Fatal crash profile · State

Traffic deaths in Iowa in 2023

State in United States

Deaths, 2023
379
Fatal crashes
330
Population
3.2M

In 2023, 379 people died in 330 fatal crashes in Iowa. That was 12.8% more than in 2022 (336) and the most since 2016. The death rate was 11.8 per 100,000 residents, compared with 12.2 in the United States. Iowa had the 33rd most traffic deaths of the 51 states and DC and the 28th-highest death rate. Pedestrians accounted for 8% of deaths, and 21% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

11.8

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2023

  • About the same as the rate in the United States: 12.2

+13%

change in deaths from 2022 to 2023

336 deaths in 2022, 379 in 2023

  • The United States: -4%

Iowa traffic deaths by year goes back to 1975.

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

Road users

Who died

8%

of deaths were pedestrians

  • About 45 percent of the share in the United States: 18%
Who died in 2023
Category Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others 281
Pedestrians 29
Motorcyclists 64
Cyclists 5
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Deaths by type, 2023
Type Deaths Share in Iowa Share in the US
Pedestrians 29 8% 18%
Motorcyclists 64 17% 16%
Cyclists 5 1% 3%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes 137 36% 30%
Speeding-related crashes 87 23% 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

21%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related

  • About three-quarters of the share in the United States: 28%

25%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

  • About the same as the share in the United States: 26%
Crash factors in 2023
Category Iowa United States
Speeding-related 24.5% 25.6%
Alcohol-involved 21.2% 28.2%
At night 43.0% 54.1%
At weekends 36.4% 33.5%

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

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Timing

When crashes happen

43%

of fatal crashes happened at night

  • About 80 percent of the share in the United States: 54%

36%

of fatal crashes happened at weekends

  • About the same as the share in the United States: 34%
Fatal crashes by hour of day
Category Fatal crashes
12am 10
1am 8
2am 12
3am 7
4am 3
5am 7
6am 12
7am 14
8am 10
9am 7
10am 2
11am 10
12pm 15
1pm 17
2pm 18
3pm 26
4pm 26
5pm 31
6pm 16
7pm 18
8pm 17
9pm 14
10pm 17
11pm 13

All crashes 2023.

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Fatal crashes by day of week
Category Fatal crashes
Sun 53
Mon 37
Tue 42
Wed 46
Thu 27
Fri 58
Sat 67

All crashes 2023.

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Fatal crashes by month
Category Fatal crashes
Jan 22
Feb 15
Mar 21
Apr 24
May 30
Jun 34
Jul 33
Aug 43
Sep 26
Oct 26
Nov 29
Dec 27

All crashes 2023.

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Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Clear 241
Cloudy 54
Rain 14
Snow 8
Fog, Smog, Smoke 5
Freezing Rain or Drizzle 1

All crashes 2023. 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 180
Dark - Not Lighted 95
Dark - Lighted 39
Dusk 7
Dawn 5
Dark - Unknown Lighting 1

All crashes 2023. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

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Roads and vehicles

Where and what, 2023

Roads with the most fatal crashes

  1. I-8020
  2. US-348
  3. SR-1416
  4. I-3806
  5. SR-925
  6. I-295
  7. US-304
  8. US-654
  9. US-694
  10. I-354

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type
Category Vehicles
Cars 139
Pickup trucks 101
SUVs 88
Medium and heavy trucks 73
Motorcycles 66
Other vehicles 21
Vans 19

All crashes 2023.

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Vehicles most often involved

  1. Chevrolet Silverado39
  2. Ford F-15016
  3. Ford F-25011
  4. GMC Sierra10
  5. Chevrolet Malibu9
  6. Chevrolet Equinox8
  7. Dodge Ram8
  8. Toyota Camry8
  9. Chevrolet Impala7
  10. Ford Explorer7

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 2023. Crashes without reported coordinates are not shown.

Filter crashes
Crash factors
Date Location Deaths
Dec 31, 2023 Decatur County 1
Dec 26, 2023 Hamilton County 1
Dec 25, 2023 Madison County 1
Dec 24, 2023 Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County 1
Dec 23, 2023 Polk County 2
Dec 23, 2023 Davenport, Scott County 1
Dec 23, 2023 Des Moines, Polk County 1
Dec 22, 2023 Sioux County 1
Dec 22, 2023 Waterloo, Black Hawk County 1
Dec 22, 2023 Jones County 2
Dec 20, 2023 Waterloo, Black Hawk County 1
Dec 16, 2023 Cass County 1
Dec 15, 2023 Buena Vista County 2
Dec 15, 2023 Allamakee County 1
Dec 11, 2023 Boone County 1
Dec 11, 2023 Crawford County 1
Dec 10, 2023 Wapello County 1
Dec 9, 2023 Decatur County 1
Dec 8, 2023 Dallas County 1
Dec 8, 2023 Johnson County 1
Dec 8, 2023 Emmet County 1
Dec 6, 2023 Cedar Rapids, Linn County 1
Dec 5, 2023 Iowa County 1
Dec 4, 2023 Boone County 1
Dec 1, 2023 Union County 2

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Nearby and related

Counties in Iowa in 2023

Area Deaths, 2023 Per 100,000
Adair County 0 —
Adams County 0 —
Allamakee County 3 21.2
Appanoose County 1 8.2
Audubon County 1 18.1
Benton County 2 7.8
Black Hawk County 13 9.9
Boone County 7 26.3
Bremer County 1 3.9
Buchanan County 2 9.7
Buena Vista County 3 14.5
Butler County 2 14.1
Calhoun County 0 —
Carroll County 3 14.6
Cass County 5 38.1
Cedar County 5 27.3
Cerro Gordo County 1 2.4
Cherokee County 1 8.6
Chickasaw County 2 17.1
Clarke County 3 31.1
Clay County 1 6.0
Clayton County 3 17.6
Clinton County 5 10.8
Crawford County 3 18.6
Dallas County 14 12.6
Davis County 4 43.7
Decatur County 4 51.4
Delaware County 2 11.4
Des Moines County 1 2.6
Dickinson County 1 5.5
Dubuque County 4 4.0
Emmet County 1 10.8
Fayette County 2 10.4
Floyd County 5 32.7
Franklin County 3 30.4
Fremont County 5 77.4
Greene County 5 58.1
Grundy County 4 32.3
Guthrie County 1 9.3
Hamilton County 2 13.4
Hancock County 1 9.4
Hardin County 0 —
Harrison County 7 47.8
Henry County 1 5.1
Howard County 0 —
Humboldt County 1 10.5
Ida County 2 29.4
Iowa County 5 30.4
Jackson County 1 5.2
Jasper County 7 18.4
Jefferson County 1 6.5
Johnson County 10 6.3
Jones County 3 14.3
Keokuk County 4 40.3
Kossuth County 1 6.9
Lee County 5 15.4
Linn County 27 11.8
Louisa County 7 66.5
Lucas County 1 11.4
Lyon County 1 8.1
Madison County 4 23.5
Mahaska County 4 18.2
Marion County 2 5.9
Marshall County 7 17.5
Mills County 1 6.8
Mitchell County 2 19.0
Monona County 1 11.7
Monroe County 2 26.7
Montgomery County 2 19.7
Muscatine County 4 9.5
O'Brien County 0 —
Osceola County 2 33.3
Page County 4 26.7
Palo Alto County 0 —
Plymouth County 5 19.4
Pocahontas County 0 —
Polk County 39 7.7
Pottawattamie County 13 13.9
Poweshiek County 5 27.0
Ringgold County 2 42.9
Sac County 1 10.3
Scott County 16 9.2
Shelby County 1 8.5
Sioux County 6 16.4
Story County 4 4.0
Tama County 0 —
Taylor County 1 16.9
Union County 6 50.5
Van Buren County 0 —
Wapello County 4 11.3
Warren County 4 7.2
Washington County 2 8.9
Wayne County 0 —
Webster County 8 21.8
Winnebago County 0 —
Winneshiek County 5 25.4
Woodbury County 9 8.4
Worth County 0 —
Wright County 3 23.4

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Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2023. A fatal crash is one in which at least one person died within 30 days. Population: US Census Bureau estimates.