Data / Rankings / Traffic fatality rate / US states

US states by traffic fatality rate

Mississippi had the highest traffic fatality rate of 51 states in 2023, at 24.9 per 100,000 people. Massachusetts had the lowest, at 4.8 per 100,000 people. The median was 12.6 per 100,000 people and the figure for the United States was 12.2 per 100,000 people. Source: NHTSA and BEA.

Highest24.9Mississippi
Lowest4.8Massachusetts
Median12.651 states
United States12.2History

All states, 2023

Mississippi: 24.9 per 100,000 peopleMississippi24.9Wyoming: 24.6 per 100,000 peopleWyoming24.6New Mexico: 20.8 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico20.8South Carolina: 19.4 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina19.4Arkansas: 19.4 per 100,000 peopleArkansas19.4Alabama: 19 per 100,000 peopleAlabama19Tennessee: 18.5 per 100,000 peopleTennessee18.5Montana: 18.4 per 100,000 peopleMontana18.4Kentucky: 17.9 per 100,000 peopleKentucky17.9Louisiana: 17.6 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana17.6Arizona: 17.6 per 100,000 peopleArizona17.6Oklahoma: 17.5 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma17.5Missouri: 16 per 100,000 peopleMissouri16South Dakota: 15.3 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota15.3Florida: 14.7 per 100,000 peopleFlorida14.7West Virginia: 14.7 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia14.7Georgia: 14.6 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia14.6North Carolina: 14.5 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina14.5Texas: 14 per 100,000 peopleTexas14Idaho: 14 per 100,000 peopleIdaho14Oregon: 13.8 per 100,000 peopleOregon13.8North Dakota: 13.5 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota13.5Indiana: 13.1 per 100,000 peopleIndiana13.1Kansas: 13.1 per 100,000 peopleKansas13.1Delaware: 13 per 100,000 peopleDelaware13Nevada: 12.6 per 100,000 peopleNevada12.6Colorado: 12.2 per 100,000 peopleColorado12.2Iowa: 11.8 per 100,000 peopleIowa11.8Nebraska: 11.4 per 100,000 peopleNebraska11.4Michigan: 10.9 per 100,000 peopleMichigan10.9Vermont: 10.7 per 100,000 peopleVermont10.7California: 10.6 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia10.6Ohio: 10.5 per 100,000 peopleOhio10.5Virginia: 10.5 per 100,000 peopleVirginia10.5Washington: 10.3 per 100,000 peopleWashington10.3Maryland: 10 per 100,000 peopleMaryland10Wisconsin: 9.9 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin9.9Illinois: 9.8 per 100,000 peopleIllinois9.8Maine: 9.6 per 100,000 peopleMaine9.6Pennsylvania: 9.3 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania9.3New Hampshire: 9.1 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire9.1Connecticut: 8.5 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut8.5Alaska: 8.3 per 100,000 peopleAlaska8.3Utah: 8.1 per 100,000 peopleUtah8.1Minnesota: 7 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota7Hawaii: 6.5 per 100,000 peopleHawaii6.5Rhode Island: 6.4 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island6.4District of Columbia: 6.4 per 100,000 peopleDistrict of Columbia6.4New Jersey: 6.4 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey6.4New York: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleNew York5.6Massachusetts: 4.8 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts4.8
per 100,000 people. Source: Invokely calculation with data from NHTSA, BEA. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2023
per 100,000 people		Change on 2022
1Mississippi24.9+1 pts
2Wyoming24.6+1.6 pts
3New Mexico20.8-1.3 pts
4South Carolina19.4-1.3 pts
5Arkansas19.4-1.5 pts
6Alabama19-0.4 pts
7Tennessee18.5-0.1 pts
8Montana18.4-0.8 pts
9Kentucky17.9+1.4 pts
10Louisiana17.6-2.1 pts
11Arizona17.6-0.4 pts
12Oklahoma17.5-0.1 pts
13Missouri16-1.1 pts
14South Dakota15.3+0.2 pts
15Florida14.7-1.1 pts
16West Virginia14.7-0.3 pts
17Georgia14.6-1.9 pts
18North Carolina14.5-0.7 pts
19Texas14-0.7 pts
20Idaho14+2.9 pts
21Oregon13.8-0.4 pts
22North Dakota13.5+0.9 pts
23Indiana13.1-1.1 pts
24Kansas13.1-0.8 pts
25Delaware13-2.8 pts
26Nevada12.6-0.5 pts
27Colorado12.2-0.9 pts
28Iowa11.8+1.3 pts
29Nebraska11.4-1 pts
30Michigan10.9-0.3 pts
31Vermont10.7-1.1 pts
32California10.6-1 pts
33Ohio10.5-0.3 pts
34Virginia10.5-1.1 pts
35Washington10.3+0.8 pts
36Maryland10+0.9 pts
37Wisconsin9.9-0.3 pts
38Illinois9.8-0.2 pts
39Maine9.6-3.5 pts
40Pennsylvania9.3+0.2 pts
41New Hampshire9.1-1.4 pts
42Connecticut8.5-1.7 pts
43Alaska8.3-2.9 pts
44Utah8.1-1.3 pts
45Minnesota7-0.8 pts
46Hawaii6.5-1.6 pts
47Rhode Island6.4+1.7 pts
48District of Columbia6.4+1.7 pts
49New Jersey6.4-1 pts
50New York5.6-0.4 pts
51Massachusetts4.8-1.4 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, 2023) [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, 2023. 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, 2023. 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, 2023 [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_2023,
  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, 2023}},
  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=2023. 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, 2023
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=2023
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=2023.
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?

Mississippi, with 24.9 per 100,000 people in 2023, according to NHTSA and BEA.

Which state has the lowest traffic fatality rate?

Massachusetts, with 4.8 per 100,000 people in 2023.

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