Counties in Iowa by traffic fatality rate

Decatur County had the highest traffic fatality rate of 99 counties in 2017, at 89.3 per 100,000 people. Worth County had the lowest, at 0 per 100,000 people. The median was 11.3 per 100,000 people and the figure for Iowa was 10.4 per 100,000 people. Source: NHTSA and BEA.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest89.3Decatur County
Median11.399 counties
Iowa10.4History

Map of counties, 2017

Adair County: 27.2 per 100,000 peopleAdams County: 0 per 100,000 peopleAllamakee County: 14.2 per 100,000 peopleAppanoose County: 16.3 per 100,000 peopleAudubon County: 70.4 per 100,000 peopleBenton County: 19.4 per 100,000 peopleBlack Hawk County: 6 per 100,000 peopleBoone County: 3.7 per 100,000 peopleBremer County: 0 per 100,000 peopleBuchanan County: 14.6 per 100,000 peopleBuena Vista County: 4.8 per 100,000 peopleButler County: 13.7 per 100,000 peopleCalhoun County: 39.9 per 100,000 peopleCarroll County: 14.4 per 100,000 peopleCass County: 7.5 per 100,000 peopleCedar County: 10.8 per 100,000 peopleCerro Gordo County: 27.5 per 100,000 peopleCherokee County: 8.6 per 100,000 peopleChickasaw County: 0 per 100,000 peopleClarke County: 31.1 per 100,000 peopleClay County: 6.1 per 100,000 peopleClayton County: 5.7 per 100,000 peopleClinton County: 2.1 per 100,000 peopleCrawford County: 0 per 100,000 peopleDallas County: 2.2 per 100,000 peopleDavis County: 0 per 100,000 peopleDecatur County: 89.3 per 100,000 peopleDelaware County: 11.4 per 100,000 peopleDes Moines County: 7.6 per 100,000 peopleDickinson County: 5.8 per 100,000 peopleDubuque County: 10.2 per 100,000 peopleEmmet County: 0 per 100,000 peopleFayette County: 15.2 per 100,000 peopleFloyd County: 31.6 per 100,000 peopleFranklin County: 9.9 per 100,000 peopleFremont County: 44.1 per 100,000 peopleGreene County: 11.2 per 100,000 peopleGrundy County: 8.1 per 100,000 peopleGuthrie County: 18.9 per 100,000 peopleHamilton County: 6.6 per 100,000 peopleHancock County: 18.3 per 100,000 peopleHardin County: 0 per 100,000 peopleHarrison County: 34.3 per 100,000 peopleHenry County: 9.7 per 100,000 peopleHoward County: 0 per 100,000 peopleHumboldt County: 10.4 per 100,000 peopleIda County: 14.3 per 100,000 peopleIowa County: 54.5 per 100,000 peopleJackson County: 20.5 per 100,000 peopleJasper County: 10.7 per 100,000 peopleJefferson County: 18.6 per 100,000 peopleJohnson County: 5.4 per 100,000 peopleJones County: 4.9 per 100,000 peopleKeokuk County: 9.9 per 100,000 peopleKossuth County: 13.3 per 100,000 peopleLee County: 11.7 per 100,000 peopleLinn County: 7.1 per 100,000 peopleLouisa County: 18.1 per 100,000 peopleLucas County: 23.2 per 100,000 peopleLyon County: 16.8 per 100,000 peopleMadison County: 18.7 per 100,000 peopleMahaska County: 4.5 per 100,000 peopleMarion County: 3 per 100,000 peopleMarshall County: 29.6 per 100,000 peopleMills County: 20.3 per 100,000 peopleMitchell County: 0 per 100,000 peopleMonona County: 79.2 per 100,000 peopleMonroe County: 0 per 100,000 peopleMontgomery County: 28.8 per 100,000 peopleMuscatine County: 9.2 per 100,000 peopleO'Brien County: 0 per 100,000 peopleOsceola County: 64.8 per 100,000 peoplePage County: 0 per 100,000 peoplePalo Alto County: 43.7 per 100,000 peoplePlymouth County: 15.7 per 100,000 peoplePocahontas County: 27.9 per 100,000 peoplePolk County: 5.4 per 100,000 peoplePottawattamie County: 12.8 per 100,000 peoplePoweshiek County: 32.3 per 100,000 peopleRinggold County: 40.7 per 100,000 peopleSac County: 30.2 per 100,000 peopleScott County: 4.6 per 100,000 peopleShelby County: 25.4 per 100,000 peopleSioux County: 8.5 per 100,000 peopleStory County: 5.1 per 100,000 peopleTama County: 34.7 per 100,000 peopleTaylor County: 33.6 per 100,000 peopleUnion County: 8 per 100,000 peopleVan Buren County: 13.8 per 100,000 peopleWapello County: 11.3 per 100,000 peopleWarren County: 9.9 per 100,000 peopleWashington County: 13.2 per 100,000 peopleWayne County: 61.2 per 100,000 peopleWebster County: 13.4 per 100,000 peopleWinnebago County: 18.4 per 100,000 peopleWinneshiek County: 9.9 per 100,000 peopleWoodbury County: 7.7 per 100,000 peopleWorth County: 0 per 100,000 peopleWright County: 7.6 per 100,000 people
  • Under 4
  • 4 to 7.7
  • 7.7 to 11
  • 11 to 17
  • 17 to 30
  • 30 and over
per 100,000 people, 2017. Source: Invokely calculation with data from NHTSA, BEA. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2017

Decatur County: 89.3 per 100,000 peopleDecatur County89.3Monona County: 79.2 per 100,000 peopleMonona County79.2Audubon County: 70.4 per 100,000 peopleAudubon County70.4Osceola County: 64.8 per 100,000 peopleOsceola County64.8Wayne County: 61.2 per 100,000 peopleWayne County61.2Iowa County: 54.5 per 100,000 peopleIowa County54.5Fremont County: 44.1 per 100,000 peopleFremont County44.1Palo Alto County: 43.7 per 100,000 peoplePalo Alto County43.7Ringgold County: 40.7 per 100,000 peopleRinggold County40.7Calhoun County: 39.9 per 100,000 peopleCalhoun County39.9Tama County: 34.7 per 100,000 peopleTama County34.7Harrison County: 34.3 per 100,000 peopleHarrison County34.3Taylor County: 33.6 per 100,000 peopleTaylor County33.6Poweshiek County: 32.3 per 100,000 peoplePoweshiek County32.3Floyd County: 31.6 per 100,000 peopleFloyd County31.6Clarke County: 31.1 per 100,000 peopleClarke County31.1Sac County: 30.2 per 100,000 peopleSac County30.2Marshall County: 29.6 per 100,000 peopleMarshall County29.6Montgomery County: 28.8 per 100,000 peopleMontgomery County28.8Pocahontas County: 27.9 per 100,000 peoplePocahontas County27.9Cerro Gordo County: 27.5 per 100,000 peopleCerro Gordo County27.5Adair County: 27.2 per 100,000 peopleAdair County27.2Shelby County: 25.4 per 100,000 peopleShelby County25.4Lucas County: 23.2 per 100,000 peopleLucas County23.2Jackson County: 20.5 per 100,000 peopleJackson County20.5Mills County: 20.3 per 100,000 peopleMills County20.3Benton County: 19.4 per 100,000 peopleBenton County19.4Guthrie County: 18.9 per 100,000 peopleGuthrie County18.9Madison County: 18.7 per 100,000 peopleMadison County18.7Jefferson County: 18.6 per 100,000 peopleJefferson County18.6Winnebago County: 18.4 per 100,000 peopleWinnebago County18.4Hancock County: 18.3 per 100,000 peopleHancock County18.3Louisa County: 18.1 per 100,000 peopleLouisa County18.1Lyon County: 16.8 per 100,000 peopleLyon County16.8Appanoose County: 16.3 per 100,000 peopleAppanoose County16.3Plymouth County: 15.7 per 100,000 peoplePlymouth County15.7Fayette County: 15.2 per 100,000 peopleFayette County15.2Buchanan County: 14.6 per 100,000 peopleBuchanan County14.6Carroll County: 14.4 per 100,000 peopleCarroll County14.4Ida County: 14.3 per 100,000 peopleIda County14.3Decatur County: 89.3 per 100,000 peopleDecatur County89.3Monona County: 79.2 per 100,000 peopleMonona County79.2Audubon County: 70.4 per 100,000 peopleAudubon County70.4Osceola County: 64.8 per 100,000 peopleOsceola County64.8Wayne County: 61.2 per 100,000 peopleWayne County61.2Iowa County: 54.5 per 100,000 peopleIowa County54.5Fremont County: 44.1 per 100,000 peopleFremont County44.1Palo Alto County: 43.7 per 100,000 peoplePalo Alto County43.7Ringgold County: 40.7 per 100,000 peopleRinggold County40.7Calhoun County: 39.9 per 100,000 peopleCalhoun County39.9Tama County: 34.7 per 100,000 peopleTama County34.7Harrison County: 34.3 per 100,000 peopleHarrison County34.3Taylor County: 33.6 per 100,000 peopleTaylor County33.6Poweshiek County: 32.3 per 100,000 peoplePoweshiek County32.3Floyd County: 31.6 per 100,000 peopleFloyd County31.6Clarke County: 31.1 per 100,000 peopleClarke County31.1Sac County: 30.2 per 100,000 peopleSac County30.2Marshall County: 29.6 per 100,000 peopleMarshall County29.6Montgomery County: 28.8 per 100,000 peopleMontgomery County28.8Pocahontas County: 27.9 per 100,000 peoplePocahontas County27.9Cerro Gordo County: 27.5 per 100,000 peopleCerro Gordo County27.5Adair County: 27.2 per 100,000 peopleAdair County27.2Shelby County: 25.4 per 100,000 peopleShelby County25.4Lucas County: 23.2 per 100,000 peopleLucas County23.2Jackson County: 20.5 per 100,000 peopleJackson County20.5Mills County: 20.3 per 100,000 peopleMills County20.3Benton County: 19.4 per 100,000 peopleBenton County19.4Guthrie County: 18.9 per 100,000 peopleGuthrie County18.9Madison County: 18.7 per 100,000 peopleMadison County18.7Jefferson County: 18.6 per 100,000 peopleJefferson County18.6Winnebago County: 18.4 per 100,000 peopleWinnebago County18.4Hancock County: 18.3 per 100,000 peopleHancock County18.3Louisa County: 18.1 per 100,000 peopleLouisa County18.1Lyon County: 16.8 per 100,000 peopleLyon County16.8Appanoose County: 16.3 per 100,000 peopleAppanoose County16.3Plymouth County: 15.7 per 100,000 peoplePlymouth County15.7Fayette County: 15.2 per 100,000 peopleFayette County15.2Buchanan County: 14.6 per 100,000 peopleBuchanan County14.6Carroll County: 14.4 per 100,000 peopleCarroll County14.4Ida County: 14.3 per 100,000 peopleIda County14.3
per 100,000 people. Source: Invokely calculation with data from NHTSA, BEA. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2017
per 100,000 people
Change on 2016
1Decatur County89.3+76.7 pts
2Monona County79.2+22.9 pts
3Audubon County70.4+53 pts
4Osceola County64.8+48.7 pts
5Wayne County61.2+61.2 pts
6Iowa County54.5+6.1 pts
7Fremont County44.1+0.2 pts
8Palo Alto County43.7+43.7 pts
9Ringgold County40.7-81.8 pts
10Calhoun County39.9+30 pts
11Tama County34.7+23.2 pts
12Harrison County34.3+27.4 pts
13Taylor County33.6+0.7 pts
14Poweshiek County32.3+21.5 pts
15Floyd County31.6-6.1 pts
16Clarke County31.1-32 pts
17Sac County30.2-10.1 pts
18Marshall County29.6+19.8 pts
19Montgomery County28.8+28.8 pts
20Pocahontas County27.9+27.9 pts
21Cerro Gordo County27.5+13.7 pts
22Adair County27.2-41.6 pts
23Shelby County25.4+8.5 pts
24Lucas County23.2+11.6 pts
25Jackson County20.50 pts
26Mills County20.3-13.5 pts
27Benton County19.4-15.6 pts
28Guthrie County18.9+18.9 pts
29Madison County18.7-12.9 pts
30Jefferson County18.6+12.4 pts
31Winnebago County18.4+18.4 pts
32Hancock County18.3+18.3 pts
33Louisa County18.1+0.1 pts
34Lyon County16.8-0 pts
35Appanoose County16.3-24 pts
36Plymouth County15.7+4 pts
37Fayette County15.2+5.1 pts
38Buchanan County14.6+4.8 pts
39Carroll County14.4-4.8 pts
40Ida County14.3+0.2 pts
41Allamakee County14.2-7.1 pts
42Van Buren County13.8-13.5 pts
43Butler County13.7-13.5 pts
44Webster County13.4-2.6 pts
45Kossuth County13.3+0.1 pts
46Washington County13.2-0.1 pts
47Pottawattamie County12.8-1.1 pts
48Lee County11.7-20.3 pts
49Delaware County11.4-11.3 pts
50Wapello County11.3-5.6 pts
51Greene County11.2-22.2 pts
52Cedar County10.8-0.1 pts
53Jasper County10.7-0.1 pts
54Humboldt County10.4-20.9 pts
55Dubuque County10.2+6.1 pts
56Warren County9.9-6.2 pts
57Keokuk County9.90 pts
58Winneshiek County9.9-9.6 pts
59Franklin County9.90 pts
60Henry County9.7-14.9 pts
61Muscatine County9.2-2.3 pts
62Cherokee County8.60 pts
63Sioux County8.5-2.8 pts
64Grundy County8.1-8.1 pts
65Union County8-8.2 pts
66Woodbury County7.7-1.9 pts
67Wright County7.6+7.6 pts
68Des Moines County7.6-5 pts
69Cass County7.5-97.2 pts
70Linn County7.1-1.9 pts
71Hamilton County6.6-26.2 pts
72Clay County6.10 pts
73Black Hawk County6-2.2 pts
74Dickinson County5.8-5.8 pts
75Clayton County5.7-17.2 pts
76Polk County5.4-0.5 pts
77Johnson County5.4-5.5 pts
78Story County5.1+1 pts
79Jones County4.9-9.9 pts
80Buena Vista County4.8-4.8 pts
81Scott County4.6-6.4 pts
82Mahaska County4.5-18 pts
83Boone County3.7-3.8 pts
84Marion County3-6 pts
85Dallas County2.2-4.7 pts
86Clinton County2.1-2.1 pts
87Adams County00 pts
87Bremer County0-4.1 pts
87Chickasaw County0-41 pts
87Crawford County0-17.8 pts
87Davis County0-33.6 pts
87Emmet County00 pts
87Hardin County0-23.1 pts
87Howard County0-10.6 pts
87Mitchell County0-9.4 pts
87Monroe County0-25.9 pts
87O'Brien County0-7 pts
87Page County0-6.5 pts
87Worth County0-39.9 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Traffic fatalities (NHTSA FARS) per 100,000 residents in the same year and place.

Deaths are counted where the crash happened and divided by the resident population, so counties with busy highways and few residents can show very high rates. Differs from the WHO road traffic death rate (road_traffic_death_rate).

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

Invokely calculation from NHTSA FARS traffic fatalities divided by BEA mid-year population (SAINC1 and CAINC1), per 100,000 residents. https://invokely.ai/docs/methodology#traffic_fatality_rate_per_100k. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

Invokely calculated this figure from the publishers' data, so Invokely is the author and the publishers of the inputs are named.

APA 7

Invokely. (n.d.). NHTSA FARS traffic fatalities divided by BEA mid-year population (SAINC1 and CAINC1), per 100,000 residents (Counties in Iowa by traffic fatality rate, 2017) [Data set]. Calculated from data by NHTSA and BEA. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://invokely.ai/docs/methodology#traffic_fatality_rate_per_100k

MLA 9

NHTSA FARS traffic fatalities divided by BEA mid-year population (SAINC1 and CAINC1), per 100,000 residents, Counties in Iowa by traffic fatality rate, 2017. Calculated from data by NHTSA and BEA. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/docs/methodology#traffic_fatality_rate_per_100k. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Invokely. n.d. NHTSA FARS traffic fatalities divided by BEA mid-year population (SAINC1 and CAINC1), per 100,000 residents. Counties in Iowa by traffic fatality rate, 2017. Dataset. Calculated from data by NHTSA and BEA. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://invokely.ai/docs/methodology#traffic_fatality_rate_per_100k.

Harvard

Invokely (no date) NHTSA FARS traffic fatalities divided by BEA mid-year population (SAINC1 and CAINC1), per 100,000 residents, Counties in Iowa by traffic fatality rate, 2017 [Dataset]. Calculated from data by NHTSA and BEA. Available at: https://invokely.ai/docs/methodology#traffic_fatality_rate_per_100k (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{invokely_counties_in_iowa_by_2017,
  author = {{Invokely}},
  title = {{NHTSA FARS traffic fatalities divided by BEA mid-year population (SAINC1 and CAINC1), per 100,000 residents: Counties in Iowa by traffic fatality rate, 2017}},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://invokely.ai/docs/methodology#traffic_fatality_rate_per_100k},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Calculated from data by NHTSA and BEA. Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatality-rate/iowa-counties?period=2017. Publisher attribution: Invokely calculation from NHTSA FARS traffic fatalities divided by BEA mid-year population (SAINC1 and CAINC1), per 100,000 residents. https://invokely.ai/docs/methodology\#traffic\_fatality\_rate\_per\_100k. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Invokely
TI  - NHTSA FARS traffic fatalities divided by BEA mid-year population (SAINC1 and CAINC1), per 100,000 residents: Counties in Iowa by traffic fatality rate, 2017
PB  - Invokely
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://invokely.ai/docs/methodology#traffic_fatality_rate_per_100k
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatality-rate/iowa-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Calculated from data by NHTSA and BEA.
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatality-rate/iowa-counties?period=2017.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Invokely calculation from NHTSA FARS traffic fatalities divided by BEA mid-year population (SAINC1 and CAINC1), per 100,000 residents. https://invokely.ai/docs/methodology#traffic_fatality_rate_per_100k. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Rank Counties in Iowa by traffic fatality rate using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest traffic fatality rate?

Decatur County, with 89.3 per 100,000 people in 2017, according to NHTSA and BEA.

Which county has the lowest traffic fatality rate?

Worth County, with 0 per 100,000 people in 2017.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Invokely, NHTSA FARS traffic fatalities divided by BEA mid-year population (SAINC1 and CAINC1), per 100,000 residents. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Traffic fatality rate: other rankings

Counties in Iowa: more rankings