Data / Rankings / Traffic fatalities / US states

US states by traffic fatalities

California had the highest traffic fatalities of 51 states in 2020, at 3,980. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 36. The median was 574 and the figure for the United States was 39,007. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Highest3,980California
Lowest36District of Columbia
Median57451 states
United States39,007History

Map of states, 2020

Alabama: 934 countAlaska: 64 countArizona: 1,053 countArkansas: 651 countCalifornia: 3,980 countColorado: 622 countConnecticut: 299 countDelaware: 116 countDistrict of Columbia: 36 countFlorida: 3,329 countGeorgia: 1,658 countHawaii: 85 countIdaho: 214 countIllinois: 1,193 countIndiana: 897 countIowa: 343 countKansas: 426 countKentucky: 780 countLouisiana: 828 countMaine: 164 countMaryland: 573 countMassachusetts: 343 countMichigan: 1,086 countMinnesota: 394 countMississippi: 748 countMissouri: 987 countMontana: 213 countNebraska: 233 countNevada: 333 countNew Hampshire: 104 countNew Jersey: 586 countNew Mexico: 398 countNew York: 1,045 countNorth Carolina: 1,538 countNorth Dakota: 100 countOhio: 1,230 countOklahoma: 653 countOregon: 507 countPennsylvania: 1,129 countRhode Island: 67 countSouth Carolina: 1,066 countSouth Dakota: 141 countTennessee: 1,217 countTexas: 3,876 countUtah: 276 countVermont: 62 countVirginia: 850 countWashington: 574 countWest Virginia: 267 countWisconsin: 612 countWyoming: 127 count
  • Under 130
  • 130 to 320
  • 320 to 570
  • 570 to 840
  • 840 to 1,100
  • 1,100 and over
count, 2020. 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, 2020

California: 3,980 countCalifornia3,980Texas: 3,876 countTexas3,876Florida: 3,329 countFlorida3,329Georgia: 1,658 countGeorgia1,658North Carolina: 1,538 countNorth Carolina1,538Ohio: 1,230 countOhio1,230Tennessee: 1,217 countTennessee1,217Illinois: 1,193 countIllinois1,193Pennsylvania: 1,129 countPennsylvania1,129Michigan: 1,086 countMichigan1,086South Carolina: 1,066 countSouth Carolina1,066Arizona: 1,053 countArizona1,053New York: 1,045 countNew York1,045Missouri: 987 countMissouri987Alabama: 934 countAlabama934Indiana: 897 countIndiana897Virginia: 850 countVirginia850Louisiana: 828 countLouisiana828Kentucky: 780 countKentucky780Mississippi: 748 countMississippi748Oklahoma: 653 countOklahoma653Arkansas: 651 countArkansas651Colorado: 622 countColorado622Wisconsin: 612 countWisconsin612New Jersey: 586 countNew Jersey586Washington: 574 countWashington574Maryland: 573 countMaryland573Oregon: 507 countOregon507Kansas: 426 countKansas426New Mexico: 398 countNew Mexico398Minnesota: 394 countMinnesota394Iowa: 343 countIowa343Massachusetts: 343 countMassachusetts343Nevada: 333 countNevada333Connecticut: 299 countConnecticut299Utah: 276 countUtah276West Virginia: 267 countWest Virginia267Nebraska: 233 countNebraska233Idaho: 214 countIdaho214Montana: 213 countMontana213Maine: 164 countMaine164South Dakota: 141 countSouth Dakota141Wyoming: 127 countWyoming127Delaware: 116 countDelaware116New Hampshire: 104 countNew Hampshire104North Dakota: 100 countNorth Dakota100Hawaii: 85 countHawaii85Rhode Island: 67 countRhode Island67Alaska: 64 countAlaska64Vermont: 62 countVermont62District of Columbia: 36 countDistrict of Columbia36California: 3,980 countCalifornia3,980Texas: 3,876 countTexas3,876Florida: 3,329 countFlorida3,329Georgia: 1,658 countGeorgia1,658North Carolina: 1,538 countNorth Carolina1,538Ohio: 1,230 countOhio1,230Tennessee: 1,217 countTennessee1,217Illinois: 1,193 countIllinois1,193Pennsylvania: 1,129 countPennsylvania1,129Michigan: 1,086 countMichigan1,086South Carolina: 1,066 countSouth Carolina1,066Arizona: 1,053 countArizona1,053New York: 1,045 countNew York1,045Missouri: 987 countMissouri987Alabama: 934 countAlabama934Indiana: 897 countIndiana897Virginia: 850 countVirginia850Louisiana: 828 countLouisiana828Kentucky: 780 countKentucky780Mississippi: 748 countMississippi748Oklahoma: 653 countOklahoma653Arkansas: 651 countArkansas651Colorado: 622 countColorado622Wisconsin: 612 countWisconsin612New Jersey: 586 countNew Jersey586Washington: 574 countWashington574Maryland: 573 countMaryland573Oregon: 507 countOregon507Kansas: 426 countKansas426New Mexico: 398 countNew Mexico398Minnesota: 394 countMinnesota394Iowa: 343 countIowa343Massachusetts: 343 countMassachusetts343Nevada: 333 countNevada333Connecticut: 299 countConnecticut299Utah: 276 countUtah276West Virginia: 267 countWest Virginia267Nebraska: 233 countNebraska233Idaho: 214 countIdaho214Montana: 213 countMontana213Maine: 164 countMaine164South Dakota: 141 countSouth Dakota141Wyoming: 127 countWyoming127Delaware: 116 countDelaware116New Hampshire: 104 countNew Hampshire104North Dakota: 100 countNorth Dakota100Hawaii: 85 countHawaii85Rhode Island: 67 countRhode Island67Alaska: 64 countAlaska64Vermont: 62 countVermont62District of Columbia: 36 countDistrict of Columbia36
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

RankStates2020
count		Change on 2019
1California3,980+7%
2Texas3,876+7.1%
3Florida3,329+4.5%
4Georgia1,658+11.1%
5North Carolina1,538+5.6%
6Ohio1,230+6.7%
7Tennessee1,217+7.1%
8Illinois1,193+18.2%
9Pennsylvania1,129+6.6%
10Michigan1,086+10.1%
11South Carolina1,066+6%
12Arizona1,053+7.6%
13New York1,045+11.9%
14Missouri987+12%
15Alabama934+0.4%
16Indiana897+10.7%
17Virginia850+2.3%
18Louisiana828+13.9%
19Kentucky780+6.6%
20Mississippi748+16.5%
21Oklahoma653+2%
22Arkansas651+27.4%
23Colorado622+4.2%
24Wisconsin612+7.9%
25New Jersey586+5%
26Washington574+6.7%
27Maryland573+7.1%
28Oregon507+2.8%
29Kansas426+3.9%
30New Mexico398-6.4%
31Minnesota394+8.2%
32Iowa343+2.1%
32Massachusetts343+2.1%
34Nevada333+9.5%
35Connecticut299+20.1%
36Utah276+11.3%
37West Virginia267+2.7%
38Nebraska233-6%
39Idaho214-4.5%
40Montana213+15.8%
41Maine164+4.5%
42South Dakota141+38.2%
43Wyoming127-13.6%
44Delaware116-12.1%
45New Hampshire104+3%
46North Dakota1000%
47Hawaii85-21.3%
48Rhode Island67+17.5%
49Alaska64-4.5%
50Vermont62+31.9%
51District of Columbia36+56.5%

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/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.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, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.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, 2020. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2020. 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, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2020.

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, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{national_us_states_by_traffic_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2020. 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/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.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, 2020
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/24
PB  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2020.
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/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest traffic fatalities?

California, with 3,980 in 2020, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which state has the lowest traffic fatalities?

District of Columbia, with 36 in 2020.

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