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Transportation & Safety · NHTSA FARS · 1975-2024

American Road Deaths

Since 1975 the federal government has logged every fatal crash on a public road - a mortality census, one row per wreck, coded by hour, road type, and blood alcohol. This page reads fifty years of that ledger: who dies, where, at what hour of which night, and how a decline that took three decades to earn came partly undone in three years.

41,025 road deaths a year 37,769 fatal crashes Full
No. 01

Fifty years of the toll

Deaths per year · 1975-2024

The record opens in 1975 with the country losing more than 44,525 people a year to its roads. Seatbelt law, airbags, drunk-driving enforcement, and safer car bodies then did what almost no public-health effort manages: they cut the toll 36% from the 1979 peak to the 2011 floor. After 2020, the country gave a decade of that progress back - emptier pandemic roads driven faster, and the deadliest years since 2005. The latest line has only started to bend down again.

0 20k 40k 51,093 · 1979 peak 32,479 · 2011 floor 39,254 · 2024 198019902000201020202024
Deaths within 30 days of a crash on a public trafficway - the FARS definition throughout this page. Real FARS annual totals, 1975-2024 (the latest year is an early release). See the table and Methodology.
The arc as a table
YearRoad deaths
197544,525
197645,523
197747,878
197850,331
197951,093
198051,091
198149,301
198243,945
198342,589
198444,257
198543,825
198646,087
198746,390
198847,087
198945,582
199044,599
199141,508
199239,250
199340,150
199440,716
199541,817
199642,065
199742,013
199841,501
199941,717
200041,945
200142,196
200243,005
200342,884
200442,836
200543,510
200642,708
200741,259
200837,423
200933,883
201032,999
201132,479
201233,782
201332,893
201432,744
201535,484
201637,806
201737,473
201836,835
201936,355
202039,007
202143,230
202242,721
202341,025
202439,254
No. 02

Three signatures in the record

Share of road deaths

However the ledger is cut - by state, by road, by year - three patterns keep surfacing. Alcohol is present in nearly a third of the entries. Almost half of them happen in the dark. And a growing share of the dead were never in a vehicle at all. Every section below is one of these signatures pulled out and held to the light.

28%

Alcohol-involved

a driver was at or over 0.08 BAC, or police reported alcohol in the crash

21%

Pedestrian & cyclist

the person killed was outside a vehicle - on foot or on a bike

50%

After dark

the crash happened in dark conditions, lit or unlit

Shares of the same annual toll (2023); a death can carry more than one signature. Computed from FARS - see Methodology.

No. 03

The person outside the car

Deaths indexed · 2010 = 100

Cars have never been better at protecting the people inside them: crumple zones, side-curtain airbags, automatic braking. The growth in the ledger is outside the glass. Since 2010, deaths of pedestrians and cyclists are up roughly +67%, while deaths of vehicle occupants moved +10%. The road got safer to crash on and deadlier to walk beside.

100 120 140 160 180 20102014201820222024 +67% outside +10% occupants
Both series indexed to their 2010 level (= 100), so the slopes compare directly. Exact victim-level counts from the FARS person file (PER_TYP): a person killed on foot or on a bike vs an occupant. See the table below and Methodology.
The series as a table
YearOutside a vehicleIndexedVehicle occupantsIndexed
2010 5,052 100 27,947 100
2011 5,267 104 27,212 97
2012 5,705 113 28,077 100
2013 5,660 112 27,233 97
2014 5,797 115 26,947 96
2015 6,483 128 29,001 104
2016 7,109 141 30,697 110
2017 7,039 139 30,434 109
2018 7,395 146 29,440 105
2019 7,329 145 29,026 104
2020 7,513 149 31,494 113
2021 8,446 167 34,784 124
2022 8,962 177 33,759 121
2023 8,778 174 32,247 115
2024 8,454 167 30,800 110
No. 04

How the crashes happen

Share of deaths · manner of collision

The fatal crash of the imagination is two cars meeting. The fatal crash of the record usually is not: in the largest share of entries there is no second vehicle at all - a car leaves the road, rolls, or strikes a person, a cyclist, or a tree. Roughly 58% of deaths happen that way, more than every two-vehicle configuration combined.

20% 40% 60% No second vehicle No second vehicle - 58% of deaths (the vehicle left the road, rolled, or struck a person, cyclist, or fixed object) 58% Angle Angle - 19% of deaths (two vehicles crossing paths, most often at an intersection) 19% Head-on Head-on - 13% of deaths (opposite directions on the same road, usually an undivided two-lane) 13% Rear-end Rear-end - 7% of deaths (front into rear, often at highway speed differentials) 7% Sideswipe Sideswipe - 3% of deaths (same or opposite direction, glancing contact) 3% Other / unknown Other / unknown - 1% of deaths (manner not reported or not classifiable) 1%
“No second vehicle” is FARS manner-of-collision code 0: the crash was not a collision between two motor vehicles in transport. Shares of 2023 road deaths by the FARS MAN_COLL code. See the table and Methodology.
What each manner counts
MannerShare of deathsWhat it covers
No second vehicle 58% the vehicle left the road, rolled, or struck a person, cyclist, or fixed object
Angle 19% two vehicles crossing paths, most often at an intersection
Head-on 13% opposite directions on the same road, usually an undivided two-lane
Rear-end 7% front into rear, often at highway speed differentials
Sideswipe 3% same or opposite direction, glancing contact
Other / unknown 1% manner not reported or not classifiable
No. 05

When the roads turn deadly

Share of deaths · by hour

The toll is not spread evenly across the day. It climbs through the afternoon to a hard evening peak around 8p and stays elevated deep into the night: the 5pm-to-3am window alone carries roughly 54% of all road deaths, on a fraction of the day's traffic. The quietest stretch is the pre-dawn morning around 8a, when the roads are nearly empty.

12a - 4% of deaths 1a - 3.7% of deaths 2a - 3.9% of deaths 3a - 3.1% of deaths 4a - 2.7% of deaths 5a - 3.3% of deaths 6a - 3.6% of deaths 7a - 3% of deaths 8a - 2.5% of deaths 9a - 2.6% of deaths 10a - 3% of deaths 11a - 3.1% of deaths 12p - 3.7% of deaths 1p - 3.9% of deaths 2p - 4.6% of deaths 3p - 4.8% of deaths 4p - 5% of deaths 5p - 5.6% of deaths 6p - 5.9% of deaths 7p - 5.8% of deaths 8p - 6.2% of deaths 9p - 6.1% of deaths 10p - 5.3% of deaths 11p - 4.5% of deaths 6.2% at 8p 12a6a12p6p
Each column is one hour's share of the day's deaths; the signal columns mark the 5pm-to-3am window. Real FARS HOUR field, 2023; unknown hours (coded 99) are dropped. See Methodology.
No. 06

The shape of the week

Share of weekly deaths · day x hour

Cross the hour against the day and the record shows its darkest corner. The weekday evening rush registers plainly enough - but the deep stain sits in the small hours of Saturday and Sunday: the ride home from Friday and Saturday night. The single deadliest cell of the American week is Sunday, 2a to 3a, at 1.23% of the week's toll - an hour when traffic is a fraction of its daytime volume.

12a6a12p6p Sun Sun 12a - 1.02% of the week's deaths Sun 1a - 1.09% of the week's deaths Sun 2a - 1.23% of the week's deaths Sun 3a - 0.91% of the week's deaths Sun 4a - 0.6% of the week's deaths Sun 5a - 0.54% of the week's deaths Sun 6a - 0.39% of the week's deaths Sun 7a - 0.32% of the week's deaths Sun 8a - 0.3% of the week's deaths Sun 9a - 0.34% of the week's deaths Sun 10a - 0.41% of the week's deaths Sun 11a - 0.43% of the week's deaths Sun 12p - 0.48% of the week's deaths Sun 1p - 0.53% of the week's deaths Sun 2p - 0.66% of the week's deaths Sun 3p - 0.67% of the week's deaths Sun 4p - 0.65% of the week's deaths Sun 5p - 0.8% of the week's deaths Sun 6p - 0.95% of the week's deaths Sun 7p - 0.9% of the week's deaths Sun 8p - 0.85% of the week's deaths Sun 9p - 0.83% of the week's deaths Sun 10p - 0.73% of the week's deaths Sun 11p - 0.61% of the week's deaths Mon Mon 12a - 0.53% of the week's deaths Mon 1a - 0.43% of the week's deaths Mon 2a - 0.36% of the week's deaths Mon 3a - 0.34% of the week's deaths Mon 4a - 0.31% of the week's deaths Mon 5a - 0.47% of the week's deaths Mon 6a - 0.52% of the week's deaths Mon 7a - 0.52% of the week's deaths Mon 8a - 0.43% of the week's deaths Mon 9a - 0.37% of the week's deaths Mon 10a - 0.39% of the week's deaths Mon 11a - 0.44% of the week's deaths Mon 12p - 0.54% of the week's deaths Mon 1p - 0.51% of the week's deaths Mon 2p - 0.65% of the week's deaths Mon 3p - 0.62% of the week's deaths Mon 4p - 0.73% of the week's deaths Mon 5p - 0.66% of the week's deaths Mon 6p - 0.72% of the week's deaths Mon 7p - 0.71% of the week's deaths Mon 8p - 0.83% of the week's deaths Mon 9p - 0.75% of the week's deaths Mon 10p - 0.59% of the week's deaths Mon 11p - 0.45% of the week's deaths Tue Tue 12a - 0.29% of the week's deaths Tue 1a - 0.25% of the week's deaths Tue 2a - 0.25% of the week's deaths Tue 3a - 0.25% of the week's deaths Tue 4a - 0.26% of the week's deaths Tue 5a - 0.45% of the week's deaths Tue 6a - 0.54% of the week's deaths Tue 7a - 0.48% of the week's deaths Tue 8a - 0.38% of the week's deaths Tue 9a - 0.37% of the week's deaths Tue 10a - 0.35% of the week's deaths Tue 11a - 0.41% of the week's deaths Tue 12p - 0.45% of the week's deaths Tue 1p - 0.49% of the week's deaths Tue 2p - 0.69% of the week's deaths Tue 3p - 0.67% of the week's deaths Tue 4p - 0.7% of the week's deaths Tue 5p - 0.76% of the week's deaths Tue 6p - 0.75% of the week's deaths Tue 7p - 0.73% of the week's deaths Tue 8p - 0.69% of the week's deaths Tue 9p - 0.75% of the week's deaths Tue 10p - 0.59% of the week's deaths Tue 11p - 0.46% of the week's deaths Wed Wed 12a - 0.4% of the week's deaths Wed 1a - 0.27% of the week's deaths Wed 2a - 0.33% of the week's deaths Wed 3a - 0.25% of the week's deaths Wed 4a - 0.32% of the week's deaths Wed 5a - 0.51% of the week's deaths Wed 6a - 0.55% of the week's deaths Wed 7a - 0.52% of the week's deaths Wed 8a - 0.39% of the week's deaths Wed 9a - 0.32% of the week's deaths Wed 10a - 0.46% of the week's deaths Wed 11a - 0.39% of the week's deaths Wed 12p - 0.56% of the week's deaths Wed 1p - 0.52% of the week's deaths Wed 2p - 0.6% of the week's deaths Wed 3p - 0.65% of the week's deaths Wed 4p - 0.68% of the week's deaths Wed 5p - 0.82% of the week's deaths Wed 6p - 0.78% of the week's deaths Wed 7p - 0.76% of the week's deaths Wed 8p - 0.86% of the week's deaths Wed 9p - 0.7% of the week's deaths Wed 10p - 0.68% of the week's deaths Wed 11p - 0.43% of the week's deaths Thu Thu 12a - 0.41% of the week's deaths Thu 1a - 0.32% of the week's deaths Thu 2a - 0.31% of the week's deaths Thu 3a - 0.29% of the week's deaths Thu 4a - 0.27% of the week's deaths Thu 5a - 0.44% of the week's deaths Thu 6a - 0.54% of the week's deaths Thu 7a - 0.44% of the week's deaths Thu 8a - 0.36% of the week's deaths Thu 9a - 0.45% of the week's deaths Thu 10a - 0.44% of the week's deaths Thu 11a - 0.45% of the week's deaths Thu 12p - 0.53% of the week's deaths Thu 1p - 0.58% of the week's deaths Thu 2p - 0.63% of the week's deaths Thu 3p - 0.71% of the week's deaths Thu 4p - 0.66% of the week's deaths Thu 5p - 0.81% of the week's deaths Thu 6p - 0.8% of the week's deaths Thu 7p - 0.7% of the week's deaths Thu 8p - 0.86% of the week's deaths Thu 9p - 0.85% of the week's deaths Thu 10p - 0.65% of the week's deaths Thu 11p - 0.61% of the week's deaths Fri Fri 12a - 0.52% of the week's deaths Fri 1a - 0.46% of the week's deaths Fri 2a - 0.42% of the week's deaths Fri 3a - 0.35% of the week's deaths Fri 4a - 0.38% of the week's deaths Fri 5a - 0.47% of the week's deaths Fri 6a - 0.58% of the week's deaths Fri 7a - 0.36% of the week's deaths Fri 8a - 0.41% of the week's deaths Fri 9a - 0.4% of the week's deaths Fri 10a - 0.43% of the week's deaths Fri 11a - 0.48% of the week's deaths Fri 12p - 0.58% of the week's deaths Fri 1p - 0.58% of the week's deaths Fri 2p - 0.68% of the week's deaths Fri 3p - 0.75% of the week's deaths Fri 4p - 0.78% of the week's deaths Fri 5p - 0.87% of the week's deaths Fri 6p - 0.96% of the week's deaths Fri 7p - 1.04% of the week's deaths Fri 8p - 0.95% of the week's deaths Fri 9p - 1.08% of the week's deaths Fri 10p - 0.96% of the week's deaths Fri 11p - 0.92% of the week's deaths Sat Sat 12a - 0.82% of the week's deaths Sat 1a - 0.89% of the week's deaths Sat 2a - 1.03% of the week's deaths Sat 3a - 0.73% of the week's deaths Sat 4a - 0.6% of the week's deaths Sat 5a - 0.46% of the week's deaths Sat 6a - 0.49% of the week's deaths Sat 7a - 0.4% of the week's deaths Sat 8a - 0.29% of the week's deaths Sat 9a - 0.36% of the week's deaths Sat 10a - 0.52% of the week's deaths Sat 11a - 0.49% of the week's deaths Sat 12p - 0.58% of the week's deaths Sat 1p - 0.65% of the week's deaths Sat 2p - 0.74% of the week's deaths Sat 3p - 0.77% of the week's deaths Sat 4p - 0.77% of the week's deaths Sat 5p - 0.85% of the week's deaths Sat 6p - 0.91% of the week's deaths Sat 7p - 0.97% of the week's deaths Sat 8p - 1.15% of the week's deaths Sat 9p - 1.08% of the week's deaths Sat 10p - 1.08% of the week's deaths Sat 11p - 1.01% of the week's deaths
  1. under 0.45%
  2. 0.45 - 0.62
  3. 0.62 - 0.90
  4. 0.90%+
The outlined cell is the week's deadliest hour. Real 2023 grid crossing the FARS DAY_WEEK and HOUR fields. See the table and Methodology.
The week in six-hour blocks
Day12a - 6a6a - 12p12p - 6p6p - 12aAll day
Sun 5.4%2.2%3.8%4.9% 16.2%
Mon 2.4%2.7%3.7%4% 12.9%
Tue 1.8%2.5%3.8%4% 12%
Wed 2.1%2.6%3.8%4.2% 12.7%
Thu 2%2.7%3.9%4.5% 13.1%
Fri 2.6%2.7%4.2%5.9% 15.4%
Sat 4.5%2.5%4.4%6.2% 17.6%
No. 07

The shape of the year

Deaths per day · by month

Road death has a season. Measured per day, to hold the short months even, the toll climbs out of a deep-winter low and peaks in the long light of late summer and early fall - more miles, more motorcycles, more people out after dark on warm nights. Sep runs about 123.3 deaths a day, roughly 26% above the quietest month, Jan.

0 45 90 135 Jan - 97.6 deaths a day (3,026 total) Jan Feb - 102.2 deaths a day (2,861 total) Feb Mar - 97.7 deaths a day (3,029 total) Mar Apr - 111.6 deaths a day (3,348 total) Apr May - 114.2 deaths a day (3,541 total) May Jun - 116.6 deaths a day (3,497 total) Jun Jul - 119.3 deaths a day (3,698 total) Jul Aug - 120.6 deaths a day (3,740 total) Aug Sep - 123.3 deaths a day (3,699 total) Sep Oct - 122.9 deaths a day (3,811 total) Oct Nov - 111.4 deaths a day (3,342 total) Nov Dec - 110.7 deaths a day (3,433 total) Dec 123.3/day 97.6
  1. under 105
  2. 105 - 113
  3. 113 - 120
  4. 120 and up
Height and shade both read deaths per day - length-adjusted so month size doesn't distort the season. FARS MONTH, 2023. See the table.
Every month, ranked
MonthDeathsPer day
Sep 3,699 123.3
Oct 3,811 122.9
Aug 3,740 120.6
Jul 3,698 119.3
Jun 3,497 116.6
May 3,541 114.2
Apr 3,348 111.6
Nov 3,342 111.4
Dec 3,433 110.7
Feb 2,861 102.2
Mar 3,029 97.7
Jan 3,026 97.6
No. 08

The geography of the toll

Deaths per 100k · by state

Adjusted for population, the map darkens along the rural South and the Mountain West - long, fast, unlit two-lane roads, and an hour or more to a trauma center. Mississippi runs near 24.9 deaths per 100k, more than five times Massachusetts's 4.8. The dense, slower Northeast holds the pale end of the scale. Where you drive is a larger term in the odds than how you drive.

Alabama - 19 per 100k Alaska - 8.3 per 100k Arizona - 17.5 per 100k Colorado - 12.2 per 100k Florida - 14.7 per 100k Georgia - 14.6 per 100k Indiana - 13.1 per 100k Kansas - 13.1 per 100k Maine - 9.6 per 100k Massachusetts - 4.8 per 100k Minnesota - 7 per 100k New Jersey - 6.5 per 100k North Carolina - 14.5 per 100k North Dakota - 13.4 per 100k Oklahoma - 17.5 per 100k Pennsylvania - 9.3 per 100k South Dakota - 15.2 per 100k Texas - 14 per 100k Wyoming - 24.6 per 100k Connecticut - 8.5 per 100k Missouri - 16 per 100k West Virginia - 14.7 per 100k Illinois - 9.8 per 100k New Mexico - 20.7 per 100k Arkansas - 19.4 per 100k California - 10.6 per 100k Delaware - 13 per 100k District of Columbia - 6.4 per 100k Hawaii - 6.5 per 100k Iowa - 11.8 per 100k Kentucky - 17.9 per 100k Maryland - 10 per 100k Michigan - 10.9 per 100k Mississippi - 24.9 per 100k Montana - 18.4 per 100k New Hampshire - 9.1 per 100k New York - 5.7 per 100k Ohio - 10.5 per 100k Oregon - 13.8 per 100k Tennessee - 18.5 per 100k Utah - 8.1 per 100k Virginia - 10.5 per 100k Washington - 10.3 per 100k Wisconsin - 9.9 per 100k Nebraska - 11.4 per 100k South Carolina - 19.4 per 100k Idaho - 14 per 100k Nevada - 12.6 per 100k Vermont - 10.6 per 100k Louisiana - 17.7 per 100k Rhode Island - 6.4 per 100k
  1. under 10
  2. 10 - 15
  3. 15 - 20
  4. 20 and up
One hue, light to dark, four bins of deaths per 100k residents. Real 2023 rates on a Census population join. See the table and Methodology.
All states, ranked by rate
#StateDeaths / 100k
01 Mississippi 24.9
02 Wyoming 24.6
03 New Mexico 20.7
04 Arkansas 19.4
05 South Carolina 19.4
06 Alabama 19
07 Tennessee 18.5
08 Montana 18.4
09 Kentucky 17.9
10 Louisiana 17.7
11 Arizona 17.5
12 Oklahoma 17.5
13 Missouri 16
14 South Dakota 15.2
15 Florida 14.7
16 West Virginia 14.7
17 Georgia 14.6
18 North Carolina 14.5
19 Idaho 14
20 Texas 14
21 Oregon 13.8
22 North Dakota 13.4
23 Indiana 13.1
24 Kansas 13.1
25 Delaware 13
26 Nevada 12.6
27 Colorado 12.2
28 Iowa 11.8
29 Nebraska 11.4
30 Michigan 10.9
31 California 10.6
32 Vermont 10.6
33 Ohio 10.5
34 Virginia 10.5
35 Washington 10.3
36 Maryland 10
37 Wisconsin 9.9
38 Illinois 9.8
39 Maine 9.6
40 Pennsylvania 9.3
41 New Hampshire 9.1
42 Connecticut 8.5
43 Alaska 8.3
44 Utah 8.1
45 Minnesota 7
46 Hawaii 6.5
47 New Jersey 6.5
48 District of Columbia 6.4
49 Rhode Island 6.4
50 New York 5.7
51 Massachusetts 4.8
No. 09

The deadliest roads by state

Deaths per 100k · worst first

Ranked by deaths per 100,000 residents, so a small state with heavy losses outranks a populous one - Mississippi's roads are deadlier than Texas's even though Texas buries far more people. The national rate sits at 12.2 per 100k. The trend figure is the five-year change in each state's rate: positive means the roads got deadlier, and the large majority of states are positive.

  1. 01
    Mississippi 24.9 /100k
    733 deaths Alcohol 18% Pedestrian 14% After dark 48% Rural 66%
    +11%
  2. 02
    Wyoming 24.6 /100k
    144 deaths Alcohol 26% Pedestrian 9% After dark 37% Rural 80%
    +30%
  3. 03
    New Mexico 20.7 /100k
    440 deaths Alcohol 23% Pedestrian 27% After dark 54% Rural 53%
    +12%
  4. 04
    Arkansas 19.4 /100k
    596 deaths Alcohol 26% Pedestrian 15% After dark 41% Rural 62%
    +15%
  5. 05
    South Carolina 19.4 /100k
    1,047 deaths Alcohol 36% Pedestrian 20% After dark 52% Rural 53%
    +1%
  6. 06
    Alabama 19 /100k
    974 deaths Alcohol 25% Pedestrian 14% After dark 50% Rural 60%
    +2%
  7. 07
    Tennessee 18.5 /100k
    1,323 deaths Alcohol 32% Pedestrian 15% After dark 50% Rural 38%
    +27%
  8. 08
    Montana 18.4 /100k
    208 deaths Alcohol 44% Pedestrian 11% After dark 46% Rural 79%
    +15%
  9. 09
    Kentucky 17.9 /100k
    814 deaths Alcohol 26% Pedestrian 17% After dark 42% Rural 61%
    +13%
  10. 10
    Louisiana 17.7 /100k
    811 deaths Alcohol 34% Pedestrian 22% After dark 52% Rural 45%
    +5%
  11. 11
    Arizona 17.5 /100k
    1,308 deaths Alcohol 24% Pedestrian 24% After dark 47% Rural 28%
    +29%
  12. 12
    Oklahoma 17.5 /100k
    711 deaths Alcohol 27% Pedestrian 15% After dark 45% Rural 55%
    +9%
  13. 13
    Missouri 16 /100k
    991 deaths Alcohol 29% Pedestrian 14% After dark 46% Rural 50%
    +8%
  14. 14
    South Dakota 15.2 /100k
    140 deaths Alcohol 30% Pedestrian 11% After dark 34% Rural 81%
    +7%
  15. 15
    Florida 14.7 /100k
    3,375 deaths Alcohol 21% Pedestrian 31% After dark 56% Rural 22%
    +7%
  16. 16
    West Virginia 14.7 /100k
    260 deaths Alcohol 25% Pedestrian 7% After dark 40% Rural 64%
    -11%
  17. 17
    Georgia 14.6 /100k
    1,610 deaths Alcohol 19% Pedestrian 21% After dark 54% Rural 35%
    +7%
  18. 18
    North Carolina 14.5 /100k
    1,577 deaths Alcohol 24% Pedestrian 18% After dark 47% Rural 64%
    +10%
  19. 19
    Idaho 14 /100k
    275 deaths Alcohol 27% Pedestrian 14% After dark 35% Rural 71%
    +18%
  20. 20
    Texas 14 /100k
    4,294 deaths Alcohol 28% Pedestrian 22% After dark 56% Rural 39%
    +18%
  21. 21
    Oregon 13.8 /100k
    587 deaths Alcohol 27% Pedestrian 21% After dark 43% Rural 53%
    +17%
  22. 22
    North Dakota 13.4 /100k
    106 deaths Alcohol 37% Pedestrian 9% After dark 36% Rural 85%
    +1%
  23. 23
    Indiana 13.1 /100k
    904 deaths Alcohol 25% Pedestrian 15% After dark 44% Rural 58%
    +5%
  24. 24
    Kansas 13.1 /100k
    387 deaths Alcohol 25% Pedestrian 11% After dark 41% Rural 61%
    -5%
  25. 25
    Delaware 13 /100k
    135 deaths Alcohol 40% Pedestrian 25% After dark 58% Rural 36%
    +21%
  26. 26
    Nevada 12.6 /100k
    406 deaths Alcohol 33% Pedestrian 31% After dark 55% Rural 25%
    +23%
  27. 27
    Colorado 12.2 /100k
    720 deaths Alcohol 35% Pedestrian 22% After dark 48% Rural 37%
    +14%
  28. 28
    Iowa 11.8 /100k
    379 deaths Alcohol 28% Pedestrian 9% After dark 42% Rural 70%
    +19%
  29. 29
    Nebraska 11.4 /100k
    227 deaths Alcohol 32% Pedestrian 8% After dark 38% Rural 71%
    -1%
  30. 30
    Michigan 10.9 /100k
    1,096 deaths Alcohol 28% Pedestrian 19% After dark 44% Rural 39%
    +12%
  31. 31
    California 10.6 /100k
    4,169 deaths Alcohol 32% Pedestrian 32% After dark 60% Rural 25%
    +9%
  32. 32
    Vermont 10.6 /100k
    69 deaths Alcohol 32% Pedestrian 9% After dark 30% Rural 87%
    +1%
  33. 33
    Ohio 10.5 /100k
    1,242 deaths Alcohol 30% Pedestrian 14% After dark 45% Rural 38%
    +16%
  34. 34
    Virginia 10.5 /100k
    914 deaths Alcohol 29% Pedestrian 16% After dark 47% Rural 52%
    +12%
  35. 35
    Washington 10.3 /100k
    809 deaths Alcohol 32% Pedestrian 22% After dark 51% Rural 40%
    +50%
  36. 36
    Maryland 10 /100k
    621 deaths Alcohol 27% Pedestrian 29% After dark 53% Rural 20%
    +21%
  37. 37
    Wisconsin 9.9 /100k
    586 deaths Alcohol 33% Pedestrian 12% After dark 43% Rural 60%
    0%
  38. 38
    Illinois 9.8 /100k
    1,241 deaths Alcohol 24% Pedestrian 20% After dark 50% Rural 34%
    +20%
  39. 39
    Maine 9.6 /100k
    135 deaths Alcohol 31% Pedestrian 15% After dark 32% Rural 80%
    -1%
  40. 40
    Pennsylvania 9.3 /100k
    1,211 deaths Alcohol 26% Pedestrian 18% After dark 44% Rural 43%
    +2%
  41. 41
    New Hampshire 9.1 /100k
    127 deaths Alcohol 29% Pedestrian 13% After dark 35% Rural 51%
    -13%
  42. 42
    Connecticut 8.5 /100k
    308 deaths Alcohol 40% Pedestrian 18% After dark 53% Rural 13%
    +6%
  43. 43
    Alaska 8.3 /100k
    61 deaths Alcohol 31% Pedestrian 21% After dark 31% Rural 62%
    -24%
  44. 44
    Utah 8.1 /100k
    280 deaths Alcohol 23% Pedestrian 17% After dark 42% Rural 40%
    +7%
  45. 45
    Minnesota 7 /100k
    402 deaths Alcohol 28% Pedestrian 11% After dark 35% Rural 56%
    +6%
  46. 46
    Hawaii 6.5 /100k
    93 deaths Alcohol 44% Pedestrian 32% After dark 67% Rural 8%
    -20%
  47. 47
    New Jersey 6.5 /100k
    605 deaths Alcohol 30% Pedestrian 33% After dark 50% Rural 9%
    +8%
  48. 48
    District of Columbia 6.4 /100k
    44 deaths Alcohol 39% Pedestrian 39% After dark 70% Rural 0%
    +42%
  49. 49
    Rhode Island 6.4 /100k
    71 deaths Alcohol 31% Pedestrian 18% After dark 51% Rural 14%
    +20%
  50. 50
    New York 5.7 /100k
    1,117 deaths Alcohol 21% Pedestrian 31% After dark 51% Rural 26%
    +17%
  51. 51
    Massachusetts 4.8 /100k
    342 deaths Alcohol 34% Pedestrian 23% After dark 53% Rural 4%
    -4%

All 50 states and DC, ranked by deaths per 100k in 2023; the composition line under each bar carries the three signatures plus the rural share. See Methodology. Compare two states side by side →

No. 10

Every state has its own arc

Rate per 100k · 2013-2023 · shared scale

The national arc is an average; no state actually drove it. Drawn on one shared scale, the panels separate into registers: the Deep South and Mountain West running at double or triple the Northeast's rate, and nearly every line kinking upward after 2020. The hairline in each panel is the national rate, 12.2 per 100k.

  1. Mississippi 24.9
  2. Wyoming 24.6
  3. New Mexico 20.7
  4. Arkansas 19.4
  5. South Carolina 19.4
  6. Alabama 19
  7. Tennessee 18.5
  8. Montana 18.4
  9. Kentucky 17.9
  10. Louisiana 17.7
  11. Arizona 17.5
  12. Oklahoma 17.5
  13. Missouri 16
  14. South Dakota 15.2
  15. Florida 14.7
  16. West Virginia 14.7
  17. Georgia 14.6
  18. North Carolina 14.5
  19. Idaho 14
  20. Texas 14
  21. Oregon 13.8
  22. North Dakota 13.4
  23. Indiana 13.1
  24. Kansas 13.1
  25. Delaware 13
  26. Nevada 12.6
  27. Colorado 12.2
  28. Iowa 11.8
  29. Nebraska 11.4
  30. Michigan 10.9
  31. California 10.6
  32. Vermont 10.6
  33. Ohio 10.5
  34. Virginia 10.5
  35. Washington 10.3
  36. Maryland 10
  37. Wisconsin 9.9
  38. Illinois 9.8
  39. Maine 9.6
  40. Pennsylvania 9.3
  41. New Hampshire 9.1
  42. Connecticut 8.5
  43. Alaska 8.3
  44. Utah 8.1
  45. Minnesota 7
  46. Hawaii 6.5
  47. New Jersey 6.5
  48. District of Columbia 6.4
  49. Rhode Island 6.4
  50. New York 5.7
  51. Massachusetts 4.8

Every panel shares one 0-28 scale; the figure beside each name is the latest rate per 100k. Real per-year FARS state death rates on a Census population join. See the table and Methodology.

All panels as a table
State201320152017201920212023
Mississippi 20.82323.321.82624.9
Wyoming 14.924.82125.118.824.6
New Mexico 14.71417.92022.820.7
Arkansas 16.217.917.116.622.519.4
South Carolina 14.218.218.418.722.219.4
Alabama 16.716.618.518.219.219
Tennessee 13.913.514.315.918.618.5
Montana 20.219.816.416.321.118.4
Kentucky 1416.717.216.117.717.9
Louisiana 15.316.416.815.821.217.7
Arizona 11.41213.413.11617.5
Oklahoma 16.715.916.215.718.817.5
Missouri 12.2141514.216.416
South Dakota 14.714.61411.116.115.2
Florida 10.512.813.613.916.314.7
West Virginia 18.815.117.214.715.914.7
Georgia 10.712.913.913.516.314.6
North Carolina 11.912.71313.415.614.5
Idaho 10.91112.411.413.814
Texas 1111.712.111.814.614
Oregon 7.410.510.311.614.113.8
North Dakota 18.816.614.712.712.813.4
Indiana 11.411.913.311.813.513.1
Kansas 11.91215.613.914.313.1
Delaware 9.612.611.512.713.113
Nevada 8.310.19.79.51212.6
Colorado 8.29.31110.111.712.2
Iowa 9.89.910.310.411.111.8
Nebraska 10.612.411.512.511.111.4
Michigan 9.49.610.29.811.310.9
California 7.98.69.99.511.510.6
Vermont 10.68.810.67.211.410.6
Ohio 8.49.4109.811.510.5
Virginia 8.58.69.69.511.110.5
Washington 5.577.26.88.610.3
Maryland 7.58.498.69.110
Wisconsin 9.29.510.39.610.59.9
Illinois 7.87.98.6810.69.8
Maine 10.311.112.411.210.99.6
Pennsylvania 9.39.28.78.19.49.3
New Hampshire 9.68.17.37.28.49.1
Connecticut 7.97.47.76.88.38.5
Alaska 6.98.810.79.19.58.3
Utah 6.48.17.97.29.68.1
Minnesota 6.77.16.26.38.57
Hawaii 7.16.57.47.56.56.5
New Jersey 5.866.75.97.46.5
District of Columbia 2.93.34.53.366.4
Rhode Island 5.94.17.65.25.76.4
New York 6.15.85.14.75.95.7
Massachusetts 54.94.94.85.84.8
No. 11

The rural road paradox

Deaths vs miles driven

Most driving happens in and around cities, yet the countryside carries a wildly disproportionate share of the dead. Rural roads see roughly 31% of the miles driven but about 41% of the deaths. Higher speeds, no median, no shoulder lighting, and a long ride to the nearest trauma center: mile for mile, a rural road is about 1.6x as deadly as an urban one.

Rural roads

1.66 / 100M mi
Share of deaths41%
Share of miles driven31%

Urban roads

1.07 / 100M mi
Share of deaths59%
Share of miles driven69%

Both bars in each panel share one 0-100% scale, so the gap between the deaths bar and the miles bar is the story. Deaths split from FARS RUR_URB (2023); mileage split and per-mile rate from FHWA Highway Statistics Table VM-2 and NHTSA DOT HS 813 728 (2023). See Methodology.

No. 12

Ruralness is the through-line

Rate vs rural share · by state

Put the two on one plot and the pattern behind this whole page snaps into focus: the higher a state's rural share, the higher its rate runs. Mississippi and Wyoming sit high and right; Massachusetts and New York low and left. The exceptions prove the rule - Arizona and Florida ride above the trend on pedestrian deaths in fast urban sprawl, and Minnesota shows a rural state can still hold a low rate.

0 10 20 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% deaths / 100k share of deaths on rural roads Mississippi - 66% of deaths on rural roads, 24.9 deaths per 100k Wyoming - 80% of deaths on rural roads, 24.6 deaths per 100k New Mexico - 53% of deaths on rural roads, 20.7 deaths per 100k Arkansas - 62% of deaths on rural roads, 19.4 deaths per 100k South Carolina - 53% of deaths on rural roads, 19.4 deaths per 100k Alabama - 60% of deaths on rural roads, 19 deaths per 100k Tennessee - 38% of deaths on rural roads, 18.5 deaths per 100k Montana - 79% of deaths on rural roads, 18.4 deaths per 100k Kentucky - 61% of deaths on rural roads, 17.9 deaths per 100k Louisiana - 45% of deaths on rural roads, 17.7 deaths per 100k Arizona - 28% of deaths on rural roads, 17.5 deaths per 100k Oklahoma - 55% of deaths on rural roads, 17.5 deaths per 100k Missouri - 50% of deaths on rural roads, 16 deaths per 100k South Dakota - 81% of deaths on rural roads, 15.2 deaths per 100k Florida - 22% of deaths on rural roads, 14.7 deaths per 100k West Virginia - 64% of deaths on rural roads, 14.7 deaths per 100k Georgia - 35% of deaths on rural roads, 14.6 deaths per 100k North Carolina - 64% of deaths on rural roads, 14.5 deaths per 100k Idaho - 71% of deaths on rural roads, 14 deaths per 100k Texas - 39% of deaths on rural roads, 14 deaths per 100k Oregon - 53% of deaths on rural roads, 13.8 deaths per 100k North Dakota - 85% of deaths on rural roads, 13.4 deaths per 100k Indiana - 58% of deaths on rural roads, 13.1 deaths per 100k Kansas - 61% of deaths on rural roads, 13.1 deaths per 100k Delaware - 36% of deaths on rural roads, 13 deaths per 100k Nevada - 25% of deaths on rural roads, 12.6 deaths per 100k Colorado - 37% of deaths on rural roads, 12.2 deaths per 100k Iowa - 70% of deaths on rural roads, 11.8 deaths per 100k Nebraska - 71% of deaths on rural roads, 11.4 deaths per 100k Michigan - 39% of deaths on rural roads, 10.9 deaths per 100k California - 25% of deaths on rural roads, 10.6 deaths per 100k Vermont - 87% of deaths on rural roads, 10.6 deaths per 100k Ohio - 38% of deaths on rural roads, 10.5 deaths per 100k Virginia - 52% of deaths on rural roads, 10.5 deaths per 100k Washington - 40% of deaths on rural roads, 10.3 deaths per 100k Maryland - 20% of deaths on rural roads, 10 deaths per 100k Wisconsin - 60% of deaths on rural roads, 9.9 deaths per 100k Illinois - 34% of deaths on rural roads, 9.8 deaths per 100k Maine - 80% of deaths on rural roads, 9.6 deaths per 100k Pennsylvania - 43% of deaths on rural roads, 9.3 deaths per 100k New Hampshire - 51% of deaths on rural roads, 9.1 deaths per 100k Connecticut - 13% of deaths on rural roads, 8.5 deaths per 100k Alaska - 62% of deaths on rural roads, 8.3 deaths per 100k Utah - 40% of deaths on rural roads, 8.1 deaths per 100k Minnesota - 56% of deaths on rural roads, 7 deaths per 100k Hawaii - 8% of deaths on rural roads, 6.5 deaths per 100k New Jersey - 9% of deaths on rural roads, 6.5 deaths per 100k District of Columbia - 0% of deaths on rural roads, 6.4 deaths per 100k Rhode Island - 14% of deaths on rural roads, 6.4 deaths per 100k New York - 26% of deaths on rural roads, 5.7 deaths per 100k Massachusetts - 4% of deaths on rural roads, 4.8 deaths per 100k MississippiWyomingArizonaFloridaMinnesotaNew YorkMassachusetts
All 50 states and DC, one dot each. Rural share is the portion of the state's road deaths on roads FARS codes rural (RUR_URB = 1), 2023. The full list is in the table. See Methodology.
All 50 states and DC, rural share and rate
StateRural share of deathsDeaths / 100k
Vermont 87% 10.6
North Dakota 85% 13.4
South Dakota 81% 15.2
Wyoming 80% 24.6
Maine 80% 9.6
Montana 79% 18.4
Idaho 71% 14
Nebraska 71% 11.4
Iowa 70% 11.8
Mississippi 66% 24.9
West Virginia 64% 14.7
North Carolina 64% 14.5
Arkansas 62% 19.4
Alaska 62% 8.3
Kentucky 61% 17.9
Kansas 61% 13.1
Alabama 60% 19
Wisconsin 60% 9.9
Indiana 58% 13.1
Minnesota 56% 7
Oklahoma 55% 17.5
New Mexico 53% 20.7
South Carolina 53% 19.4
Oregon 53% 13.8
Virginia 52% 10.5
New Hampshire 51% 9.1
Missouri 50% 16
Louisiana 45% 17.7
Pennsylvania 43% 9.3
Washington 40% 10.3
Utah 40% 8.1
Texas 39% 14
Michigan 39% 10.9
Tennessee 38% 18.5
Ohio 38% 10.5
Colorado 37% 12.2
Delaware 36% 13
Georgia 35% 14.6
Illinois 34% 9.8
Arizona 28% 17.5
New York 26% 5.7
Nevada 25% 12.6
California 25% 10.6
Florida 22% 14.7
Maryland 20% 10
Rhode Island 14% 6.4
Connecticut 13% 8.5
New Jersey 9% 6.5
Hawaii 8% 6.5
Massachusetts 4% 4.8
District of Columbia 0% 6.4
Appendix

Notes on the record

Methodology

The figures on this page are shaped to NHTSA FARS (FARS 2023 National (Final/ARF)), the Fatality Analysis Reporting System - the federal census of every fatal crash on a U.S. public road, coded continuously since 1975. FARS ships as one row per crash across linked files (accident, vehicle, person). A death counts here when it occurs within 30 days of a crash involving at least one motor vehicle on a trafficway - FARS's own definition, used throughout. Rates per 100,000 residents require a Census population join, since FARS carries no population column.

What's real here

Every number on this page is computed straight from the FARS bulk files - the full crash record for 1975 through 2024 (about 1.9 million fatal crashes) and the linked person record for the recent window. There are no stand-ins. Two clocks run at once, deliberately: the time series - the fifty-year arc and the inside-vs-outside divergence - run through 2024, the newest data NHTSA has posted; every snapshot - the signature shares, the manner split, the hour, week, and month grids, the state map and ranking, the rural figures - is read at 2023, the latest final year, for which NHTSA also publishes the rural/urban breakdown used here. 2024's file is an early release and is labelled as such.

The pipeline is reproducible from scratch: scripts/fetch-fars.sh and fetch-fars-person.sh pull the bulk zips, scripts/build-data.ts aggregates them into the committed derived.json the charts read, and HANDOFF.md documents each step. Rates per 100,000 residents join Census Vintage-2024 population (July 1, 2023), since FARS carries no population column.

How each reading is cut

Hour and week grids read the FARS HOUR and DAY_WEEK fields (unknown hours, coded 99, are dropped). After dark means light condition 2, 3, or 6 - dark, whether lit or unlit. Alcohol-involved flags a crash where a driver's observed blood alcohol was at or over 0.08 (the person file's ALC_RES), or police reported alcohol - presence, not adjudicated cause. Because untested drivers are not imputed, this observed measure sits a few points below NHTSA's imputed "alcohol-impaired" headline; drugs are coded separately and not counted. Manner of collision follows the MAN_COLL code; "no second vehicle" is code 0, a crash that was not a collision between two motor vehicles in transport. Deaths outside a vehicle are the exact victim-level count - people killed on foot or on a bike (person-file PER_TYP 5-8), not a crash-level estimate. Rural follows the RUR_URB land-use code; the per-mile rate pairs those FARS deaths with FHWA vehicle-miles-traveled (Table VM-2), the two agencies' standard join. The state sparklines apply one population vintage across all years - exact historical rates need per-year estimates.

What you're not seeing

Fatal crashes only. FARS excludes the far larger universe of injury and property-damage crashes, so nothing here speaks to how often people are hurt and survive. State figures track where a crash happened, not where the dead lived, and small states swing hard year to year on a handful of deaths. And a share-of-deaths reading can shift because its denominator moved: pedestrian deaths can rise as a share simply because occupant deaths fell. The indexed divergence chart exists precisely to keep those two stories separate.

Generated 2026-07-10 01:26 UTC

Source: NHTSA FARS

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