Data / Rankings / Traffic fatalities / US states

US states by traffic fatalities

California had the highest traffic fatalities of 51 states in 2016, at 3,837. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 27. The median was 536 and the figure for the United States was 37,806. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Highest3,837California
Lowest27District of Columbia
Median53651 states
United States37,806History

Map of states, 2016

Alabama: 1,083 countAlaska: 84 countArizona: 952 countArkansas: 561 countCalifornia: 3,837 countColorado: 608 countConnecticut: 304 countDelaware: 119 countDistrict of Columbia: 27 countFlorida: 3,176 countGeorgia: 1,556 countHawaii: 120 countIdaho: 253 countIllinois: 1,078 countIndiana: 829 countIowa: 402 countKansas: 429 countKentucky: 834 countLouisiana: 757 countMaine: 160 countMaryland: 522 countMassachusetts: 387 countMichigan: 1,065 countMinnesota: 392 countMississippi: 687 countMissouri: 947 countMontana: 190 countNebraska: 218 countNevada: 329 countNew Hampshire: 136 countNew Jersey: 602 countNew Mexico: 405 countNew York: 1,041 countNorth Carolina: 1,450 countNorth Dakota: 113 countOhio: 1,132 countOklahoma: 687 countOregon: 498 countPennsylvania: 1,188 countRhode Island: 51 countSouth Carolina: 1,020 countSouth Dakota: 116 countTennessee: 1,037 countTexas: 3,797 countUtah: 281 countVermont: 62 countVirginia: 760 countWashington: 536 countWest Virginia: 269 countWisconsin: 607 countWyoming: 112 count
  • Under 130
  • 130 to 320
  • 320 to 540
  • 540 to 780
  • 780 to 1,100
  • 1,100 and over
count, 2016. 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, 2016

California: 3,837 countCalifornia3,837Texas: 3,797 countTexas3,797Florida: 3,176 countFlorida3,176Georgia: 1,556 countGeorgia1,556North Carolina: 1,450 countNorth Carolina1,450Pennsylvania: 1,188 countPennsylvania1,188Ohio: 1,132 countOhio1,132Alabama: 1,083 countAlabama1,083Illinois: 1,078 countIllinois1,078Michigan: 1,065 countMichigan1,065New York: 1,041 countNew York1,041Tennessee: 1,037 countTennessee1,037South Carolina: 1,020 countSouth Carolina1,020Arizona: 952 countArizona952Missouri: 947 countMissouri947Kentucky: 834 countKentucky834Indiana: 829 countIndiana829Virginia: 760 countVirginia760Louisiana: 757 countLouisiana757Mississippi: 687 countMississippi687Oklahoma: 687 countOklahoma687Colorado: 608 countColorado608Wisconsin: 607 countWisconsin607New Jersey: 602 countNew Jersey602Arkansas: 561 countArkansas561Washington: 536 countWashington536Maryland: 522 countMaryland522Oregon: 498 countOregon498Kansas: 429 countKansas429New Mexico: 405 countNew Mexico405Iowa: 402 countIowa402Minnesota: 392 countMinnesota392Massachusetts: 387 countMassachusetts387Nevada: 329 countNevada329Connecticut: 304 countConnecticut304Utah: 281 countUtah281West Virginia: 269 countWest Virginia269Idaho: 253 countIdaho253Nebraska: 218 countNebraska218Montana: 190 countMontana190Maine: 160 countMaine160New Hampshire: 136 countNew Hampshire136Hawaii: 120 countHawaii120Delaware: 119 countDelaware119South Dakota: 116 countSouth Dakota116North Dakota: 113 countNorth Dakota113Wyoming: 112 countWyoming112Alaska: 84 countAlaska84Vermont: 62 countVermont62Rhode Island: 51 countRhode Island51District of Columbia: 27 countDistrict of Columbia27California: 3,837 countCalifornia3,837Texas: 3,797 countTexas3,797Florida: 3,176 countFlorida3,176Georgia: 1,556 countGeorgia1,556North Carolina: 1,450 countNorth Carolina1,450Pennsylvania: 1,188 countPennsylvania1,188Ohio: 1,132 countOhio1,132Alabama: 1,083 countAlabama1,083Illinois: 1,078 countIllinois1,078Michigan: 1,065 countMichigan1,065New York: 1,041 countNew York1,041Tennessee: 1,037 countTennessee1,037South Carolina: 1,020 countSouth Carolina1,020Arizona: 952 countArizona952Missouri: 947 countMissouri947Kentucky: 834 countKentucky834Indiana: 829 countIndiana829Virginia: 760 countVirginia760Louisiana: 757 countLouisiana757Mississippi: 687 countMississippi687Oklahoma: 687 countOklahoma687Colorado: 608 countColorado608Wisconsin: 607 countWisconsin607New Jersey: 602 countNew Jersey602Arkansas: 561 countArkansas561Washington: 536 countWashington536Maryland: 522 countMaryland522Oregon: 498 countOregon498Kansas: 429 countKansas429New Mexico: 405 countNew Mexico405Iowa: 402 countIowa402Minnesota: 392 countMinnesota392Massachusetts: 387 countMassachusetts387Nevada: 329 countNevada329Connecticut: 304 countConnecticut304Utah: 281 countUtah281West Virginia: 269 countWest Virginia269Idaho: 253 countIdaho253Nebraska: 218 countNebraska218Montana: 190 countMontana190Maine: 160 countMaine160New Hampshire: 136 countNew Hampshire136Hawaii: 120 countHawaii120Delaware: 119 countDelaware119South Dakota: 116 countSouth Dakota116North Dakota: 113 countNorth Dakota113Wyoming: 112 countWyoming112Alaska: 84 countAlaska84Vermont: 62 countVermont62Rhode Island: 51 countRhode Island51District of Columbia: 27 countDistrict of Columbia27
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

RankStates2016
count		Change on 2015
1California3,837+13.3%
2Texas3,797+6%
3Florida3,176+8.1%
4Georgia1,556+8.7%
5North Carolina1,450+5.1%
6Pennsylvania1,188-1%
7Ohio1,132+2%
8Alabama1,083+27.4%
9Illinois1,078+8%
10Michigan1,065+10.1%
11New York1,041-8.4%
12Tennessee1,037+7.8%
13South Carolina1,020+4.2%
14Arizona952+6.1%
15Missouri947+8.9%
16Kentucky834+9.6%
17Indiana829+1.5%
18Virginia760+0.8%
19Louisiana757+0.7%
20Mississippi687+1.5%
20Oklahoma687+6.5%
22Colorado608+11.2%
23Wisconsin607+7.2%
24New Jersey602+7.3%
25Arkansas561+2%
26Washington536-2.7%
27Maryland522+0.4%
28Oregon498+11.7%
29Kansas429+20.8%
30New Mexico405+35.9%
31Iowa402+25.6%
32Minnesota392-4.6%
33Massachusetts387+12.5%
34Nevada329+0.9%
35Connecticut304+12.6%
36Utah281+1.1%
37West Virginia269+0.4%
38Idaho253+17.1%
39Nebraska218-11.4%
40Montana190-15.2%
41Maine160+2.6%
42New Hampshire136+19.3%
43Hawaii120+29%
44Delaware119-9.2%
45South Dakota116-13.4%
46North Dakota113-13.7%
47Wyoming112-22.8%
48Alaska84+29.2%
49Vermont62+8.8%
50Rhode Island51+13.3%
51District of Columbia27+17.4%

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/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.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, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.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, 2016. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2016. 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, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2016.

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, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{national_us_states_by_traffic_2016,
  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, 2016}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2016. 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/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.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, 2016
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/24
PB  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2016.
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/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest traffic fatalities?

California, with 3,837 in 2016, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which state has the lowest traffic fatalities?

District of Columbia, with 27 in 2016.

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