Counties in Massachusetts by traffic fatalities

Bristol County had the highest traffic fatalities of 14 counties in 2020, at 48. Nantucket County had the lowest, at 1. The median was 25 and the figure for Massachusetts was 343. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Map of counties, 2020

Barnstable County: 12 countBerkshire County: 15 countBristol County: 48 countDukes County: 1 countEssex County: 40 countFranklin County: 4 countHampden County: 44 countHampshire County: 6 countMiddlesex County: 46 countNantucket County: 1 countNorfolk County: 44 countPlymouth County: 30 countSuffolk County: 19 countWorcester County: 33 count
  • Under 5
  • 5 to 16
  • 16 to 32
  • 32 to 44
  • 44 and over
count, 2020. 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, 2020

Bristol County: 48 countBristol County48Middlesex County: 46 countMiddlesex County46Hampden County: 44 countHampden County44Norfolk County: 44 countNorfolk County44Essex County: 40 countEssex County40Worcester County: 33 countWorcester County33Plymouth County: 30 countPlymouth County30Suffolk County: 19 countSuffolk County19Berkshire County: 15 countBerkshire County15Barnstable County: 12 countBarnstable County12Hampshire County: 6 countHampshire County6Franklin County: 4 countFranklin County4Dukes County: 1 countDukes County1Nantucket County: 1 countNantucket County1Bristol County: 48 countBristol County48Middlesex County: 46 countMiddlesex County46Hampden County: 44 countHampden County44Norfolk County: 44 countNorfolk County44Essex County: 40 countEssex County40Worcester County: 33 countWorcester County33Plymouth County: 30 countPlymouth County30Suffolk County: 19 countSuffolk County19Berkshire County: 15 countBerkshire County15Barnstable County: 12 countBarnstable County12Hampshire County: 6 countHampshire County6Franklin County: 4 countFranklin County4Dukes County: 1 countDukes County1Nantucket County: 1 countNantucket County1
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

RankCounties2020
count
Change on 2019
1Bristol County48-5.9%
2Middlesex County46+7%
3Hampden County44+4.8%
3Norfolk County44+41.9%
5Essex County40+17.6%
6Worcester County33-31.3%
7Plymouth County30-3.2%
8Suffolk County19-20.8%
9Berkshire County15+15.4%
10Barnstable County12+71.4%
11Hampshire County60%
12Franklin County4-33.3%
13Dukes County1n/a
13Nantucket County1n/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/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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{national_counties_in_massachusetts_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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-counties?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/massachusetts-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?

Bristol County, with 48 in 2020, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which county has the lowest traffic fatalities?

Nantucket County, with 1 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.

Traffic fatalities: other rankings

Counties in Massachusetts: more rankings