Data / Rankings / Traffic fatalities / US states

US states by traffic fatalities

California had the highest traffic fatalities of 51 states in 2019, at 3,719. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 23. The median was 535 and the figure for the United States was 36,355. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Highest3,719California
Lowest23District of Columbia
Median53551 states
United States36,355History

Map of states, 2019

Alabama: 930 countAlaska: 67 countArizona: 979 countArkansas: 511 countCalifornia: 3,719 countColorado: 597 countConnecticut: 249 countDelaware: 132 countDistrict of Columbia: 23 countFlorida: 3,185 countGeorgia: 1,492 countHawaii: 108 countIdaho: 224 countIllinois: 1,009 countIndiana: 810 countIowa: 336 countKansas: 410 countKentucky: 732 countLouisiana: 727 countMaine: 157 countMaryland: 535 countMassachusetts: 336 countMichigan: 986 countMinnesota: 364 countMississippi: 642 countMissouri: 881 countMontana: 184 countNebraska: 248 countNevada: 304 countNew Hampshire: 101 countNew Jersey: 558 countNew Mexico: 425 countNew York: 934 countNorth Carolina: 1,457 countNorth Dakota: 100 countOhio: 1,153 countOklahoma: 640 countOregon: 493 countPennsylvania: 1,059 countRhode Island: 57 countSouth Carolina: 1,006 countSouth Dakota: 102 countTennessee: 1,136 countTexas: 3,619 countUtah: 248 countVermont: 47 countVirginia: 831 countWashington: 538 countWest Virginia: 260 countWisconsin: 567 countWyoming: 147 count
  • Under 140
  • 140 to 290
  • 290 to 540
  • 540 to 760
  • 760 to 1,000
  • 1,000 and over
count, 2019. 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, 2019

California: 3,719 countCalifornia3,719Texas: 3,619 countTexas3,619Florida: 3,185 countFlorida3,185Georgia: 1,492 countGeorgia1,492North Carolina: 1,457 countNorth Carolina1,457Ohio: 1,153 countOhio1,153Tennessee: 1,136 countTennessee1,136Pennsylvania: 1,059 countPennsylvania1,059Illinois: 1,009 countIllinois1,009South Carolina: 1,006 countSouth Carolina1,006Michigan: 986 countMichigan986Arizona: 979 countArizona979New York: 934 countNew York934Alabama: 930 countAlabama930Missouri: 881 countMissouri881Virginia: 831 countVirginia831Indiana: 810 countIndiana810Kentucky: 732 countKentucky732Louisiana: 727 countLouisiana727Mississippi: 642 countMississippi642Oklahoma: 640 countOklahoma640Colorado: 597 countColorado597Wisconsin: 567 countWisconsin567New Jersey: 558 countNew Jersey558Washington: 538 countWashington538Maryland: 535 countMaryland535Arkansas: 511 countArkansas511Oregon: 493 countOregon493New Mexico: 425 countNew Mexico425Kansas: 410 countKansas410Minnesota: 364 countMinnesota364Iowa: 336 countIowa336Massachusetts: 336 countMassachusetts336Nevada: 304 countNevada304West Virginia: 260 countWest Virginia260Connecticut: 249 countConnecticut249Nebraska: 248 countNebraska248Utah: 248 countUtah248Idaho: 224 countIdaho224Montana: 184 countMontana184Maine: 157 countMaine157Wyoming: 147 countWyoming147Delaware: 132 countDelaware132Hawaii: 108 countHawaii108South Dakota: 102 countSouth Dakota102New Hampshire: 101 countNew Hampshire101North Dakota: 100 countNorth Dakota100Alaska: 67 countAlaska67Rhode Island: 57 countRhode Island57Vermont: 47 countVermont47District of Columbia: 23 countDistrict of Columbia23California: 3,719 countCalifornia3,719Texas: 3,619 countTexas3,619Florida: 3,185 countFlorida3,185Georgia: 1,492 countGeorgia1,492North Carolina: 1,457 countNorth Carolina1,457Ohio: 1,153 countOhio1,153Tennessee: 1,136 countTennessee1,136Pennsylvania: 1,059 countPennsylvania1,059Illinois: 1,009 countIllinois1,009South Carolina: 1,006 countSouth Carolina1,006Michigan: 986 countMichigan986Arizona: 979 countArizona979New York: 934 countNew York934Alabama: 930 countAlabama930Missouri: 881 countMissouri881Virginia: 831 countVirginia831Indiana: 810 countIndiana810Kentucky: 732 countKentucky732Louisiana: 727 countLouisiana727Mississippi: 642 countMississippi642Oklahoma: 640 countOklahoma640Colorado: 597 countColorado597Wisconsin: 567 countWisconsin567New Jersey: 558 countNew Jersey558Washington: 538 countWashington538Maryland: 535 countMaryland535Arkansas: 511 countArkansas511Oregon: 493 countOregon493New Mexico: 425 countNew Mexico425Kansas: 410 countKansas410Minnesota: 364 countMinnesota364Iowa: 336 countIowa336Massachusetts: 336 countMassachusetts336Nevada: 304 countNevada304West Virginia: 260 countWest Virginia260Connecticut: 249 countConnecticut249Nebraska: 248 countNebraska248Utah: 248 countUtah248Idaho: 224 countIdaho224Montana: 184 countMontana184Maine: 157 countMaine157Wyoming: 147 countWyoming147Delaware: 132 countDelaware132Hawaii: 108 countHawaii108South Dakota: 102 countSouth Dakota102New Hampshire: 101 countNew Hampshire101North Dakota: 100 countNorth Dakota100Alaska: 67 countAlaska67Rhode Island: 57 countRhode Island57Vermont: 47 countVermont47District 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

RankStates2019
count		Change on 2018
1California3,719-2.1%
2Texas3,619-0.8%
3Florida3,185+1.6%
4Georgia1,492-0.9%
5North Carolina1,457+1.5%
6Ohio1,153+8%
7Tennessee1,136+9.2%
8Pennsylvania1,059-11%
9Illinois1,009-2.5%
10South Carolina1,006-2.9%
11Michigan986+0.9%
12Arizona979-3.2%
13New York934-3.1%
14Alabama930-2.4%
15Missouri881-4.3%
16Virginia831+1.3%
17Indiana810-5.8%
18Kentucky732+1.1%
19Louisiana727-5.7%
20Mississippi642-3.2%
21Oklahoma640-2.3%
22Colorado597-5.5%
23Wisconsin567-3.7%
24New Jersey558-0.9%
25Washington538-0.2%
26Maryland535+4.5%
27Arkansas511-1.7%
28Oregon493-1.8%
29New Mexico425+8.4%
30Kansas410+1.2%
31Minnesota364-4.5%
32Iowa336+5.3%
32Massachusetts336-5.4%
34Nevada304-7.6%
35West Virginia260-11.6%
36Connecticut249-15%
37Nebraska248+7.8%
37Utah248-4.6%
39Idaho224-4.3%
40Montana184+1.7%
41Maine157+15.4%
42Wyoming147+32.4%
43Delaware132+18.9%
44Hawaii108-7.7%
45South Dakota102-21.5%
46New Hampshire101-31.3%
47North Dakota100-4.8%
48Alaska67-16.3%
49Rhode Island57-3.4%
50Vermont47-30.9%
51District of Columbia23-25.8%

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/2019/National/FARS2019NationalCSV.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, 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2019/National/FARS2019NationalCSV.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, 2019. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2019/National/FARS2019NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2019. 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, 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2019/National/FARS2019NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2019.

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, 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2019/National/FARS2019NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{national_us_states_by_traffic_2019,
  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, 2019}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2019/National/FARS2019NationalCSV.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2019. 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/2019/National/FARS2019NationalCSV.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, 2019
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/24
PB  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2019/National/FARS2019NationalCSV.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2019.
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/2019/National/FARS2019NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest traffic fatalities?

California, with 3,719 in 2019, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which state has the lowest traffic fatalities?

District of Columbia, with 23 in 2019.

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