Counties in Massachusetts by traffic fatalities

Worcester County had the highest traffic fatalities of 14 counties in 2018, at 64. Nantucket County had the lowest, at 2. The median was 25 and the figure for Massachusetts was 355. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Median2514 counties
Massachusetts355History

Map of counties, 2018

Barnstable County: 16 countBerkshire County: 16 countBristol County: 31 countDukes County: 2 countEssex County: 29 countFranklin County: 9 countHampden County: 36 countHampshire County: 12 countMiddlesex County: 48 countNantucket County: 2 countNorfolk County: 38 countPlymouth County: 32 countSuffolk County: 20 countWorcester County: 64 count
  • Under 11
  • 11 to 17
  • 17 to 31
  • 31 to 37
  • 37 and over
count, 2018. 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, 2018

Worcester County: 64 countWorcester County64Middlesex County: 48 countMiddlesex County48Norfolk County: 38 countNorfolk County38Hampden County: 36 countHampden County36Plymouth County: 32 countPlymouth County32Bristol County: 31 countBristol County31Essex County: 29 countEssex County29Suffolk County: 20 countSuffolk County20Barnstable County: 16 countBarnstable County16Berkshire County: 16 countBerkshire County16Hampshire County: 12 countHampshire County12Franklin County: 9 countFranklin County9Dukes County: 2 countDukes County2Nantucket County: 2 countNantucket County2Worcester County: 64 countWorcester County64Middlesex County: 48 countMiddlesex County48Norfolk County: 38 countNorfolk County38Hampden County: 36 countHampden County36Plymouth County: 32 countPlymouth County32Bristol County: 31 countBristol County31Essex County: 29 countEssex County29Suffolk County: 20 countSuffolk County20Barnstable County: 16 countBarnstable County16Berkshire County: 16 countBerkshire County16Hampshire County: 12 countHampshire County12Franklin County: 9 countFranklin County9Dukes County: 2 countDukes County2Nantucket County: 2 countNantucket County2
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

RankCounties2018
count
Change on 2017
1Worcester County64+16.4%
2Middlesex County48+41.2%
3Norfolk County38+18.8%
4Hampden County36+2.9%
5Plymouth County32-28.9%
6Bristol County31-31.1%
7Essex County29-19.4%
8Suffolk County20-20%
9Barnstable County16+14.3%
9Berkshire County16+45.5%
11Hampshire County12+100%
12Franklin County9+12.5%
13Dukes County2+100%
13Nantucket County2n/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/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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-counties?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{national_counties_in_massachusetts_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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-counties?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/massachusetts-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?

Worcester County, with 64 in 2018, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which county has the lowest traffic fatalities?

Nantucket County, with 2 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.

Traffic fatalities: other rankings

Counties in Massachusetts: more rankings