period=2017. 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/2017/National/FARS2017NationalCSV.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 Massachusetts by traffic fatalities, 2017
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/24
PB  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2017/National/FARS2017NationalCSV.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/massachusetts-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/massachusetts-counties?period=2017.
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/2017/National/FARS2017NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest traffic fatalities?

Worcester County, with 55 in 2017, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which county has the lowest traffic fatalities?

Nantucket County, with 0 in 2017.

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 Massachusetts: more rankings