Data / Rankings / Traffic fatality rate / US states

US states by traffic fatality rate

Wyoming had the highest traffic fatality rate of 51 states in 2015, at 24.8 per 100,000 people. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 3.5 per 100,000 people. The median was 11.7 per 100,000 people and the figure for the United States was 11 per 100,000 people. Source: NHTSA and BEA.

Highest24.8Wyoming
Lowest3.5District of Columbia
Median11.751 states
United States11History

All states, 2015

Wyoming: 24.8 per 100,000 peopleWyoming24.8Mississippi: 22.7 per 100,000 peopleMississippi22.7Montana: 21.7 per 100,000 peopleMontana21.7South Carolina: 20.2 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina20.2Arkansas: 18.5 per 100,000 peopleArkansas18.5Alabama: 17.3 per 100,000 peopleAlabama17.3North Dakota: 17.2 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota17.2Kentucky: 17.1 per 100,000 peopleKentucky17.1Oklahoma: 16.5 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma16.5Louisiana: 16.1 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana16.1South Dakota: 15.7 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota15.7Florida: 14.6 per 100,000 peopleFlorida14.6Tennessee: 14.5 per 100,000 peopleTennessee14.5West Virginia: 14.5 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia14.5Missouri: 14.3 per 100,000 peopleMissouri14.3New Mexico: 14.2 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico14.2Georgia: 14.1 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia14.1Delaware: 13.9 per 100,000 peopleDelaware13.9North Carolina: 13.8 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina13.8Arizona: 13.4 per 100,000 peopleArizona13.4Texas: 13.1 per 100,000 peopleTexas13.1Idaho: 13 per 100,000 peopleIdaho13Nebraska: 12.9 per 100,000 peopleNebraska12.9Indiana: 12.3 per 100,000 peopleIndiana12.3Kansas: 12.1 per 100,000 peopleKansas12.1Maine: 11.7 per 100,000 peopleMaine11.7Nevada: 11.4 per 100,000 peopleNevada11.4Oregon: 11.1 per 100,000 peopleOregon11.1Iowa: 10.2 per 100,000 peopleIowa10.2Colorado: 10.1 per 100,000 peopleColorado10.1Wisconsin: 9.8 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin9.8Michigan: 9.7 per 100,000 peopleMichigan9.7Ohio: 9.5 per 100,000 peopleOhio9.5Pennsylvania: 9.3 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania9.3Utah: 9.3 per 100,000 peopleUtah9.3Virginia: 9 per 100,000 peopleVirginia9Vermont: 9 per 100,000 peopleVermont9Alaska: 8.8 per 100,000 peopleAlaska8.8California: 8.7 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia8.7Maryland: 8.6 per 100,000 peopleMaryland8.6New Hampshire: 8.5 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire8.5Illinois: 7.7 per 100,000 peopleIllinois7.7Washington: 7.7 per 100,000 peopleWashington7.7Connecticut: 7.5 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut7.5Minnesota: 7.5 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota7.5Hawaii: 6.4 per 100,000 peopleHawaii6.4New Jersey: 6.2 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey6.2New York: 5.7 per 100,000 peopleNew York5.7Massachusetts: 5 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts5Rhode Island: 4.2 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island4.2District of Columbia: 3.5 per 100,000 peopleDistrict of Columbia3.5
per 100,000 people. Source: Invokely calculation with data from NHTSA, BEA. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2015
per 100,000 people		Change on 2014
1Wyoming24.8-1 pts
2Mississippi22.7+2.4 pts
3Montana21.7+2.9 pts
4South Carolina20.2+3 pts
5Arkansas18.5+2.6 pts
6Alabama17.3+0.5 pts
7North Dakota17.2-1 pts
8Kentucky17.1+2 pts
9Oklahoma16.5-0.7 pts
10Louisiana16.1+0.2 pts
11South Dakota15.7-0.3 pts
12Florida14.6+2 pts
13Tennessee14.5-0.1 pts
14West Virginia14.5-0.2 pts
15Missouri14.3+1.7 pts
16New Mexico14.2-4.2 pts
17Georgia14.1+2.5 pts
18Delaware13.9+0.6 pts
19North Carolina13.8+0.8 pts
20Arizona13.4+1.7 pts
21Texas13.1-0.1 pts
22Idaho13+1.7 pts
23Nebraska12.9+1 pts
24Indiana12.3+1.1 pts
25Kansas12.1-1.1 pts
26Maine11.7+1.9 pts
27Nevada11.4+1.1 pts
28Oregon11.1+2.1 pts
29Iowa10.2-0.1 pts
30Colorado10.1+0.9 pts
31Wisconsin9.8+1 pts
32Michigan9.7+0.6 pts
33Ohio9.5+0.9 pts
34Pennsylvania9.30 pts
35Utah9.3+0.6 pts
36Virginia9+0.6 pts
37Vermont9+2 pts
38Alaska8.8-1.1 pts
39California8.7+0.7 pts
40Maryland8.6+1.2 pts
41New Hampshire8.5+1.4 pts
42Illinois7.7+0.6 pts
43Washington7.7+1.1 pts
44Connecticut7.5+0.6 pts
45Minnesota7.5+0.9 pts
46Hawaii6.4-0.2 pts
47New Jersey6.20 pts
48New York5.7+0.5 pts
49Massachusetts5-0.2 pts
50Rhode Island4.2-0.6 pts
51District of Columbia3.5-0.1 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 states 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 (US states by traffic fatality rate, 2015) [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, US states by traffic fatality rate, 2015. 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. US states by traffic fatality rate, 2015. 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, US states by traffic fatality rate, 2015 [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_us_states_by_traffic_2015,
  author = {{Invokely}},
  title = {{NHTSA FARS traffic fatalities divided by BEA mid-year population (SAINC1 and CAINC1), per 100,000 residents: US states by traffic fatality rate, 2015}},
  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/us-states?period=2015. 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: US states by traffic fatality rate, 2015
PB  - Invokely
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://invokely.ai/docs/methodology#traffic_fatality_rate_per_100k
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatality-rate/us-states?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Calculated from data by NHTSA and BEA.
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatality-rate/us-states?period=2015.
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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Questions

Which state has the highest traffic fatality rate?

Wyoming, with 24.8 per 100,000 people in 2015, according to NHTSA and BEA.

Which state has the lowest traffic fatality rate?

District of Columbia, with 3.5 per 100,000 people in 2015.

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

US states: more rankings