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Fatal car crashes in California, county by county

From 2020 through 2024, 21,077 people died in 19,496 crashes on California roads. That is 10.7 deaths a year for every 100,000 residents, below the US rate of 12.1, and the 32nd highest rate of the 50 states and DC.

Los Angeles County had the most deaths (4,095). The road stretch with the most fatal crashes was I-15 (Ontario Fwy) in San Bernardino County (194). In 2024, 3,876 people were killed, 3% fewer than in 2020.

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2020-2024 · checked October 2, 2026

21,077

people killed in crashes, 2020-2024

10.7

deaths a year per 100,000 residents, 32nd highest of 51 (US 12.1)

5,645

pedestrians killed, 27% of deaths (US 18%)

32%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related (US 28%)

Death rate by county

Deaths a year per 100,000 residents, 2020-2024. Rural counties often rank highest: fewer people, faster roads and longer waits for an ambulance.

Alameda County: 6.3 per 100,000 a year, 517 deathsAmador County: 26.7 per 100,000 a year, 56 deathsButte County: 19.5 per 100,000 a year, 203 deathsCalaveras County: 28.4 per 100,000 a year, 66 deathsColusa County: 34.4 per 100,000 a year, 38 deathsContra Costa County: 7.4 per 100,000 a year, 432 deathsDel Norte County: 19.3 per 100,000 a year, 26 deathsEl Dorado County: 11.2 per 100,000 a year, 108 deathsFresno County: 17.7 per 100,000 a year, 907 deathsGlenn County: 28.3 per 100,000 a year, 40 deathsHumboldt County: 17.1 per 100,000 a year, 113 deathsImperial County: 18.4 per 100,000 a year, 167 deathsInyo County: 53 per 100,000 a year, 49 deathsKern County: 22.3 per 100,000 a year, 1028 deathsKings County: 20.7 per 100,000 a year, 160 deathsLake County: 29.8 per 100,000 a year, 101 deathsLassen County: 31.8 per 100,000 a year, 45 deathsLos Angeles County: 8.4 per 100,000 a year, 4095 deathsMadera County: 21.6 per 100,000 a year, 179 deathsMarin County: 4.2 per 100,000 a year, 54 deathsMendocino County: 22 per 100,000 a year, 98 deathsMerced County: 19.5 per 100,000 a year, 289 deathsModoc County: 42.4 per 100,000 a year, 18 deathsMono County: 27.7 per 100,000 a year, 18 deathsMonterey County: 10.9 per 100,000 a year, 238 deathsNapa County: 11.8 per 100,000 a year, 78 deathsNevada County: 15.5 per 100,000 a year, 79 deathsOrange County: 7 per 100,000 a year, 1103 deathsPlacer County: 8.8 per 100,000 a year, 190 deathsPlumas County: 19.1 per 100,000 a year, 18 deathsRiverside County: 12.8 per 100,000 a year, 1618 deathsSacramento County: 12 per 100,000 a year, 963 deathsSan Benito County: 17.9 per 100,000 a year, 62 deathsSan Bernardino County: 18 per 100,000 a year, 1988 deathsSan Diego County: 9 per 100,000 a year, 1486 deathsSan Francisco County: 4.6 per 100,000 a year, 191 deathsSan Joaquin County: 16.4 per 100,000 a year, 669 deathsSan Luis Obispo County: 9.5 per 100,000 a year, 134 deathsSan Mateo County: 5.1 per 100,000 a year, 191 deathsSanta Barbara County: 8.8 per 100,000 a year, 196 deathsSanta Clara County: 6.1 per 100,000 a year, 584 deathsSanta Cruz County: 8.7 per 100,000 a year, 114 deathsShasta County: 18.2 per 100,000 a year, 165 deathsSiskiyou County: 34.4 per 100,000 a year, 73 deathsSolano County: 10.8 per 100,000 a year, 245 deathsSonoma County: 7.4 per 100,000 a year, 179 deathsStanislaus County: 16.8 per 100,000 a year, 468 deathsSutter County: 18.1 per 100,000 a year, 89 deathsTehama County: 24.5 per 100,000 a year, 79 deathsTrinity County: 51.1 per 100,000 a year, 40 deathsTulare County: 17 per 100,000 a year, 411 deathsTuolumne County: 24.5 per 100,000 a year, 66 deathsVentura County: 7.3 per 100,000 a year, 307 deathsYolo County: 12.2 per 100,000 a year, 137 deathsYuba County: 21 per 100,000 a year, 92 deaths
under 1010-1515-2020-3030+ too few crashes

The most dangerous roads in California

Fatal crashes by road within each county, 2020-2024. A long interstate shows up once per county it crosses.

#RoadWhereFatal crashesDeaths
1 I-15 Ontario Fwy San Bernardino County, CA 194 225
2 I-5 San Diego Fwy San Diego County, CA 150 164
3 I-5 Golden State Fwy Los Angeles County, CA 140 155
4 I-10 San Bernardino Fwy Los Angeles County, CA 133 140
5 I-10 Redlands Fwy Riverside County, CA 128 138
6 US-101 Bayshore Frwy Santa Clara County, CA 97 101
7 I-405 San Diego Fwy Los Angeles County, CA 93 99
8 I-10 San Bernardino Fwy San Bernardino County, CA 87 96
9 SR-1 Pacific Coast Hwy Los Angeles County, CA 87 93
10 SR-74 Florida Ave Riverside County, CA 84 86
11 I-110 Harbor Fwy Los Angeles County, CA 83 92
12 I-5 San Diego Fwy Orange County, CA 81 86
13 I-8 Kumeyaay Hwy San Diego County, CA 79 82
14 US-101 Hollywood Fwy Los Angeles County, CA 78 80
15 I-880 Nimitz Fwy Alameda County, CA 72 77

Deaths by year

Every California county

55 counties with 10 or more fatal crashes in five years, by deaths. 3 more had fewer than 10 and are listed after the table.

CountyDeaths 2020-24Per 100K a yearPedestriansPopulation
Los Angeles County 4,095 8.4 1,489 9,757,179
San Bernardino County 1,988 18.0 499 2,214,281
Riverside County 1,618 12.8 389 2,529,933
San Diego County 1,486 9.0 468 3,298,799
Orange County 1,103 7.0 385 3,170,435
Kern County 1,028 22.3 240 922,529
Sacramento County 963 12.0 331 1,611,231
Fresno County 907 17.7 213 1,024,125
San Joaquin County 669 16.4 128 816,108
Santa Clara County 584 6.1 198 1,926,325
Alameda County 517 6.3 157 1,649,060
Stanislaus County 468 16.8 109 556,972
Contra Costa County 432 7.4 99 1,172,607
Tulare County 411 17.0 66 483,546
Ventura County 307 7.3 64 835,427
Merced County 289 19.5 57 296,774
Solano County 245 10.8 59 455,101
Monterey County 238 10.9 47 436,251
Butte County 203 19.5 39 208,334
Santa Barbara County 196 8.8 35 444,500
San Francisco County 191 4.6 90 827,526
San Mateo County 191 5.1 57 742,893
Placer County 190 8.8 27 433,822
Madera County 179 21.6 30 165,432
Sonoma County 179 7.4 36 485,375
Imperial County 167 18.4 30 181,724
Shasta County 165 18.2 39 181,121
Kings County 160 20.7 28 154,913
Yolo County 137 12.2 22 225,251
San Luis Obispo County 134 9.5 23 281,843
Santa Cruz County 114 8.7 28 262,406
Humboldt County 113 17.1 26 132,380
El Dorado County 108 11.2 11 192,823
Lake County 101 29.8 22 67,764
Mendocino County 98 22.0 6 89,175
Yuba County 92 21.0 14 87,469
Sutter County 89 18.1 12 98,545
Nevada County 79 15.5 5 102,195
Tehama County 79 24.5 11 64,451
Napa County 78 11.8 12 132,727
Siskiyou County 73 34.4 4 42,498
Calaveras County 66 28.4 1 46,505
Tuolumne County 66 24.5 5 53,893
San Benito County 62 17.9 4 69,159
Amador County 56 26.7 2 42,026
Marin County 54 4.2 9 256,400
Inyo County 49 53.0 3 18,485
Lassen County 45 31.8 4 28,340
Glenn County 40 28.3 4 28,304
Trinity County 40 51.1 2 15,642
Colusa County 38 34.4 3 22,074
Del Norte County 26 19.3 3 27,009
Modoc County 18 42.4 0 8,491
Mono County 18 27.7 0 12,991
Plumas County 18 19.1 0 18,834

Fewer than 10 fatal crashes, 2020-2024: Alpine County (4 deaths), Mariposa County (8 deaths), Sierra County (5 deaths).

Cities

CityDeaths 2020-24Per 100K a yearPedestriansPopulation
Los Angeles 1,637 8.4 729 3,878,704
San Diego 549 7.8 218 1,404,452
Fresno 343 12.5 144 550,105
San Jose 326 6.5 133 997,368
Sacramento 314 11.7 125 535,798
Bakersfield 296 14.2 115 417,468
San Bernardino 229 20.4 85 224,775
Long Beach 209 9.3 88 450,901

What was involved

FactorCaliforniaShareUS
Speeding was a factor
a driver coded by police as speeding, racing or too fast for conditions		 6,148 32% 28%
A driver had been drinking
police reported alcohol involvement for at least one driver		 5,357 27% 26%
A large truck was involved
a truck over 10,000 lbs		 1,906 10% 13%
Hit-and-run
a driver left the scene		 2,329 12% 7%
Pedestrians killed
share of all deaths		 5,645 27% 18%
Motorcyclists killed
share of all deaths		 2,939 14% 15%
Bicyclists killed
share of all deaths		 762 4% 3%
Teens (15-19) killed
share of all deaths		 1,248 6% 7%

After a crash in California

  1. Get the crash report

    Statewide copies come from California Highway Patrol (CHP), through its Online Crash Report System (Crash Portal) or any CHP Area office, cost CHP 190 by mail or in person: $10.00 for 1-25 pages, $20.00 for 26-50 pages, $30.00 for 51-75 pages, $40.00 for 76-100 pages, with no extra charge for handling or mailing. The online portal fee is not stated on the CHP web pages. and are usually ready typically within eight (8) business days from the date of the crash.

    How to get a California crash report

  2. Know your deadline

    California gives you two years to file a personal injury lawsuit (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1). If a city, county or state vehicle was involved: A written claim for death, injury to person or injury to personal property must be presented to the public entity within six months after the cause of action accrues (one year for other claims).

    Work out your date

  3. Who pays

    California is an at-fault state: the driver who caused the crash, through their liability insurance, pays for the injuries and damage.

    California car accident laws

  4. If you were partly at fault

    If you were partly at fault, your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, and you can still recover even if you were mostly (even 99%) at fault.

    The rule and its statute

  5. The other driver’s minimum coverage

    The legal minimum liability coverage in California is $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per crash and $15,000 for property (30/60/15).

    Every state’s minimums

Check your deadline and a rough claim range

A filing date and a rough value range for California. Both take under a minute.

Check my deadline Estimate my claim