Data / Rankings / Traffic fatalities / US states

US states by traffic fatalities

California had the highest traffic fatalities of 51 states in 2022, at 4,539. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 32. The median was 604 and the figure for the United States was 42,721. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Highest4,539California
Lowest32District of Columbia
Median60451 states
United States42,721History

Map of states, 2022

Alabama: 988 countAlaska: 82 countArizona: 1,320 countArkansas: 637 countCalifornia: 4,539 countColorado: 764 countConnecticut: 366 countDelaware: 162 countDistrict of Columbia: 32 countFlorida: 3,548 countGeorgia: 1,796 countHawaii: 116 countIdaho: 215 countIllinois: 1,268 countIndiana: 976 countIowa: 336 countKansas: 410 countKentucky: 744 countLouisiana: 906 countMaine: 182 countMaryland: 566 countMassachusetts: 435 countMichigan: 1,124 countMinnesota: 444 countMississippi: 703 countMissouri: 1,057 countMontana: 215 countNebraska: 244 countNevada: 417 countNew Hampshire: 146 countNew Jersey: 689 countNew Mexico: 466 countNew York: 1,182 countNorth Carolina: 1,631 countNorth Dakota: 98 countOhio: 1,274 countOklahoma: 710 countOregon: 602 countPennsylvania: 1,179 countRhode Island: 52 countSouth Carolina: 1,094 countSouth Dakota: 137 countTennessee: 1,313 countTexas: 4,408 countUtah: 319 countVermont: 76 countVirginia: 1,006 countWashington: 743 countWest Virginia: 266 countWisconsin: 604 countWyoming: 134 count
  • Under 150
  • 150 to 360
  • 360 to 600
  • 600 to 930
  • 930 to 1,200
  • 1,200 and over
count, 2022. 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, 2022

California: 4,539 countCalifornia4,539Texas: 4,408 countTexas4,408Florida: 3,548 countFlorida3,548Georgia: 1,796 countGeorgia1,796North Carolina: 1,631 countNorth Carolina1,631Arizona: 1,320 countArizona1,320Tennessee: 1,313 countTennessee1,313Ohio: 1,274 countOhio1,274Illinois: 1,268 countIllinois1,268New York: 1,182 countNew York1,182Pennsylvania: 1,179 countPennsylvania1,179Michigan: 1,124 countMichigan1,124South Carolina: 1,094 countSouth Carolina1,094Missouri: 1,057 countMissouri1,057Virginia: 1,006 countVirginia1,006Alabama: 988 countAlabama988Indiana: 976 countIndiana976Louisiana: 906 countLouisiana906Colorado: 764 countColorado764Kentucky: 744 countKentucky744Washington: 743 countWashington743Oklahoma: 710 countOklahoma710Mississippi: 703 countMississippi703New Jersey: 689 countNew Jersey689Arkansas: 637 countArkansas637Wisconsin: 604 countWisconsin604Oregon: 602 countOregon602Maryland: 566 countMaryland566New Mexico: 466 countNew Mexico466Minnesota: 444 countMinnesota444Massachusetts: 435 countMassachusetts435Nevada: 417 countNevada417Kansas: 410 countKansas410Connecticut: 366 countConnecticut366Iowa: 336 countIowa336Utah: 319 countUtah319West Virginia: 266 countWest Virginia266Nebraska: 244 countNebraska244Idaho: 215 countIdaho215Montana: 215 countMontana215Maine: 182 countMaine182Delaware: 162 countDelaware162New Hampshire: 146 countNew Hampshire146South Dakota: 137 countSouth Dakota137Wyoming: 134 countWyoming134Hawaii: 116 countHawaii116North Dakota: 98 countNorth Dakota98Alaska: 82 countAlaska82Vermont: 76 countVermont76Rhode Island: 52 countRhode Island52District of Columbia: 32 countDistrict of Columbia32California: 4,539 countCalifornia4,539Texas: 4,408 countTexas4,408Florida: 3,548 countFlorida3,548Georgia: 1,796 countGeorgia1,796North Carolina: 1,631 countNorth Carolina1,631Arizona: 1,320 countArizona1,320Tennessee: 1,313 countTennessee1,313Ohio: 1,274 countOhio1,274Illinois: 1,268 countIllinois1,268New York: 1,182 countNew York1,182Pennsylvania: 1,179 countPennsylvania1,179Michigan: 1,124 countMichigan1,124South Carolina: 1,094 countSouth Carolina1,094Missouri: 1,057 countMissouri1,057Virginia: 1,006 countVirginia1,006Alabama: 988 countAlabama988Indiana: 976 countIndiana976Louisiana: 906 countLouisiana906Colorado: 764 countColorado764Kentucky: 744 countKentucky744Washington: 743 countWashington743Oklahoma: 710 countOklahoma710Mississippi: 703 countMississippi703New Jersey: 689 countNew Jersey689Arkansas: 637 countArkansas637Wisconsin: 604 countWisconsin604Oregon: 602 countOregon602Maryland: 566 countMaryland566New Mexico: 466 countNew Mexico466Minnesota: 444 countMinnesota444Massachusetts: 435 countMassachusetts435Nevada: 417 countNevada417Kansas: 410 countKansas410Connecticut: 366 countConnecticut366Iowa: 336 countIowa336Utah: 319 countUtah319West Virginia: 266 countWest Virginia266Nebraska: 244 countNebraska244Idaho: 215 countIdaho215Montana: 215 countMontana215Maine: 182 countMaine182Delaware: 162 countDelaware162New Hampshire: 146 countNew Hampshire146South Dakota: 137 countSouth Dakota137Wyoming: 134 countWyoming134Hawaii: 116 countHawaii116North Dakota: 98 countNorth Dakota98Alaska: 82 countAlaska82Vermont: 76 countVermont76Rhode Island: 52 countRhode Island52District of Columbia: 32 countDistrict of Columbia32
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

RankStates2022
count		Change on 2021
1California4,539+0.6%
2Texas4,408-2%
3Florida3,548-5.2%
4Georgia1,796-0.7%
5North Carolina1,631-3.7%
6Arizona1,320+10.7%
7Tennessee1,313-1.1%
8Ohio1,274-5.9%
9Illinois1,268-4.9%
10New York1,182+2.2%
11Pennsylvania1,179-4.1%
12Michigan1,124-1.1%
13South Carolina1,094-8.7%
14Missouri1,057+4%
15Virginia1,006+3.4%
16Alabama988+0.5%
17Indiana976+4.7%
18Louisiana906-6.7%
19Colorado764+10.6%
20Kentucky744-7.7%
21Washington743+10.2%
22Oklahoma710-6.8%
23Mississippi703-8.2%
24New Jersey689-0.4%
25Arkansas637-7.9%
26Wisconsin604-2.6%
27Oregon602+0.5%
28Maryland566+0.5%
29New Mexico466-3.5%
30Minnesota444-9%
31Massachusetts435+5.3%
32Nevada417+8.3%
33Kansas410-3.1%
34Connecticut366+20.8%
35Iowa336-5.6%
36Utah319-3.9%
37West Virginia266-5.7%
38Nebraska244+10.4%
39Idaho215-21.2%
39Montana215-10%
41Maine182+19%
42Delaware162+19.1%
43New Hampshire146+23.7%
44South Dakota137-7.4%
45Wyoming134+21.8%
46Hawaii116+23.4%
47North Dakota98-3%
48Alaska82+17.1%
49Vermont76+2.7%
50Rhode Island52-17.5%
51District of Columbia32-22%

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/2022/National/FARS2022NationalCSV.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, 2022) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2022/National/FARS2022NationalCSV.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, 2022. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2022/National/FARS2022NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2022. 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, 2022. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2022/National/FARS2022NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2022.

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, 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2022/National/FARS2022NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{national_us_states_by_traffic_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2022/National/FARS2022NationalCSV.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2022. 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/2022/National/FARS2022NationalCSV.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, 2022
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/24
PB  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2022/National/FARS2022NationalCSV.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2022.
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/2022/National/FARS2022NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest traffic fatalities?

California, with 4,539 in 2022, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which state has the lowest traffic fatalities?

District of Columbia, with 32 in 2022.

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