Counties in Minnesota by traffic fatalities

Hennepin County had the highest traffic fatalities of 87 counties in 2017, at 45. Wilkin County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 3 and the figure for Minnesota was 358. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Median387 counties
Minnesota358History

Map of counties, 2017

Aitkin County: 3 countAnoka County: 17 countBecker County: 5 countBeltrami County: 4 countBenton County: 9 countBig Stone County: 1 countBlue Earth County: 7 countBrown County: 2 countCarlton County: 6 countCarver County: 1 countCass County: 6 countChippewa County: 0 countChisago County: 8 countClay County: 4 countClearwater County: 2 countCook County: 0 countCottonwood County: 2 countCrow Wing County: 3 countDakota County: 11 countDodge County: 1 countDouglas County: 7 countFaribault County: 1 countFillmore County: 1 countFreeborn County: 3 countGoodhue County: 5 countGrant County: 3 countHennepin County: 45 countHouston County: 3 countHubbard County: 1 countIsanti County: 3 countItasca County: 5 countJackson County: 0 countKanabec County: 2 countKandiyohi County: 1 countKittson County: 0 countKoochiching County: 1 countLac qui Parle County: 0 countLake County: 4 countLake of the Woods County: 1 countLe Sueur County: 3 countLincoln County: 0 countLyon County: 3 countMcLeod County: 3 countMahnomen County: 0 countMarshall County: 0 countMartin County: 3 countMeeker County: 2 countMille Lacs County: 3 countMorrison County: 4 countMower County: 2 countMurray County: 0 countNicollet County: 0 countNobles County: 0 countNorman County: 0 countOlmsted County: 6 countOtter Tail County: 7 countPennington County: 2 countPine County: 9 countPipestone County: 1 countPolk County: 4 countPope County: 0 countRamsey County: 19 countRed Lake County: 0 countRedwood County: 8 countRenville County: 2 countRice County: 4 countRock County: 1 countRoseau County: 2 countSt. Louis County: 16 countScott County: 8 countSherburne County: 11 countSibley County: 4 countStearns County: 13 countSteele County: 1 countStevens County: 1 countSwift County: 5 countTodd County: 2 countTraverse County: 0 countWabasha County: 2 countWadena County: 2 countWaseca County: 2 countWashington County: 7 countWatonwan County: 1 countWilkin County: 0 countWinona County: 6 countWright County: 8 countYellow Medicine County: 3 count
  • Under 1
  • 1 to 3
  • 3 to 4
  • 4 to 7
  • 7 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.

Top 40 counties, 2017

Hennepin County: 45 countHennepin County45Ramsey County: 19 countRamsey County19Anoka County: 17 countAnoka County17St. Louis County: 16 countSt. Louis County16Stearns County: 13 countStearns County13Dakota County: 11 countDakota County11Sherburne County: 11 countSherburne County11Benton County: 9 countBenton County9Pine County: 9 countPine County9Chisago County: 8 countChisago County8Redwood County: 8 countRedwood County8Scott County: 8 countScott County8Wright County: 8 countWright County8Blue Earth County: 7 countBlue Earth County7Douglas County: 7 countDouglas County7Otter Tail County: 7 countOtter Tail County7Washington County: 7 countWashington County7Carlton County: 6 countCarlton County6Cass County: 6 countCass County6Olmsted County: 6 countOlmsted County6Winona County: 6 countWinona County6Becker County: 5 countBecker County5Goodhue County: 5 countGoodhue County5Itasca County: 5 countItasca County5Swift County: 5 countSwift County5Beltrami County: 4 countBeltrami County4Clay County: 4 countClay County4Lake County: 4 countLake County4Morrison County: 4 countMorrison County4Polk County: 4 countPolk County4Rice County: 4 countRice County4Sibley County: 4 countSibley County4Aitkin County: 3 countAitkin County3Crow Wing County: 3 countCrow Wing County3Freeborn County: 3 countFreeborn County3Grant County: 3 countGrant County3Houston County: 3 countHouston County3Isanti County: 3 countIsanti County3Le Sueur County: 3 countLe Sueur County3Lyon County: 3 countLyon County3Hennepin County: 45 countHennepin County45Ramsey County: 19 countRamsey County19Anoka County: 17 countAnoka County17St. Louis County: 16 countSt. Louis County16Stearns County: 13 countStearns County13Dakota County: 11 countDakota County11Sherburne County: 11 countSherburne County11Benton County: 9 countBenton County9Pine County: 9 countPine County9Chisago County: 8 countChisago County8Redwood County: 8 countRedwood County8Scott County: 8 countScott County8Wright County: 8 countWright County8Blue Earth County: 7 countBlue Earth County7Douglas County: 7 countDouglas County7Otter Tail County: 7 countOtter Tail County7Washington County: 7 countWashington County7Carlton County: 6 countCarlton County6Cass County: 6 countCass County6Olmsted County: 6 countOlmsted County6Winona County: 6 countWinona County6Becker County: 5 countBecker County5Goodhue County: 5 countGoodhue County5Itasca County: 5 countItasca County5Swift County: 5 countSwift County5Beltrami County: 4 countBeltrami County4Clay County: 4 countClay County4Lake County: 4 countLake County4Morrison County: 4 countMorrison County4Polk County: 4 countPolk County4Rice County: 4 countRice County4Sibley County: 4 countSibley County4Aitkin County: 3 countAitkin County3Crow Wing County: 3 countCrow Wing County3Freeborn County: 3 countFreeborn County3Grant County: 3 countGrant County3Houston County: 3 countHouston County3Isanti County: 3 countIsanti County3Le Sueur County: 3 countLe Sueur County3Lyon County: 3 countLyon County3
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
1Hennepin County450%
2Ramsey County19+26.7%
3Anoka County17-15%
4St. Louis County16-15.8%
5Stearns County13+160%
6Dakota County11-60.7%
6Sherburne County11+120%
8Benton County9+350%
8Pine County9-10%
10Chisago County8+33.3%
10Redwood County8+166.7%
10Scott County80%
10Wright County8+14.3%
14Blue Earth County7+16.7%
14Douglas County7+16.7%
14Otter Tail County7+250%
14Washington County7-46.2%
18Carlton County6+100%
18Cass County6-40%
18Olmsted County6-50%
18Winona County6+20%
22Becker County5-44.4%
22Goodhue County5+25%
22Itasca County5+66.7%
22Swift County5+150%
26Beltrami County4+33.3%
26Clay County4+300%
26Lake County4+300%
26Morrison County4-33.3%
26Polk County4-33.3%
26Rice County4-33.3%
26Sibley County4n/a
33Aitkin County3-50%
33Crow Wing County3-62.5%
33Freeborn County3-25%
33Grant County3n/a
33Houston County3n/a
33Isanti County3-57.1%
33Le Sueur County3-25%
33Lyon County3+50%
33Martin County3+200%
33McLeod County3+200%
33Mille Lacs County3-57.1%
33Yellow Medicine County3n/a
45Brown County2n/a
45Clearwater County20%
45Cottonwood County2n/a
45Kanabec County20%
45Meeker County2-60%
45Mower County20%
45Pennington County2-60%
45Renville County2+100%
45Roseau County2+100%
45Todd County2-33.3%
45Wabasha County2-50%
45Wadena County2+100%
45Waseca County2+100%
58Big Stone County1n/a
58Carver County1-66.7%
58Dodge County10%
58Faribault County1-75%
58Fillmore County1-66.7%
58Hubbard County1-80%
58Kandiyohi County1-75%
58Koochiching County1-75%
58Lake of the Woods County1-50%
58Pipestone County1-66.7%
58Rock County1-66.7%
58Steele County1-80%
58Stevens County10%
58Watonwan County1n/a
72Chippewa County0-100%
72Cook County0n/a
72Jackson County0-100%
72Kittson County0n/a
72Lac qui Parle County0n/a
72Lincoln County0n/a
72Mahnomen County0-100%
72Marshall County0-100%
72Murray County0-100%
72Nicollet County0-100%
72Nobles County0-100%
72Norman County0-100%
72Pope County0-100%
72Red Lake County0n/a
72Traverse County0n/a
72Wilkin 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 Minnesota 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 Minnesota 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/minnesota-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 Minnesota 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/minnesota-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 Minnesota 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/minnesota-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{national_counties_in_minnesota_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 Minnesota 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/minnesota-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 Minnesota 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/minnesota-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/minnesota-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?

Hennepin County, with 45 in 2017, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which county has the lowest traffic fatalities?

Wilkin 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 Minnesota: more rankings