Data / Rankings / Traffic fatalities / US states

US states by traffic fatalities

California had the highest traffic fatalities of 51 states in 2018, at 3,798. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 31. The median was 520 and the figure for the United States was 36,835. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest3,798California
Lowest31District of Columbia
Median52051 states
United States36,835History

Map of states, 2018

Alabama: 953 countAlaska: 80 countArizona: 1,011 countArkansas: 520 countCalifornia: 3,798 countColorado: 632 countConnecticut: 293 countDelaware: 111 countDistrict of Columbia: 31 countFlorida: 3,135 countGeorgia: 1,505 countHawaii: 117 countIdaho: 234 countIllinois: 1,035 countIndiana: 860 countIowa: 319 countKansas: 405 countKentucky: 724 countLouisiana: 771 countMaine: 136 countMaryland: 512 countMassachusetts: 355 countMichigan: 977 countMinnesota: 381 countMississippi: 663 countMissouri: 921 countMontana: 181 countNebraska: 230 countNevada: 329 countNew Hampshire: 147 countNew Jersey: 563 countNew Mexico: 392 countNew York: 964 countNorth Carolina: 1,436 countNorth Dakota: 105 countOhio: 1,068 countOklahoma: 655 countOregon: 502 countPennsylvania: 1,190 countRhode Island: 59 countSouth Carolina: 1,036 countSouth Dakota: 130 countTennessee: 1,040 countTexas: 3,648 countUtah: 260 countVermont: 68 countVirginia: 820 countWashington: 539 countWest Virginia: 294 countWisconsin: 589 countWyoming: 111 count
  • Under 130
  • 130 to 310
  • 310 to 520
  • 520 to 790
  • 790 to 1,000
  • 1,000 and over
count, 2018. 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, 2018

California: 3,798 countCalifornia3,798Texas: 3,648 countTexas3,648Florida: 3,135 countFlorida3,135Georgia: 1,505 countGeorgia1,505North Carolina: 1,436 countNorth Carolina1,436Pennsylvania: 1,190 countPennsylvania1,190Ohio: 1,068 countOhio1,068Tennessee: 1,040 countTennessee1,040South Carolina: 1,036 countSouth Carolina1,036Illinois: 1,035 countIllinois1,035Arizona: 1,011 countArizona1,011Michigan: 977 countMichigan977New York: 964 countNew York964Alabama: 953 countAlabama953Missouri: 921 countMissouri921Indiana: 860 countIndiana860Virginia: 820 countVirginia820Louisiana: 771 countLouisiana771Kentucky: 724 countKentucky724Mississippi: 663 countMississippi663Oklahoma: 655 countOklahoma655Colorado: 632 countColorado632Wisconsin: 589 countWisconsin589New Jersey: 563 countNew Jersey563Washington: 539 countWashington539Arkansas: 520 countArkansas520Maryland: 512 countMaryland512Oregon: 502 countOregon502Kansas: 405 countKansas405New Mexico: 392 countNew Mexico392Minnesota: 381 countMinnesota381Massachusetts: 355 countMassachusetts355Nevada: 329 countNevada329Iowa: 319 countIowa319West Virginia: 294 countWest Virginia294Connecticut: 293 countConnecticut293Utah: 260 countUtah260Idaho: 234 countIdaho234Nebraska: 230 countNebraska230Montana: 181 countMontana181New Hampshire: 147 countNew Hampshire147Maine: 136 countMaine136South Dakota: 130 countSouth Dakota130Hawaii: 117 countHawaii117Delaware: 111 countDelaware111Wyoming: 111 countWyoming111North Dakota: 105 countNorth Dakota105Alaska: 80 countAlaska80Vermont: 68 countVermont68Rhode Island: 59 countRhode Island59District of Columbia: 31 countDistrict of Columbia31California: 3,798 countCalifornia3,798Texas: 3,648 countTexas3,648Florida: 3,135 countFlorida3,135Georgia: 1,505 countGeorgia1,505North Carolina: 1,436 countNorth Carolina1,436Pennsylvania: 1,190 countPennsylvania1,190Ohio: 1,068 countOhio1,068Tennessee: 1,040 countTennessee1,040South Carolina: 1,036 countSouth Carolina1,036Illinois: 1,035 countIllinois1,035Arizona: 1,011 countArizona1,011Michigan: 977 countMichigan977New York: 964 countNew York964Alabama: 953 countAlabama953Missouri: 921 countMissouri921Indiana: 860 countIndiana860Virginia: 820 countVirginia820Louisiana: 771 countLouisiana771Kentucky: 724 countKentucky724Mississippi: 663 countMississippi663Oklahoma: 655 countOklahoma655Colorado: 632 countColorado632Wisconsin: 589 countWisconsin589New Jersey: 563 countNew Jersey563Washington: 539 countWashington539Arkansas: 520 countArkansas520Maryland: 512 countMaryland512Oregon: 502 countOregon502Kansas: 405 countKansas405New Mexico: 392 countNew Mexico392Minnesota: 381 countMinnesota381Massachusetts: 355 countMassachusetts355Nevada: 329 countNevada329Iowa: 319 countIowa319West Virginia: 294 countWest Virginia294Connecticut: 293 countConnecticut293Utah: 260 countUtah260Idaho: 234 countIdaho234Nebraska: 230 countNebraska230Montana: 181 countMontana181New Hampshire: 147 countNew Hampshire147Maine: 136 countMaine136South Dakota: 130 countSouth Dakota130Hawaii: 117 countHawaii117Delaware: 111 countDelaware111Wyoming: 111 countWyoming111North Dakota: 105 countNorth Dakota105Alaska: 80 countAlaska80Vermont: 68 countVermont68Rhode Island: 59 countRhode Island59District 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

RankStates2018
count		Change on 2017
1California3,798-2.2%
2Texas3,648-2.3%
3Florida3,135+0.6%
4Georgia1,505-2.3%
5North Carolina1,436+1.7%
6Pennsylvania1,190+4.7%
7Ohio1,068-9.4%
8Tennessee1,040+1.6%
9South Carolina1,036+4.8%
10Illinois1,035-5%
11Arizona1,011+1.3%
12Michigan977-5.2%
13New York964-4.2%
14Alabama953+0.5%
15Missouri921-1.2%
16Indiana860-6.1%
17Virginia820-2.3%
18Louisiana771+0.1%
19Kentucky724-7.4%
20Mississippi663-3.2%
21Oklahoma655-0.3%
22Colorado632-2.5%
23Wisconsin589-3.9%
24New Jersey563-9.8%
25Washington539-4.3%
26Arkansas520-1%
27Maryland512-8.2%
28Oregon502+14.4%
29Kansas405-12.1%
30New Mexico392+3.2%
31Minnesota381+6.4%
32Massachusetts355+2.3%
33Nevada329+5.8%
34Iowa319-3.3%
35West Virginia294-3.3%
36Connecticut293+4.3%
37Utah260-4.8%
38Idaho234-4.5%
39Nebraska230+0.9%
40Montana181-2.7%
41New Hampshire147+44.1%
42Maine136-21.4%
43South Dakota130+0.8%
44Hawaii117+9.3%
45Delaware111-6.7%
45Wyoming111-9.8%
47North Dakota105-9.5%
48Alaska80+1.3%
49Vermont68-1.4%
50Rhode Island59-29.8%
51District of Columbia310%

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/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.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, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.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, 2018. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2018. 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, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2018.

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, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{national_us_states_by_traffic_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2018. 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/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.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, 2018
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/24
PB  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2018.
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/2018/National/FARS2018NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank US states by traffic fatalities using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"traffic_fatalities","level":"region","within":"United States","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=traffic_fatalities&level=region&within=United%20States&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which state has the highest traffic fatalities?

California, with 3,798 in 2018, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which state has the lowest traffic fatalities?

District of Columbia, with 31 in 2018.

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