Fatal crash profile · State

Traffic deaths in California

State in United States

Deaths, 2024
3,876
Fatal crashes
3,583
Population
39.4M

In 2024, 3,876 people died in 3,583 fatal crashes in California, about 11 a day. That was 7.0% fewer than in 2023 (4,169) and the fewest since 2019. The death rate was 9.8 per 100,000 residents, compared with 11.5 in the United States. California had the 2nd most traffic deaths of the 51 states and DC and the 34th-highest death rate. Pedestrians accounted for 28% of deaths, and 29% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

9.8

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2024

  • About 85 percent of the rate in the United States: 11.5

-7%

change in deaths from 2023 to 2024

4,169 deaths in 2023, 3,876 in 2024

  • The United States: -4%
Traffic deaths by year, 1975–2024
Category Deaths Fatal crashes
1975 4,092 3,667
1976 4,395 3,895
1977 4,839 4,351
1978 5,310 4,724
1979 5,542 4,975
1980 5,496 4,930
1981 5,170 4,670
1982 4,615 4,119
1983 4,573 4,089
1984 5,020 4,517
1985 4,960 4,447
1986 5,253 4,683
1987 5,504 4,935
1988 5,392 4,875
1989 5,412 4,877
1990 5,192 4,685
1991 4,688 4,194
1992 4,192 3,722
1993 4,164 3,687
1994 4,232 3,787
1995 4,192 3,669
1996 3,989 3,576
1997 3,688 3,279
1998 3,494 3,112
1999 3,559 3,148
2000 3,753 3,348
2001 3,956 3,543
2002 4,088 3,654
2003 4,224 3,731
2004 4,120 3,727
2005 4,333 3,849
2006 4,240 3,839
2007 3,995 3,591
2008 3,434 3,145
2009 3,090 2,825
2010 2,720 2,504
2011 2,816 2,617
2012 2,966 2,733
2013 3,107 2,860
2014 3,102 2,859
2015 3,387 3,123
2016 3,837 3,540
2017 3,884 3,569
2018 3,798 3,485
2019 3,719 3,427
2020 3,980 3,673
2021 4,513 4,196
2022 4,539 4,218
2023 4,169 3,826
2024 3,876 3,583

People who died within 30 days of a crash. A fatal crash can kill more than one person.

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Deaths per 100,000 residents, 2000–2024
Category Deaths per 100,000
2000 11.0
2001 11.5
2002 11.7
2003 12.0
2004 11.6
2005 12.1
2006 11.8
2007 11.0
2008 9.4
2009 8.4
2010 7.3
2011 7.5
2012 7.8
2013 8.1
2014 8.0
2015 8.7
2016 9.8
2017 9.9
2018 9.6
2019 9.4
2020 10.1
2021 11.5
2022 11.6
2023 10.6
2024 9.9

Uses Census population estimates, available from 2000.

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Profile by year: 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020

Road users

Who died

28%

of deaths were pedestrians

  • About 1.6 times the share in the United States: 18%
Who died in 2024
Category Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others 2,101
Pedestrians 1,090
Motorcyclists 522
Cyclists 163
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Deaths by type, 2024
Type Deaths Share in California Share in the US
Pedestrians 1,090 28% 18%
Motorcyclists 522 13% 16%
Cyclists 163 4% 3%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes 1,311 34% 30%
Speeding-related crashes 1,139 29% 29%

Alcohol-impaired and speeding-related count everyone killed in those crashes, so a death can appear in more than one row.

Crash factors

Speeding, alcohol, night and weekend crashes

29%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related

  • About the same as the share in the United States: 28%

27%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

  • About the same as the share in the United States: 25%
Crash factors in 2024
Category California United States
Speeding-related 26.6% 24.8%
Alcohol-involved 28.8% 28.1%
At night 62.0% 53.6%
At weekends 34.4% 32.6%

Share of fatal crashes. Alcohol-involved means a police-reported drinking driver.

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Timing

When crashes happen

62%

of fatal crashes happened at night

  • About 1.2 times the share in the United States: 54%

34%

of fatal crashes happened at weekends

  • About the same as the share in the United States: 33%
Fatal crashes by hour of day
Category Fatal crashes
12am 945
1am 829
2am 891
3am 643
4am 696
5am 783
6am 661
7am 469
8am 417
9am 419
10am 446
11am 481
12pm 586
1pm 582
2pm 684
3pm 762
4pm 789
5pm 974
6pm 1,128
7pm 1,169
8pm 1,284
9pm 1,254
10pm 1,154
11pm 1,080

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Fatal crashes by day of week
Category Fatal crashes
Sun 3,361
Mon 2,453
Tue 2,374
Wed 2,381
Thu 2,591
Fri 2,969
Sat 3,367

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Fatal crashes by month
Category Fatal crashes
Jan 1,580
Feb 1,410
Mar 1,468
Apr 1,512
May 1,540
Jun 1,564
Jul 1,671
Aug 1,737
Sep 1,722
Oct 1,837
Nov 1,740
Dec 1,715

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Clear 16,517
Cloudy 1,789
Rain 723
Fog, Smog, Smoke 192
Severe Crosswinds 59
Snow 19

All crashes 2020–2024. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

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Light conditions at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Daylight 7,084
Dark - Lighted 6,416
Dark - Not Lighted 4,983
Dusk 462
Dawn 377
Dark - Unknown Lighting 128

All crashes 2020–2024. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

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Roads and vehicles

Where and what, 2020–2024

Roads with the most fatal crashes

  1. I-5538
  2. US-101395
  3. SR-99364
  4. I-15276
  5. I-10247
  6. I-80194
  7. SR-1150
  8. SR-91121
  9. SR-4105
  10. I-894

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type
Category Vehicles
Cars 12,921
SUVs 5,144
Pickup trucks 3,940
Motorcycles 3,016
Medium and heavy trucks 2,065
Other vehicles 1,324
Vans 927
Buses 71
Other light trucks 45

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Vehicles most often involved

  1. Honda Civic1,019
  2. Honda Accord999
  3. Toyota Camry959
  4. Chevrolet Silverado749
  5. Toyota Corolla669
  6. Ford F-150532
  7. Toyota Tacoma505
  8. Freightliner Cascadia486
  9. Nissan Altima439
  10. Nissan Sentra342

Reflects how common a vehicle is as well as crash involvement; not a safety rating.

Crashes

Fatal crashes

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Fatal crashes in 2024. Crashes without reported coordinates are not shown.

Filter crashes
Crash factors
Date Location Deaths
Dec 17, 2024 Los Angeles, Los Angeles County 1
Dec 17, 2024 Barstow, San Bernardino County 1
Dec 17, 2024 San Diego, San Diego County 1
Dec 17, 2024 Mission Viejo, Orange County 1
Dec 17, 2024 Sacramento County 1
Dec 17, 2024 San Bernardino County 1
Dec 17, 2024 Newport Beach, Orange County 1
Dec 17, 2024 Merced County 1
Dec 16, 2024 Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles County 1
Dec 16, 2024 Colton, San Bernardino County 1
Dec 16, 2024 Riverside, Riverside County 1
Dec 16, 2024 Merced County 2
Dec 16, 2024 Santa Barbara County 2
Dec 16, 2024 San Bernardino County 1
Dec 15, 2024 Fresno, Fresno County 2
Dec 15, 2024 Fontana, San Bernardino County 1
Dec 15, 2024 Wasco, Kern County 1
Dec 15, 2024 Los Angeles, Los Angeles County 1
Dec 15, 2024 Laguna Woods, Orange County 1
Dec 15, 2024 Stanislaus County 5
Dec 15, 2024 Colton, San Bernardino County 4
Dec 15, 2024 Monterey County 1
Dec 15, 2024 Merced County 1
Dec 15, 2024 Los Angeles County 1
Dec 15, 2024 Kern County 1

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Explore

Nearby and related

Counties in California

Area Deaths, 2024 Per 100,000
Alameda County 100 6.1
Alpine County 1 92.1
Amador County 7 16.7
Butte County 34 16.3
Calaveras County 13 28.0
Colusa County 8 36.3
Contra Costa County 66 5.6
Del Norte County 6 22.3
El Dorado County 17 8.8
Fresno County 169 16.3
Glenn County 8 28.2
Humboldt County 26 19.6
Imperial County 26 14.2
Inyo County 15 82.0
Kern County 194 21.0
Kings County 30 19.5
Lake County 25 36.8
Lassen County 3 10.5
Los Angeles County 778 8.0
Madera County 33 19.9
Marin County 11 4.3
Mariposa County 2 11.8
Mendocino County 14 15.7
Merced County 46 15.5
Modoc County 4 46.9
Mono County 6 47.3
Monterey County 45 10.4
Napa County 11 8.3
Nevada County 8 7.8
Orange County 199 6.3
Placer County 40 9.2
Plumas County 2 10.7
Riverside County 289 11.4
Sacramento County 156 9.7
San Benito County 11 15.9
San Bernardino County 350 15.8
San Diego County 303 9.2
San Francisco County 48 5.8
San Joaquin County 139 17.0
San Luis Obispo County 30 10.6
San Mateo County 30 4.1
Santa Barbara County 38 8.6
Santa Clara County 100 5.2
Santa Cruz County 16 6.1
Shasta County 33 18.2
Sierra County 1 32.0
Siskiyou County 12 28.2
Solano County 41 9.0
Sonoma County 29 6.0
Stanislaus County 88 15.8
Sutter County 20 20.2
Tehama County 13 20.1
Trinity County 6 38.2
Tulare County 72 14.9
Tuolumne County 11 20.3
Ventura County 58 7.0
Yolo County 21 9.4
Yuba County 14 16.0

Cities

Cities with at least 10 fatal crashes across the loaded years are listed.

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Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2020–2024. A fatal crash is one in which at least one person died within 30 days. Population: US Census Bureau estimates.