Data / Rankings / Traffic fatalities / US states

US states by traffic fatalities

Texas had the highest traffic fatalities of 51 states in 2015, at 3,582. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 23. The median was 547 and the figure for the United States was 35,484. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Highest3,582Texas
Lowest23District of Columbia
Median54751 states
United States35,484History

Map of states, 2015

Alabama: 850 countAlaska: 65 countArizona: 897 countArkansas: 550 countCalifornia: 3,387 countColorado: 547 countConnecticut: 270 countDelaware: 131 countDistrict of Columbia: 23 countFlorida: 2,938 countGeorgia: 1,432 countHawaii: 93 countIdaho: 216 countIllinois: 998 countIndiana: 817 countIowa: 320 countKansas: 355 countKentucky: 761 countLouisiana: 752 countMaine: 156 countMaryland: 520 countMassachusetts: 344 countMichigan: 967 countMinnesota: 411 countMississippi: 677 countMissouri: 870 countMontana: 224 countNebraska: 246 countNevada: 326 countNew Hampshire: 114 countNew Jersey: 561 countNew Mexico: 298 countNew York: 1,136 countNorth Carolina: 1,379 countNorth Dakota: 131 countOhio: 1,110 countOklahoma: 645 countOregon: 446 countPennsylvania: 1,200 countRhode Island: 45 countSouth Carolina: 979 countSouth Dakota: 134 countTennessee: 962 countTexas: 3,582 countUtah: 278 countVermont: 57 countVirginia: 754 countWashington: 551 countWest Virginia: 268 countWisconsin: 566 countWyoming: 145 count
  • Under 140
  • 140 to 290
  • 290 to 550
  • 550 to 760
  • 760 to 990
  • 990 and over
count, 2015. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv), United States and states. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2015

Texas: 3,582 countTexas3,582California: 3,387 countCalifornia3,387Florida: 2,938 countFlorida2,938Georgia: 1,432 countGeorgia1,432North Carolina: 1,379 countNorth Carolina1,379Pennsylvania: 1,200 countPennsylvania1,200New York: 1,136 countNew York1,136Ohio: 1,110 countOhio1,110Illinois: 998 countIllinois998South Carolina: 979 countSouth Carolina979Michigan: 967 countMichigan967Tennessee: 962 countTennessee962Arizona: 897 countArizona897Missouri: 870 countMissouri870Alabama: 850 countAlabama850Indiana: 817 countIndiana817Kentucky: 761 countKentucky761Virginia: 754 countVirginia754Louisiana: 752 countLouisiana752Mississippi: 677 countMississippi677Oklahoma: 645 countOklahoma645Wisconsin: 566 countWisconsin566New Jersey: 561 countNew Jersey561Washington: 551 countWashington551Arkansas: 550 countArkansas550Colorado: 547 countColorado547Maryland: 520 countMaryland520Oregon: 446 countOregon446Minnesota: 411 countMinnesota411Kansas: 355 countKansas355Massachusetts: 344 countMassachusetts344Nevada: 326 countNevada326Iowa: 320 countIowa320New Mexico: 298 countNew Mexico298Utah: 278 countUtah278Connecticut: 270 countConnecticut270West Virginia: 268 countWest Virginia268Nebraska: 246 countNebraska246Montana: 224 countMontana224Idaho: 216 countIdaho216Maine: 156 countMaine156Wyoming: 145 countWyoming145South Dakota: 134 countSouth Dakota134Delaware: 131 countDelaware131North Dakota: 131 countNorth Dakota131New Hampshire: 114 countNew Hampshire114Hawaii: 93 countHawaii93Alaska: 65 countAlaska65Vermont: 57 countVermont57Rhode Island: 45 countRhode Island45District of Columbia: 23 countDistrict of Columbia23Texas: 3,582 countTexas3,582California: 3,387 countCalifornia3,387Florida: 2,938 countFlorida2,938Georgia: 1,432 countGeorgia1,432North Carolina: 1,379 countNorth Carolina1,379Pennsylvania: 1,200 countPennsylvania1,200New York: 1,136 countNew York1,136Ohio: 1,110 countOhio1,110Illinois: 998 countIllinois998South Carolina: 979 countSouth Carolina979Michigan: 967 countMichigan967Tennessee: 962 countTennessee962Arizona: 897 countArizona897Missouri: 870 countMissouri870Alabama: 850 countAlabama850Indiana: 817 countIndiana817Kentucky: 761 countKentucky761Virginia: 754 countVirginia754Louisiana: 752 countLouisiana752Mississippi: 677 countMississippi677Oklahoma: 645 countOklahoma645Wisconsin: 566 countWisconsin566New Jersey: 561 countNew Jersey561Washington: 551 countWashington551Arkansas: 550 countArkansas550Colorado: 547 countColorado547Maryland: 520 countMaryland520Oregon: 446 countOregon446Minnesota: 411 countMinnesota411Kansas: 355 countKansas355Massachusetts: 344 countMassachusetts344Nevada: 326 countNevada326Iowa: 320 countIowa320New Mexico: 298 countNew Mexico298Utah: 278 countUtah278Connecticut: 270 countConnecticut270West Virginia: 268 countWest Virginia268Nebraska: 246 countNebraska246Montana: 224 countMontana224Idaho: 216 countIdaho216Maine: 156 countMaine156Wyoming: 145 countWyoming145South Dakota: 134 countSouth Dakota134Delaware: 131 countDelaware131North Dakota: 131 countNorth Dakota131New Hampshire: 114 countNew Hampshire114Hawaii: 93 countHawaii93Alaska: 65 countAlaska65Vermont: 57 countVermont57Rhode Island: 45 countRhode Island45District of Columbia: 23 countDistrict of Columbia23
count. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv), United States and states. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2015
count		Change on 2014
1Texas3,582+1.3%
2California3,387+9.2%
3Florida2,938+17.8%
4Georgia1,432+23%
5North Carolina1,379+7.4%
6Pennsylvania1,200+0.4%
7New York1,136+9.1%
8Ohio1,110+10.3%
9Illinois998+8%
10South Carolina979+19%
11Michigan967+7.3%
12Tennessee962-0.1%
13Arizona897+16%
14Missouri870+13.6%
15Alabama850+3.7%
16Indiana817+9.7%
17Kentucky761+13.2%
18Virginia754+7.3%
19Louisiana752+1.6%
20Mississippi677+11.5%
21Oklahoma645-3.6%
22Wisconsin566+11.9%
23New Jersey561+0.9%
24Washington551+19.3%
25Arkansas550+17%
26Colorado547+12.1%
27Maryland520+17.6%
28Oregon446+24.9%
29Minnesota411+13.9%
30Kansas355-7.8%
31Massachusetts344-2.8%
32Nevada326+12%
33Iowa320-0.6%
34New Mexico298-22.8%
35Utah278+8.6%
36Connecticut270+8.9%
37West Virginia268-1.5%
38Nebraska246+9.3%
39Montana224+16.7%
40Idaho216+16.1%
41Maine156+19.1%
42Wyoming145-3.3%
43South Dakota134-1.5%
44Delaware131+5.6%
44North Dakota131-3%
46New Hampshire114+20%
47Hawaii93-2.1%
48Alaska65-11%
49Vermont57+29.5%
50Rhode Island45-11.8%
51District of Columbia230%

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 states 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), United States and states. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.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), United States and states (US states by traffic fatalities, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.zip

MLA 9

Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv), United States and states, US states by traffic fatalities, 2015. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2015. 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), United States and states. US states by traffic fatalities, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2015.

Harvard

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2026) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv), United States and states, US states by traffic fatalities, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{national_us_states_by_traffic_2015,
  author = {{National Highway Traffic Safety Administration}},
  title = {{Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv), United States and states: US states by traffic fatalities, 2015}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2015. 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), United States and states. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.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), United States and states: US states by traffic fatalities, 2015
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/24
PB  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2015.
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), United States and states. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest traffic fatalities?

Texas, with 3,582 in 2015, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which state has the lowest traffic fatalities?

District of Columbia, with 23 in 2015.

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), United States and states. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Traffic fatalities: other rankings

US states: more rankings