Counties in Massachusetts by traffic fatalities

Hampden County had the highest traffic fatalities of 14 counties in 2021, at 59. Nantucket County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 37 and the figure for Massachusetts was 413. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Median3714 counties
Massachusetts413History

Map of counties, 2021

Barnstable County: 19 countBerkshire County: 10 countBristol County: 46 countDukes County: 1 countEssex County: 40 countFranklin County: 7 countHampden County: 59 countHampshire County: 5 countMiddlesex County: 57 countNantucket County: 0 countNorfolk County: 37 countPlymouth County: 37 countSuffolk County: 36 countWorcester County: 59 count
  • Under 6
  • 6 to 22
  • 22 to 37
  • 37 to 50
  • 50 and over
count, 2021. 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, 2021

Hampden County: 59 countHampden County59Worcester County: 59 countWorcester County59Middlesex County: 57 countMiddlesex County57Bristol County: 46 countBristol County46Essex County: 40 countEssex County40Norfolk County: 37 countNorfolk County37Plymouth County: 37 countPlymouth County37Suffolk County: 36 countSuffolk County36Barnstable County: 19 countBarnstable County19Berkshire County: 10 countBerkshire County10Franklin County: 7 countFranklin County7Hampshire County: 5 countHampshire County5Dukes County: 1 countDukes County1Nantucket County: 0 countNantucket County0Hampden County: 59 countHampden County59Worcester County: 59 countWorcester County59Middlesex County: 57 countMiddlesex County57Bristol County: 46 countBristol County46Essex County: 40 countEssex County40Norfolk County: 37 countNorfolk County37Plymouth County: 37 countPlymouth County37Suffolk County: 36 countSuffolk County36Barnstable County: 19 countBarnstable County19Berkshire County: 10 countBerkshire County10Franklin County: 7 countFranklin County7Hampshire County: 5 countHampshire County5Dukes 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

RankCounties2021
count
Change on 2020
1Hampden County59+34.1%
1Worcester County59+78.8%
3Middlesex County57+23.9%
4Bristol County46-4.2%
5Essex County400%
6Norfolk County37-15.9%
6Plymouth County37+23.3%
8Suffolk County36+89.5%
9Barnstable County19+58.3%
10Berkshire County10-33.3%
11Franklin County7+75%
12Hampshire County5-16.7%
13Dukes County10%
14Nantucket County0-100%

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/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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{national_counties_in_massachusetts_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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-counties?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/massachusetts-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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Rank Counties in Massachusetts by traffic fatalities using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest traffic fatalities?

Hampden County, with 59 in 2021, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which county has the lowest traffic fatalities?

Nantucket 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.

Traffic fatalities: other rankings

Counties in Massachusetts: more rankings