Road safety

Which states have the highest and lowest traffic death rates?

In 2024 Mississippi had the highest traffic death rate, 1.81 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles, followed by Arizona (1.74) and South Carolina (1.67). Massachusetts (0.59), Rhode Island (0.68) and Utah (0.77) had the lowest; the U.S. rate was 1.19. Rates also reflect how much driving is on rural roads and how each state estimates its miles driven, so they are not a ranking of drivers.

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Source and date

Data as of
Published

The data

State Deaths per 100 million vehicle miles
Mississippi 1.81
Arizona 1.74
South Carolina 1.67
Arkansas 1.53
Tennessee 1.52
Montana 1.49
West Virginia 1.49
Nevada 1.47
Kentucky 1.44
Oregon 1.44
New Mexico 1.43
South Dakota 1.4
Oklahoma 1.39
Louisiana 1.36
Texas 1.35
District of Columbia 1.33
Alabama 1.32
Alaska 1.27
Delaware 1.27
Florida 1.26
Colorado 1.25
North Carolina 1.24
Washington 1.21
California 1.19
Idaho 1.19
Pennsylvania 1.18
Maine 1.17
Missouri 1.17
Georgia 1.15
Nebraska 1.15
Illinois 1.13
Michigan 1.1
Wyoming 1.1
Kansas 1.07
Iowa 1.05
Virginia 1.04
Maryland 1.01
Connecticut 1
Ohio 1
Hawaii 0.96
New Hampshire 0.96
Indiana 0.94
New York 0.91
North Dakota 0.9
Wisconsin 0.86
New Jersey 0.84
Vermont 0.82
Minnesota 0.81
Utah 0.77
Rhode Island 0.68
Massachusetts 0.59