State by state | 2017

2017
All Fatality Facts topics

The number and types of motor vehicle crash deaths differ widely among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. A state's population has an obvious effect on the number of motor vehicle deaths. Fatality rates per capita and per vehicle miles traveled provide a way of examining motor vehicle deaths relative to the population and amount of driving. However, many factors can affect these rates, including types of vehicles driven, travel speeds, rates of licensure, state traffic laws, emergency care capabilities, weather, and topography.

The following facts are based on analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

Posted December 2018.

Data subsections:

Fatal crash totals

There were 34,247 fatal motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2017 in which 37,133 deaths occurred. This resulted in 11.4 deaths per 100,000 people and 1.16 deaths per 100 million miles traveled. The fatality rate per 100,000 people ranged from 4.5 in the District of Columbia to 23.1 in Mississippi.  The death rate per 100 million miles traveled ranged from 0.58 in Massachusetts to 1.80 in South Carolina. Federal Highway Administration. 2018. Traffic Volume Trends, January-December 2017. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation. Available: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/travel_monitoring/tvt.cfm

Population, fatal motor vehicle crashes, motor vehicle crash deaths and motor vehicle crash death rates per state, 2017
StatePopulationVehicle miles traveled (millions)Fatal crashesDeathsDeaths per 100,000 populationDeaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled
Alabama 4,874,747 69,277 864 948 19.4 1.37
Alaska 739,795 5,028 75 79 10.7 1.57
Arizona 7,016,270 67,821 919 1,000 14.3 1.47
Arkansas 3,004,279 35,746 457 493 16.4 1.38
California 39,536,653 353,868 3,304 3,602 9.1 1.02
Colorado 5,607,154 53,750 600 648 11.6 1.21
Connecticut 3,588,184 32,126 260 278 7.7 0.87
Delaware 961,939 10,242 112 119 12.4 1.16
District of Columbia 693,972 3,550 29 31 4.5 0.87
Florida 20,984,400 215,810 2,922 3,112 14.8 1.44
Georgia 10,429,379 122,398 1,440 1,540 14.8 1.26
Hawaii 1,427,538 10,513 96 107 7.5 1.02
Idaho 1,716,943 17,676 223 244 14.2 1.38
Illinois 12,802,023 107,369 1,005 1,097 8.6 1.02
Indiana 6,666,818 80,282 836 914 13.7 1.14
Iowa 3,145,711 34,241 301 330 10.5 0.96
Kansas 2,913,123 32,504 407 461 15.8 1.42
Kentucky 4,454,189 50,284 721 782 17.6 1.56
Louisiana 4,684,333 48,094 696 760 16.2 1.58
Maine 1,335,907 15,063 163 172 12.9 1.14
Maryland 6,052,177 59,417 511 550 9.1 0.93
Massachusetts 6,859,819 60,560 336 350 5.1 0.58
Michigan 9,962,311 103,080 939 1,030 10.3 1.00
Minnesota 5,576,606 57,922 340 357 6.4 0.62
Mississippi 2,984,100 41,387 614 690 23.1 1.67
Missouri 6,113,532 74,005 863 930 15.2 1.26
Montana 1,050,493 12,738 169 186 17.7 1.46
Nebraska 1,920,076 20,828 210 228 11.9 1.09
Nevada 2,998,039 27,803 290 309 10.3 1.11
New Hampshire 1,342,795 13,467 98 102 7.6 0.76
New Jersey 9,005,644 76,550 591 624 6.9 0.82
New Mexico 2,088,070 28,171 340 379 18.2 1.35
New York 19,849,399 129,146 933 999 5.0 0.77
North Carolina 10,273,419 117,754 1,306 1,412 13.7 1.20
North Dakota 755,393 9,760 105 115 15.2 1.18
Ohio 11,658,609 117,194 1,094 1,179 10.1 1.01
Oklahoma 3,930,864 49,228 611 655 16.7 1.33
Oregon 4,142,776 37,528 400 437 10.5 1.16
Pennsylvania 12,805,537 104,022 1,083 1,137 8.9 1.09
Rhode Island 1,059,639 7,997 76 83 7.8 1.04
South Carolina 5,024,369 54,859 924 988 19.7 1.80
South Dakota 869,666 9,341 111 129 14.8 1.38
Tennessee 6,715,984 80,128 959 1,040 15.5 1.30
Texas 28,304,596 270,621 3,343 3,722 13.1 1.38
Utah 3,101,833 31,874 247 273 8.8 0.86
Vermont 623,657 7,436 63 69 11.1 0.93
Virginia 8,470,020 85,335 783 839 9.9 0.98
Washington 7,405,743 61,569 536 565 7.6 0.92
West Virginia 1,815,857 20,106 280 303 16.7 1.51
Wisconsin 5,795,483 64,160 557 613 10.6 0.96
Wyoming 579,315 9,492 105 123 21.2 1.30
U.S. total 325,719,178 3,213,000 34,247 37,133 11.4 1.16

Deaths by road user

In 2017, the types of motor vehicle crash deaths varied across states. For example, North Dakota had both the highest percentage of deaths involving SUV and pickup occupants (49 percent) and the lowest percentage of deaths involving car occupants (22 percent). In contrast, Ohio had the highest percentage of deaths involving car occupants (47 percent) and a relatively low percentage of deaths involving SUV and pickup occupants (22 percent). The District of Columbia had the highest percentage of crash deaths involving pedestrians (35 percent) and was tied with Hawaii for the highest percentage of crash deaths involving bicyclists (6 percent). The highest percentage of motorcyclist deaths occurred in Hawaii (23 percent).

Motor vehicle crash deaths by road user type and state, 2017
StateCar occupants Pickup and SUV occupantsLarge truck occupants Motorcyclists Pedestrians Bicyclists Total*
Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%
Alabama 399 42 307 32 18 2 79 8 119 13 7 1 948 100
Alaska 22 28 25 3200 6 8 14 18 1 1 79 100
Arizona 264 26 213 21 18 2 163 16 216 22 30 3 1,000 100
Arkansas 171 35 173 35 26 5 65 13 42 9 3 1 493 100
California 1,318 37 642 18 41 1 529 15 858 24 124 3 3,602 100
Colorado 213 33 196 30 20 3 103 16 92 14 16 2 648 100
Connecticut 115 41 46 17 4 1 57 21 48 17 3 1 278 100
Delaware 45 38 24 2000 10 8 33 28 5 4 119 100
District of Columbia 12 39 2 600 4 13 11 35 2 6 31 100
Florida 1,009 32 611 20 38 1 590 19 654 21 123 4 3,112 100
Georgia 571 37 475 31 44 3 139 9 253 16 15 1 1,540 100
Hawaii 37 35 22 2100 25 23 14 13 6 6 107 100
Idaho 70 29 109 45 11 5 25 10 16 7 3 1 244 100
Illinois 460 42 247 23 16 1 162 15 145 13 26 2 1,097 100
Indiana 371 41 235 26 15 2 149 16 101 11 13 1 914 100
Iowa 117 35 106 32 14 4 48 15 23 7 5 2 330 100
Kansas 174 38 167 36 12 3 56 12 33 7 5 1 461 100
Kentucky 338 43 230 29 8 1 90 12 83 11 7 1 782 100
Louisiana 259 34 229 30 26 3 96 13 111 15 22 3 760 100
Maine 63 37 51 30 5 3 26 15 20 12 2 1 172 100
Maryland 214 39 102 19 6 1 86 16 114 21 10 2 550 100
Massachusetts 126 36 80 23 4 1 51 15 74 21 11 3 350 100
Michigan 407 40 249 24 8 1 150 15 156 15 21 2 1,030 100
Minnesota 140 39 93 26 6 2 55 15 38 11 6 2 357 100
Mississippi 307 44 228 33 16 2 40 6 71 10 7 1 690 100
Missouri 367 39 298 32 11 1 121 13 96 10 9 1 930 100
Montana 54 29 85 46 2 1 23 12 14 8 1 1 186 100
Nebraska 85 37 79 35 4 2 27 12 20 9 3 1 228 100
Nevada 86 28 56 18 2 1 54 17 91 29 9 3 309 100
New Hampshire 47 46 22 2200 15 15 11 11 2 2 102 100
New Jersey 222 36 104 17 5 1 83 13 183 29 17 3 624 100
New Mexico 98 26 130 34 11 3 53 14 74 20 2 1 379 100
New York 347 35 182 18 10 1 145 15 242 24 46 5 999 100
North Carolina 605 43 336 24 25 2 176 12 198 14 29 2 1,412 100
North Dakota 25 22 56 49 6 5 12 10 5 4 2 2 115 100
Ohio 556 47 264 22 14 1 157 13 142 12 19 2 1,179 100
Oklahoma 211 32 224 34 20 3 93 14 78 12 5 1 655 100
Oregon 162 37 113 26 10 2 57 13 69 16 10 2 437 100
Pennsylvania 467 41 250 22 27 2 187 16 147 13 21 2 1,137 100
Rhode Island 36 43 10 12 1 1 11 13 21 25 2 2 83 100
South Carolina 378 38 265 27 14 1 145 15 154 16 18 2 988 100
South Dakota 42 33 51 40 6 5 16 12 10 800 129 100
Tennessee 460 44 269 26 18 2 134 13 124 12 8 1 1,040 100
Texas 1,238 33 1,146 31 90 2 490 13 607 16 59 2 3,722 100
Utah 94 34 75 27 8 3 39 14 42 15 6 2 273 100
Vermont 29 42 16 2300 13 19 8 1200 69 100
Virginia 317 38 239 28 16 2 117 14 111 13 12 1 839 100
Washington 208 37 131 23 8 1 80 14 103 18 14 2 565 100
West Virginia 107 35 109 36 8 3 26 9 26 9 3 1 303 100
Wisconsin 275 45 158 26 4 1 77 13 56 9 7 1 613 100
Wyoming 37 30 51 41 7 6 17 14 6 500 123 100
U.S. total 13,775 37 9,581 26 683 2 5,172 14 5,977 16 777 2 37,133 100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Crash types

Nationwide, 54 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths in 2017 occurred in single-vehicle crashes. The District of Columbia had the highest percentage of deaths in single-vehicle crashes (77 percent), while Indiana, Michigan, and Minnesota tied for the lowest (49 percent each). 

Deaths by crash type and state, 2017
StateSingle-vehicle Multiple-vehicle All crashes
Number%Number%Number%
Alabama 553 58 395 42 948 100
Alaska 51 65 28 35 79 100
Arizona 556 56 444 44 1,000 100
Arkansas 272 55 221 45 493 100
California 1,979 55 1,623 45 3,602 100
Colorado 331 51 317 49 648 100
Connecticut 155 56 123 44 278 100
Delaware 61 51 58 49 119 100
District of Columbia 24 77 7 23 31 100
Florida 1,595 51 1,517 49 3,112 100
Georgia 815 53 725 47 1,540 100
Hawaii 55 51 52 49 107 100
Idaho 135 55 109 45 244 100
Illinois 564 51 533 49 1,097 100
Indiana 448 49 466 51 914 100
Iowa 177 54 153 46 330 100
Kansas 239 52 222 48 461 100
Kentucky 406 52 376 48 782 100
Louisiana 433 57 327 43 760 100
Maine 88 51 84 49 172 100
Maryland 287 52 263 48 550 100
Massachusetts 232 66 118 34 350 100
Michigan 509 49 521 51 1,030 100
Minnesota 176 49 181 51 357 100
Mississippi 373 54 317 46 690 100
Missouri 508 55 422 45 930 100
Montana 114 61 72 39 186 100
Nebraska 125 55 103 45 228 100
Nevada 171 55 138 45 309 100
New Hampshire 61 60 41 40 102 100
New Jersey 362 58 262 42 624 100
New Mexico 199 53 180 47 379 100
New York 587 59 412 41 999 100
North Carolina 759 54 653 46 1,412 100
North Dakota 68 59 47 41 115 100
Ohio 618 52 561 48 1,179 100
Oklahoma 349 53 306 47 655 100
Oregon 248 57 189 43 437 100
Pennsylvania 597 53 540 47 1,137 100
Rhode Island 56 67 27 33 83 100
South Carolina 560 57 428 43 988 100
South Dakota 69 53 60 47 129 100
Tennessee 579 56 461 44 1,040 100
Texas 1,863 50 1,859 50 3,722 100
Utah 145 53 128 47 273 100
Vermont 38 55 31 45 69 100
Virginia 478 57 361 43 839 100
Washington 329 58 236 42 565 100
West Virginia 184 61 119 39 303 100
Wisconsin 315 51 298 49 613 100
Wyoming 73 59 50 41 123 100
U.S. total 19,969 54 17,164 46 37,133 100

Alcohol involvement

Some states report blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for only a small percentage of passenger vehicle drivers. If BAC is missing for a driver, it is estimated by the U.S. Department of Transportation's multiple imputation model. Subramanian, R. 2002. Transitioning to multiple imputation — a new method to impute missing blood alcohol concentration (BAC) values in FARS. Report no. DOT HS-809-403. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. However, BAC information is most precise in states that report a high percentage of crashes where BAC information is reported. In the following table, estimated percentages of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BACs at or above 0.08 percent are shown only for states in which BAC reporting for fatally injured drivers was 70 percent or higher. Estimated percentages are based on known BAC when available and imputed BAC for the remaining drivers.

For the nation in 2017, BAC was reported for 62 percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers. The state with the highest reporting rate was Oklahoma at 93 percent; Indiana had the lowest reporting rate at 29 percent.

Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia had BAC reporting rates of at least 70 percent.  Among these states, the District of Columbia had the highest estimated percentage of fatally injured drivers with BACs of 0.08 percent or higher (70 percent) and Kentucky had the lowest (19 percent).

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BAC ≥ 0.08 percent by state, 2017
StateTotal drivers killedDrivers killed with known BAC resultsEstimated drivers killed with BACs ≥ 0.08
NumberNumber%Number%
Alabama 554 326 59‡‡
Alaska 32 27 84 10 32
Arizona 321 238 74 85 26
Arkansas 275 209 76 71 26
California 1,391 586 42‡‡
Colorado 301 269 89 81 27
Connecticut 121 71 59‡‡
Delaware 56 47 84 14 26
District of Columbia 8 6 75 6 70
Florida 1,244 661 53‡‡
Georgia 814 456 56‡‡
Hawaii 38 33 87 14 38
Idaho 137 84 61‡‡
Illinois 527 409 78 167 32
Indiana 462 134 29‡‡
Iowa 174 91 52‡‡
Kansas 255 80 31‡‡
Kentucky 431 308 71 82 19
Louisiana 367 319 87 117 32
Maine 92 78 85 27 29
Maryland 247 186 75 83 34
Massachusetts 171 157 92 66 38
Michigan 498 285 57‡‡
Minnesota 182 165 91 36 20
Mississippi 417 148 35‡‡
Missouri 493 370 75 131 27
Montana 105 91 87 37 36
Nebraska 124 102 82 39 32
Nevada 105 80 76 36 34
New Hampshire 59 53 90 14 24
New Jersey 253 203 80 50 20
New Mexico 151 104 69‡‡
New York 375 210 56‡‡
North Carolina 714 311 44‡‡
North Dakota 57 42 74 28 49
Ohio 605 497 82 173 29
Oklahoma 324 301 93 86 26
Oregon 211 108 51‡‡
Pennsylvania 582 279 48‡‡
Rhode Island 31 28 90 13 42
South Carolina 509 394 77 178 35
South Dakota 68 59 87 21 30
Tennessee 563 297 53‡‡
Texas 1,776 911 51‡‡
Utah 117 95 81 26 22
Vermont 32 29 91 10 31
Virginia 464 414 89 141 30
Washington 269 230 86 93 34
West Virginia 160 136 85 32 20
Wisconsin 336 271 81 95 28
Wyoming 64 28 44‡‡
U.S. total 17,662 11,016 62 5,065 29
‡ Cells with missing data have insufficient reporting of results for reliably estimating percent of fatally injured drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 Percent.

Restraint use

Based on daytime observational surveys conducted by the states, the nationwide rate of seat belt use among front seat passenger vehicle occupants in 2017 was 90 percent. The states with the highest observed seat belt use for front seat occupants were Georgia, Hawaii, and Oregon at 97 percent, while the lowest was New Hampshire at 68 percent. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 2018. Seat belt use in 2017 — use rates in the states and territories. Report no. DOT HS-812-546. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation. Rates of restraint use among fatally injured motor vehicle occupants will be lower than observed restraint use because unrestrained occupants are more likely than restrained occupants to be fatally injured in a crash. Restrained fatally injured occupants include occupants in child safety seats and occupants restrained by seat belts. Only two states, California and Oregon, had at least 60 percent restraint use among fatally injured occupants. In contrast, four states—Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and South Dakota—had use rates below 30 percent among fatally injured occupants.

Rates of observed daytime front-seat belt use and number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle occupants by restraint use and state, 2017
State and percent of observed seat belt use Restrained fatally injured occupants Unrestrained fatally injured occupants Unknown restraint status of fatally injured occupantsTotal fatally injured passenger vehicle occupants
Number%Number%Number%Number
Alabama 93 263 37 399 56 49 7 711
Alaska 90 25 53 16 34 6 13 47
Arizona 86 208 43 228 47 45 9 481
Arkansas 81 156 44 171 49 25 7 352
California 96 1,211 61 605 30 169 9 1,985
Colorado 84 179 43 225 54 13 3 417
Connecticut 90 82 50 51 31 30 18 163
Delaware 91 34 49 32 46 3 4 69
District of Columbia94 5 36 3 21 6 43 14
Florida 90 916 56 675 41 58 4 1,649
Georgia 97 488 46 463 44 109 10 1,060
Hawaii 97 19 32 21 36 19 32 59
Idaho 81 63 35 96 53 23 13 182
Illinois 94 354 49 268 37 99 14 721
Indiana 93 304 49 209 34 102 17 615
Iowa 91 99 44 101 45 26 12 226
Kansas 82 148 43 170 49 28 8 346
Kentucky 87 284 49 290 50 2 <1 576
Louisiana 87 206 42 245 50 41 8 492
Maine 89 61 54 53 4600 114
Maryland 92 163 50 119 37 43 13 325
Massachusetts 74 41 20 130 62 37 18 208
Michigan 94 357 54 194 29 114 17 665
Minnesota 92 134 57 71 30 30 13 235
Mississippi 79 225 41 313 58 5 <1 543
Missouri 84 230 34 383 57 59 9 672
Montana 78 54 38 85 59 4 3 143
Nebraska 86 49 29 101 60 18 11 168
Nevada 91 63 43 70 48 12 8 145
New Hampshire 68 19 27 52 7300 71
New Jersey 94 195 59 119 36 18 5 332
New Mexico 91 109 48 108 47 12 5 229
New York 93 307 57 171 32 63 12 541
North Carolina 91 505 53 402 42 50 5 957
North Dakota 79 28 33 46 55 10 12 84
Ohio 83 359 43 378 46 92 11 829
Oklahoma 87 167 38 236 53 39 9 442
Oregon 97 173 62 55 20 53 19 281
Pennsylvania 86 251 35 345 48 127 18 723
Rhode Island 88 22 46 24 50 2 4 48
South Carolina 92 301 46 310 48 37 6 648
South Dakota 75 24 25 64 67 7 7 95
Tennessee 89 367 50 305 41 66 9 738
Texas 92 1,332 55 884 36 207 9 2,423
Utah 89 78 46 82 49 9 5 169
Vermont 85 21 46 21 46 4 9 46
Virginia 85 260 45 307 53 9 2 576
Washington 95 184 53 104 30 58 17 346
West Virginia 90 76 35 99 45 44 20 219
Wisconsin 89 209 48 182 41 49 11 440
Wyoming 85 28 32 56 64 4 5 88
U.S. total 90 11,436 48 10,137 43 2,135 9 23,708

Rural versus urban

Nationwide, 46 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths in 2017 occurred in rural areas. The states with the highest percentage of crash deaths on rural roads were Montana (90 percent), North Dakota (90 percent), and South Dakota (84 percent). The states with the lowest percentage were Massachusetts (6 percent), New Jersey (13 percent), and Connecticut (16 percent). The District of Columbia had 0 crash deaths in rural areas because its entirety is coded as an urban area.

Number and percent of motor vehicle crash deaths by land use and state, 2017
StateUrban Rural UnknownTotal
Number%Number%Number%Number
Alabama 352 37 596 6300 948
Alaska 33 42 45 57 1 1 79
Arizona 647 65 352 35 1 <1 1,000
Arkansas 166 34 327 6600 493
California 2,195 61 1,404 39 3 <1 3,602
Colorado 369 57 277 43 2 <1 648
Connecticut 232 83 44 16 2 1 278
Delaware 56 47 61 51 2 2 119
District of Columbia 31 1000000 31
Florida 1,731 56 674 22 707 23 3,112
Georgia 966 63 573 37 1 <1 1,540
Hawaii 82 77 25 2300 107
Idaho 38 16 135 55 71 29 244
Illinois 689 63 402 37 6 1 1,097
Indiana 357 39 555 61 2 <1 914
Iowa 77 23 253 7700 330
Kansas 144 31 316 69 1 <1 461
Kentucky 271 35 510 65 1 <1 782
Louisiana 390 51 369 49 1 <1 760
Maine 36 21 135 78 1 1 172
Maryland 416 76 126 23 8 1 550
Massachusetts 328 94 22 600 350
Michigan 624 61 402 39 4 <1 1,030
Minnesota 147 41 209 59 1 <1 357
Mississippi 259 38 430 62 1 <1 690
Missouri 465 50 465 5000 930
Montana 19 10 167 9000 186
Nebraska 69 30 159 7000 228
Nevada 227 73 79 26 3 1 309
New Hampshire 51 50 51 5000 102
New Jersey 532 85 83 13 9 1 624
New Mexico 179 47 195 51 5 1 379
New York 527 53 472 4700 999
North Carolina 509 36 903 6400 1,412
North Dakota 9 8 103 90 3 3 115
Ohio 620 53 552 47 7 1 1,179
Oklahoma 238 36 417 6400 655
Oregon 153 35 284 6500 437
Pennsylvania 528 46 607 53 2 <1 1,137
Rhode Island 65 78 18 2200 83
South Carolina 301 30 687 7000 988
South Dakota 20 16 109 8400 129
Tennessee 538 52 500 48 2 <1 1,040
Texas 2,205 59 1,504 40 13 <1 3,722
Utah 156 57 116 42 1 <1 273
Vermont 13 19 56 8100 69
Virginia 319 38 519 62 1 <1 839
Washington 319 56 234 41 12 2 565
West Virginia 98 32 202 67 3 1 303
Wisconsin 214 35 397 65 2 <1 613
Wyoming 28 23 95 7700 123
U.S. total 19,038 51 17,216 46 879 2 37,133

References