Data / Rankings / Traffic fatalities / US states

US states by traffic fatalities

Texas had the highest traffic fatalities of 51 states in 2023, at 4,294. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 44. The median was 596 and the figure for the United States was 41,025. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Highest4,294Texas
Lowest44District of Columbia
Median59651 states
United States41,025History

Map of states, 2023

Alabama: 974 countAlaska: 61 countArizona: 1,308 countArkansas: 596 countCalifornia: 4,169 countColorado: 720 countConnecticut: 308 countDelaware: 135 countDistrict of Columbia: 44 countFlorida: 3,375 countGeorgia: 1,610 countHawaii: 93 countIdaho: 275 countIllinois: 1,241 countIndiana: 904 countIowa: 379 countKansas: 387 countKentucky: 814 countLouisiana: 811 countMaine: 135 countMaryland: 621 countMassachusetts: 342 countMichigan: 1,096 countMinnesota: 402 countMississippi: 733 countMissouri: 991 countMontana: 208 countNebraska: 227 countNevada: 406 countNew Hampshire: 127 countNew Jersey: 605 countNew Mexico: 440 countNew York: 1,117 countNorth Carolina: 1,577 countNorth Dakota: 106 countOhio: 1,242 countOklahoma: 711 countOregon: 587 countPennsylvania: 1,211 countRhode Island: 71 countSouth Carolina: 1,047 countSouth Dakota: 140 countTennessee: 1,323 countTexas: 4,294 countUtah: 280 countVermont: 69 countVirginia: 914 countWashington: 809 countWest Virginia: 260 countWisconsin: 586 countWyoming: 144 count
  • Under 140
  • 140 to 330
  • 330 to 600
  • 600 to 840
  • 840 to 1,200
  • 1,200 and over
count, 2023. 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, 2023

Texas: 4,294 countTexas4,294California: 4,169 countCalifornia4,169Florida: 3,375 countFlorida3,375Georgia: 1,610 countGeorgia1,610North Carolina: 1,577 countNorth Carolina1,577Tennessee: 1,323 countTennessee1,323Arizona: 1,308 countArizona1,308Ohio: 1,242 countOhio1,242Illinois: 1,241 countIllinois1,241Pennsylvania: 1,211 countPennsylvania1,211New York: 1,117 countNew York1,117Michigan: 1,096 countMichigan1,096South Carolina: 1,047 countSouth Carolina1,047Missouri: 991 countMissouri991Alabama: 974 countAlabama974Virginia: 914 countVirginia914Indiana: 904 countIndiana904Kentucky: 814 countKentucky814Louisiana: 811 countLouisiana811Washington: 809 countWashington809Mississippi: 733 countMississippi733Colorado: 720 countColorado720Oklahoma: 711 countOklahoma711Maryland: 621 countMaryland621New Jersey: 605 countNew Jersey605Arkansas: 596 countArkansas596Oregon: 587 countOregon587Wisconsin: 586 countWisconsin586New Mexico: 440 countNew Mexico440Nevada: 406 countNevada406Minnesota: 402 countMinnesota402Kansas: 387 countKansas387Iowa: 379 countIowa379Massachusetts: 342 countMassachusetts342Connecticut: 308 countConnecticut308Utah: 280 countUtah280Idaho: 275 countIdaho275West Virginia: 260 countWest Virginia260Nebraska: 227 countNebraska227Montana: 208 countMontana208Wyoming: 144 countWyoming144South Dakota: 140 countSouth Dakota140Delaware: 135 countDelaware135Maine: 135 countMaine135New Hampshire: 127 countNew Hampshire127North Dakota: 106 countNorth Dakota106Hawaii: 93 countHawaii93Rhode Island: 71 countRhode Island71Vermont: 69 countVermont69Alaska: 61 countAlaska61District of Columbia: 44 countDistrict of Columbia44Texas: 4,294 countTexas4,294California: 4,169 countCalifornia4,169Florida: 3,375 countFlorida3,375Georgia: 1,610 countGeorgia1,610North Carolina: 1,577 countNorth Carolina1,577Tennessee: 1,323 countTennessee1,323Arizona: 1,308 countArizona1,308Ohio: 1,242 countOhio1,242Illinois: 1,241 countIllinois1,241Pennsylvania: 1,211 countPennsylvania1,211New York: 1,117 countNew York1,117Michigan: 1,096 countMichigan1,096South Carolina: 1,047 countSouth Carolina1,047Missouri: 991 countMissouri991Alabama: 974 countAlabama974Virginia: 914 countVirginia914Indiana: 904 countIndiana904Kentucky: 814 countKentucky814Louisiana: 811 countLouisiana811Washington: 809 countWashington809Mississippi: 733 countMississippi733Colorado: 720 countColorado720Oklahoma: 711 countOklahoma711Maryland: 621 countMaryland621New Jersey: 605 countNew Jersey605Arkansas: 596 countArkansas596Oregon: 587 countOregon587Wisconsin: 586 countWisconsin586New Mexico: 440 countNew Mexico440Nevada: 406 countNevada406Minnesota: 402 countMinnesota402Kansas: 387 countKansas387Iowa: 379 countIowa379Massachusetts: 342 countMassachusetts342Connecticut: 308 countConnecticut308Utah: 280 countUtah280Idaho: 275 countIdaho275West Virginia: 260 countWest Virginia260Nebraska: 227 countNebraska227Montana: 208 countMontana208Wyoming: 144 countWyoming144South Dakota: 140 countSouth Dakota140Delaware: 135 countDelaware135Maine: 135 countMaine135New Hampshire: 127 countNew Hampshire127North Dakota: 106 countNorth Dakota106Hawaii: 93 countHawaii93Rhode Island: 71 countRhode Island71Vermont: 69 countVermont69Alaska: 61 countAlaska61District of Columbia: 44 countDistrict of Columbia44
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

RankStates2023
count		Change on 2022
1Texas4,294-2.6%
2California4,169-8.2%
3Florida3,375-4.9%
4Georgia1,610-10.4%
5North Carolina1,577-3.3%
6Tennessee1,323+0.8%
7Arizona1,308-0.9%
8Ohio1,242-2.5%
9Illinois1,241-2.1%
10Pennsylvania1,211+2.7%
11New York1,117-5.5%
12Michigan1,096-2.5%
13South Carolina1,047-4.3%
14Missouri991-6.2%
15Alabama974-1.4%
16Virginia914-9.1%
17Indiana904-7.4%
18Kentucky814+9.4%
19Louisiana811-10.5%
20Washington809+8.9%
21Mississippi733+4.3%
22Colorado720-5.8%
23Oklahoma711+0.1%
24Maryland621+9.7%
25New Jersey605-12.2%
26Arkansas596-6.4%
27Oregon587-2.5%
28Wisconsin586-3%
29New Mexico440-5.6%
30Nevada406-2.6%
31Minnesota402-9.5%
32Kansas387-5.6%
33Iowa379+12.8%
34Massachusetts342-21.4%
35Connecticut308-15.8%
36Utah280-12.2%
37Idaho275+27.9%
38West Virginia260-2.3%
39Nebraska227-7%
40Montana208-3.3%
41Wyoming144+7.5%
42South Dakota140+2.2%
43Delaware135-16.7%
43Maine135-25.8%
45New Hampshire127-13%
46North Dakota106+8.2%
47Hawaii93-19.8%
48Rhode Island71+36.5%
49Vermont69-9.2%
50Alaska61-25.6%
51District of Columbia44+37.5%

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/2023/National/FARS2023NationalCSV.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, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2023/National/FARS2023NationalCSV.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, 2023. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2023/National/FARS2023NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2023. 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, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2023/National/FARS2023NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2023.

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, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2023/National/FARS2023NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{national_us_states_by_traffic_2023,
  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, 2023}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2023/National/FARS2023NationalCSV.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2023. 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/2023/National/FARS2023NationalCSV.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, 2023
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/24
PB  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2023/National/FARS2023NationalCSV.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/us-states?period=2023.
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/2023/National/FARS2023NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest traffic fatalities?

Texas, with 4,294 in 2023, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which state has the lowest traffic fatalities?

District of Columbia, with 44 in 2023.

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