Counties in Washington by traffic fatalities
King County had the highest traffic fatalities of 39 counties in 2023, at 168. Wahkiakum County had the lowest, at 1. The median was 9 and the figure for Washington was 809. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Map of counties, 2023
- Under 3
- 3 to 5
- 5 to 9
- 9 to 16
- 16 to 33
- 33 and over
All counties, 2023
Full ranking
| Rank | Counties | 2023 | Change on 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | King County | 168 | +11.3% |
| 2 | Pierce County | 116 | +33.3% |
| 3 | Spokane County | 60 | +46.3% |
| 4 | Yakima County | 47 | -13% |
| 5 | Snohomish County | 43 | -28.3% |
| 6 | Clark County | 37 | -2.6% |
| 7 | Thurston County | 34 | +88.9% |
| 8 | Benton County | 30 | +30.4% |
| 9 | Grant County | 24 | -25% |
| 10 | Kitsap County | 22 | -4.3% |
| 11 | Mason County | 21 | +10.5% |
| 12 | Whatcom County | 20 | +25% |
| 13 | Skagit County | 17 | +6.3% |
| 14 | Cowlitz County | 16 | +33.3% |
| 14 | Kittitas County | 16 | +14.3% |
| 14 | Lewis County | 16 | +77.8% |
| 17 | Franklin County | 13 | +160% |
| 18 | Adams County | 10 | +25% |
| 19 | Chelan County | 9 | -18.2% |
| 19 | Grays Harbor County | 9 | -40% |
| 19 | Stevens County | 9 | +28.6% |
| 22 | Jefferson County | 8 | +14.3% |
| 23 | Lincoln County | 7 | +600% |
| 23 | Walla Walla County | 7 | -30% |
| 25 | Okanogan County | 6 | -45.5% |
| 26 | Douglas County | 5 | -44.4% |
| 26 | Island County | 5 | 0% |
| 26 | Pacific County | 5 | -28.6% |
| 29 | Clallam County | 4 | -33.3% |
| 29 | Ferry County | 4 | +100% |
| 29 | Klickitat County | 4 | -50% |
| 29 | Whitman County | 4 | +100% |
| 33 | Asotin County | 3 | 0% |
| 33 | Pend Oreille County | 3 | -40% |
| 35 | San Juan County | 2 | +100% |
| 35 | Skamania County | 2 | -66.7% |
| 37 | Columbia County | 1 | |
| 37 | Garfield County | 1 | 0% |
| 37 | Wahkiakum County | 1 |
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 counties 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) by county of the crash. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2023/National/FARS2023NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.Citation styles
APA 7
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2026). Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash (Counties in Washington 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) by county of the crash, Counties in Washington 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/washington-counties?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) by county of the crash. Counties in Washington 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/washington-counties?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) by county of the crash, Counties in Washington 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/washington-counties?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{national_counties_in_washington_by_2023,
author = {{National Highway Traffic Safety Administration}},
title = {{Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash: Counties in Washington 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/washington-counties?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) by county of the crash. 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) by county of the crash: Counties in Washington 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/washington-counties?period=2023
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/washington-counties?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) by county of the crash. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2023/National/FARS2023NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
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 Counties in Washington by traffic fatalities using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"traffic_fatalities","level":"province","within":"Washington","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=traffic_fatalities&level=province&within=Washington&limit=10Questions
Which county has the highest traffic fatalities?
King County, with 168 in 2023, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Which county has the lowest traffic fatalities?
Wahkiakum County, with 1 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) by county of the crash. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
Traffic fatalities: other rankings
Counties in Washington: more rankings
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- Child poverty rate, under 18 (US official measure)
- Female population share
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- Median household income (US single-year estimate)