Data / Rankings / Traffic fatalities / US states

US states by traffic fatalities

California had the highest traffic fatalities of 51 states in 2017, at 3,884. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 31. The median was 558 and the figure for the United States was 37,473. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Highest3,884California
Lowest31District of Columbia
Median55851 states
United States37,473History

Map of states, 2017

Alabama: 948 countAlaska: 79 countArizona: 998 countArkansas: 525 countCalifornia: 3,884 countColorado: 648 countConnecticut: 281 countDelaware: 119 countDistrict of Columbia: 31 countFlorida: 3,116 countGeorgia: 1,540 countHawaii: 107 countIdaho: 245 countIllinois: 1,090 countIndiana: 916 countIowa: 330 countKansas: 461 countKentucky: 782 countLouisiana: 770 countMaine: 173 countMaryland: 558 countMassachusetts: 347 countMichigan: 1,031 countMinnesota: 358 countMississippi: 685 countMissouri: 932 countMontana: 186 countNebraska: 228 countNevada: 311 countNew Hampshire: 102 countNew Jersey: 624 countNew Mexico: 380 countNew York: 1,006 countNorth Carolina: 1,412 countNorth Dakota: 116 countOhio: 1,179 countOklahoma: 657 countOregon: 439 countPennsylvania: 1,137 countRhode Island: 84 countSouth Carolina: 989 countSouth Dakota: 129 countTennessee: 1,024 countTexas: 3,732 countUtah: 273 countVermont: 69 countVirginia: 839 countWashington: 563 countWest Virginia: 304 countWisconsin: 613 countWyoming: 123 count
  • Under 130
  • 130 to 310
  • 310 to 560
  • 560 to 800
  • 800 to 1,000
  • 1,000 and over
count, 2017. 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, 2017

California: 3,884 countCalifornia3,884Texas: 3,732 countTexas3,732Florida: 3,116 countFlorida3,116Georgia: 1,540 countGeorgia1,540North Carolina: 1,412 countNorth Carolina1,412Ohio: 1,179 countOhio1,179Pennsylvania: 1,137 countPennsylvania1,137Illinois: 1,090 countIllinois1,090Michigan: 1,031 countMichigan1,031Tennessee: 1,024 countTennessee1,024New York: 1,006 countNew York1,006Arizona: 998 countArizona998South Carolina: 989 countSouth Carolina989Alabama: 948 countAlabama948Missouri: 932 countMissouri932Indiana: 916 countIndiana916Virginia: 839 countVirginia839Kentucky: 782 countKentucky782Louisiana: 770 countLouisiana770Mississippi: 685 countMississippi685Oklahoma: 657 countOklahoma657Colorado: 648 countColorado648New Jersey: 624 countNew Jersey624Wisconsin: 613 countWisconsin613Washington: 563 countWashington563Maryland: 558 countMaryland558Arkansas: 525 countArkansas525Kansas: 461 countKansas461Oregon: 439 countOregon439New Mexico: 380 countNew Mexico380Minnesota: 358 countMinnesota358Massachusetts: 347 countMassachusetts347Iowa: 330 countIowa330Nevada: 311 countNevada311West Virginia: 304 countWest Virginia304Connecticut: 281 countConnecticut281Utah: 273 countUtah273Idaho: 245 countIdaho245Nebraska: 228 countNebraska228Montana: 186 countMontana186Maine: 173 countMaine173South Dakota: 129 countSouth Dakota129Wyoming: 123 countWyoming123Delaware: 119 countDelaware119North Dakota: 116 countNorth Dakota116Hawaii: 107 countHawaii107New Hampshire: 102 countNew Hampshire102Rhode Island: 84 countRhode Island84Alaska: 79 countAlaska79Vermont: 69 countVermont69District of Columbia: 31 countDistrict of Columbia31California: 3,884 countCalifornia3,884Texas: 3,732 countTexas3,732Florida: 3,116 countFlorida3,116Georgia: 1,540 countGeorgia1,540North Carolina: 1,412 countNorth Carolina1,412Ohio: 1,179 countOhio1,179Pennsylvania: 1,137 countPennsylvania1,137Illinois: 1,090 countIllinois1,090Michigan: 1,031 countMichigan1,031Tennessee: 1,024 countTennessee1,024New York: 1,006 countNew York1,006Arizona: 998 countArizona998South Carolina: 989 countSouth Carolina989Alabama: 948 countAlabama948Missouri: 932 countMissouri932Indiana: 916 countIndiana916Virginia: 839 countVirginia839Kentucky: 782 countKentucky782Louisiana: 770 countLouisiana770Mississippi: 685 countMississippi685Oklahoma: 657 countOklahoma657Colorado: 648 countColorado648New Jersey: 624 countNew Jersey624Wisconsin: 613 countWisconsin613Washington: 563 countWashington563Maryland: 558 countMaryland558Arkansas: 525 countArkansas525Kansas: 461 countKansas461Oregon: 439 countOregon439New Mexico: 380 countNew Mexico380Minnesota: 358 countMinnesota358Massachusetts: 347 countMassachusetts347Iowa: 330 countIowa330Nevada: 311 countNevada311West Virginia: 304 countWest Virginia304Connecticut: 281 countConnecticut281Utah: 273 countUtah273Idaho: 245 countIdaho245Nebraska: 228 countNebraska228Montana: 186 countMontana186Maine: 173 countMaine173South Dakota: 129 countSouth Dakota129Wyoming: 123 countWyoming123Delaware: 119 countDelaware119North Dakota: 116 countNorth Dakota116Hawaii: 107 countHawaii107New Hampshire: 102 countNew Hampshire102Rhode Island: 84 countRhode Island84Alaska: 79 countAlaska79Vermont: 69 countVermont69District of Columbia: 31 countDistrict of Columbia31
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

RankStates2017
count		Change on 2016
1California3,884+1.2%
2Texas3,732-1.7%
3Florida3,116-1.9%
4Georgia1,540-1%
5North Carolina1,412-2.6%
6Ohio1,179+4.2%
7Pennsylvania1,137-4.3%
8Illinois1,090+1.1%
9Michigan1,031-3.2%
10Tennessee1,024-1.3%
11New York1,006-3.4%
12Arizona998+4.8%
13South Carolina989-3%
14Alabama948-12.5%
15Missouri932-1.6%
16Indiana916+10.5%
17Virginia839+10.4%
18Kentucky782-6.2%
19Louisiana770+1.7%
20Mississippi685-0.3%
21Oklahoma657-4.4%
22Colorado648+6.6%
23New Jersey624+3.7%
24Wisconsin613+1%
25Washington563+5%
26Maryland558+6.9%
27Arkansas525-6.4%
28Kansas461+7.5%
29Oregon439-11.8%
30New Mexico380-6.2%
31Minnesota358-8.7%
32Massachusetts347-10.3%
33Iowa330-17.9%
34Nevada311-5.5%
35West Virginia304+13%
36Connecticut281-7.6%
37Utah273-2.8%
38Idaho245-3.2%
39Nebraska228+4.6%
40Montana186-2.1%
41Maine173+8.1%
42South Dakota129+11.2%
43Wyoming123+9.8%
44Delaware1190%
45North Dakota116+2.7%
46Hawaii107-10.8%
47New Hampshire102-25%
48Rhode Island84+64.7%
49Alaska79-6%
50Vermont69+11.3%
51District of Columbia31+14.8%

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/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), United States and states (US states 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), United States and states, US states 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/us-states?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), United States and states. US states 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/us-states?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), United States and states, US states 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/us-states?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{national_us_states_by_traffic_2017,
  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, 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/us-states?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), United States and states. 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), United States and states: US states 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/us-states?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?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), United States and states. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2017/National/FARS2017NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest traffic fatalities?

California, with 3,884 in 2017, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which state has the lowest traffic fatalities?

District of Columbia, with 31 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), United States and states. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Traffic fatalities: other rankings

US states: more rankings