California fatal crashes, 2024
Every fatal motor vehicle crash recorded by the federal FARS census in California for 2024, counted by county. FARS covers crashes that killed at least one person; it does not include injury-only or property-damage crashes. This is the 2024 annual file, first release (April 1, 2026): not final, subject to revision.
In California, 2024 had the most fatal crashes in Sep (332) and the fewest in Feb (264). There were 1.08 deaths per fatal crash. By number of fatal crashes the state ranks 2nd.
By month
By day of week
Rural or urban
| Area | Fatal crashes |
|---|---|
| Rural | 935 |
| Urban | 2,637 |
| Not reported | 11 |
How California compares with its neighbors
States that share a land border with California (states that touch only at a corner are not counted). Raw counts are not adjusted for population or miles driven, so larger states have more crashes.
| State | Fatal crashes | Deaths | Rank by deaths (of 51) |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 3,583 | 3,876 | 2 |
| Arizona | 1,118 | 1,229 | 6 |
| Nevada | 378 | 417 | 30 |
| Oregon | 491 | 538 | 28 |
Compare monthly patterns ยท Add any state in the national tool
Counties with the most deaths
| County | Fatal crashes | Deaths | Share of state deaths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County | 726 | 778 | 20.1% |
| San Bernardino County | 310 | 350 | 9.0% |
| San Diego County | 282 | 303 | 7.8% |
| Riverside County | 275 | 289 | 7.5% |
| Orange County | 194 | 199 | 5.1% |
| Kern County | 173 | 194 | 5.0% |
| Fresno County | 150 | 169 | 4.4% |
| Sacramento County | 154 | 156 | 4.0% |
| San Joaquin County | 123 | 139 | 3.6% |
| Santa Clara County | 96 | 100 | 2.6% |
All 58 counties (53 have their own page: counties with at least 3 fatal crashes)
Counts for a single year can swing a lot in counties with few crashes. Counties with fewer than 10 fatal crashes are marked "small count".