From the most dangerous cities to the riskiest holidays, a few states consistently ride at the top.
The most dangerous driving states share a theme of high populations and deaths related to drunk driving. Some states are named multiple times on holiday lists — including Texas, California and Florida.
We compared recent road fatality data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to find the worst times and places to drive in.
Deadliest states for driving
The top three deadliest states in America — Texas, California and Florida— are in a category all their own, according to road fatality data from the NHTSA.
These states faced the deaths of 3,615 drivers for Texas, 3,606 for California and 3,183 for Florida in 2019. Compare that to states with much lower road fatalities, such as Rhode Island’s 57 deaths, Alaska’s 67 deaths or Washington D.C.’s 23 deaths.
And it wasn’t just a bad year for these states. Ten years of data from 2010 to 2019 tell a similar story, with Texas at 34,784 driving fatalities, California seeing 33,223 and Florida at 27,720 deaths.
States with the most road fatalities per year
Search below to see how your state ranks.
State
2019 fatalities
10 years
Texas
3,615
$34,784
California
3,606
$33,223
Florida
3,183
$27,720
Georgia
1,491
$13,533
North Carolina
1,373
$13,473
Ohio
1,153
$10,855
Tennessee
1,135
$10,140
Pennsylvania
1,059
$12,099
Illinois
1,009
$9,926
South Carolina
1,001
$9,115
Michigan
985
$9,644
Arizona
981
$8,867
New York
931
$10,873
Alabama
930
$9,059
Missouri
880
$8,506
Virginia
831
$7,727
Indiana
809
$8,046
Kentucky
732
$7,369
Louisiana
727
$7,344
Mississippi
643
$6,428
Oklahoma
640
$6,704
Colorado
596
$5,372
Wisconsin
566
$5,759
New Jersey
559
$5,779
Maryland
521
$5,032
Washington
519
$4,958
Arkansas
505
$5,311
Oregon
489
$4,029
New Mexico
424
$3,661
Kansas
411
$4,018
Minnesota
364
$3,828
Iowa
336
$3,461
Massachusetts
334
$3,576
Nevada
304
$2,920
West Virginia
260
$2,991
Connecticut
249
$2,736
Nebraska
248
$2,189
Utah
248
$2,529
Idaho
224
$2,132
Montana
184
$1,989
Maine
157
$1,518
Wyoming
147
$1,288
Delaware
132
$1,149
Hawaii
108
$1,080
South Dakota
102
$1,266
New Hampshire
101
$1,156
North Dakota
100
$1,271
Alaska
67
$686
Rhode Island
57
$609
Vermont
47
$619
District of Columbia
23
$244
Why do these states have the most dangerous roads?
These facts show that states with many residents risk more accidents because, as you’d expect, there are more cars on the road. Plus, people who get behind the wheel while intoxicated pose added risk.
Deadliest cities for driving
Highly populated Los Angeles ranks as the deadliest driving city in the US, tallying 685 deaths. Maricopa, Arizona and Harris, Texas take second and third place with 442 fatal accidents in Maricopa and 421 in Harris in 2019, according to the NHTSA.
Again, these cities are some of the most populated cities in America, so stay extra vigilant when driving in these urban areas.
Cities with the most annual road fatalities
Most dangerous time of day to drive
Most people don’t think twice about zipping home after work or road-tripping at night. But statistics show that the riskiest driving times are between 8 pm and 10 pm, according to the NHTSA. Second to that is rush hour anytime from 5 pm to 8 pm. These times are likely when most people are commuting home or going to restaurants or stores.
When you’re not steering clear of weekday traffic, nights and weekends bring more risk with drunk drivers and low visibility, says the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. To avoid this high-risk time of day, try staying off the road from midnight to 3 a.m.
Celebrations and holidays lead to more accidents and drunk driving. While New Year’s might be your first guess, July 4th is the deadliest holiday on the road, according to NHTSA data.
Fourth of July This weekend sees over 450 fatal accidents each year. In the past 10 years, nearly 46% of accidents on the 4th were related to drunk driving.
Memorial Day Another top drunk driving day comes in second with 360 fatal accidents per year — and about 37% of those are caused by drunk drivers.
ThanksgivingIt’s a high-risk weekend to drive that hits around 350 driving-related deaths each year.
Christmas Holiday merrymaking leads to about 260 fatalities from year to year. And a huge majority of its drunk driving fatalities happened during night hours.
Labor Day The last holiday weekend of summer sees almost 400 fatalities each year, and many of those happen in California.
New Year’s DayJanuary celebrations cause around 250 fatal accidents annually, with drunk drivers causing shy of half those deaths.
Where are holiday deaths the worst?
You guessed it: California. Being one of the biggest deadliest driving states, Texas holds the highest number of deaths for New Year’s, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas — and is in the top three for Memorial Day.
Texas has the highest rates for Memorial Day.
Bottom line
The most deadly car accidents happen in cities where roads get crowded and during holidays when drunk driving persists. But no matter where you live, you can prepare for the worst and hope for the best by getting insurance protection before getting on the road.
Previous deadliest cities and state studies
The most dangerous driving states share a theme of high populations and deaths related to drunk driving. Some states are named multiple times on holiday lists — including Texas, California and Florida.
We compared recent road fatality data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to find the worst times and places to drive in.
Deadliest states for driving
The top three deadliest states in America — Texas, California and Florida— are in a category all their own, according to road fatality data from the NHTSA.
These states faced the deaths of 3,642 drivers for Texas, 3,563 for California and 3,133 for Florida in 2018. Compare that to states with much lower road fatalities, such as Rhode Island’s 59 deaths, Alaska’s 80 deaths or Washington D.C.’s 31 deaths.
And it wasn’t just a bad year for these states. Ten years of data from 2008 to 2018 tell a similar story, with Texas at 34,000 driving fatalities, California seeing 33,034 and Florida at 27,891 deaths.
States with the most road fatalities per year
State
2018 fatalities
10 years
Texas
3642
34000
California
3563
33034
Florida
3133
27891
Georgia
1504
13710
North Carolina
1437
13742
Pennsylvania
1190
12713
Ohio
1068
10998
Tennessee
1041
10197
South Carolina
1037
9203
Illinois
1031
9961
Arizona
1010
8730
Michigan
974
9732
Alabama
953
9094
New York
943
11534
Missouri
921
8654
Indiana
858
8010
Virginia
820
7900
Louisiana
768
7620
Kentucky
724
7582
Mississippi
664
6533
Oklahoma
655
6830
Colorado
632
5298
Wisconsin
588
5795
New Jersey
564
6012
Washington
546
5045
Arkansas
516
5463
Oregon
506
3934
Maryland
501
5235
Kansas
404
3933
New Mexico
391
3539
Minnesota
381
3941
Massachusetts
360
3731
Nevada
330
2929
Iowa
318
3520
West Virginia
294
3170
Connecticut
294
2832
Utah
260
2529
Idaho
231
2158
Nebraska
230
2129
Montana
182
2037
New Hampshire
147
1207
Maine
137
1554
South Dakota
130
1250
Hawaii
117
1108
Delaware
111
1162
Wyoming
111
1266
North Dakota
105
1250
Alaska
80
682
Vermont
68
651
Rhode Island
59
664
D.C.
31
269
Why do these states have the most dangerous roads?
These facts show that states with many residents risk more accidents because, as you’d expect, there are more cars on the road. Plus, people who get behind the wheel while intoxicated pose added risk.
Deadliest cities for driving
Highly populated Los Angeles ranks as the deadliest driving city in the US, tallying 628 deaths. Phoenix and Houston take second and third place with 466 fatal accidents in Phoenix and 366 in Houston in 2018, according to the NHTSA.
Again, these cities are some of the most populated cities in America, so stay extra vigilant when driving in these urban areas.
Cities with the most annual road fatalities
Most dangerous time of day to drive
Most people don’t think twice about zipping home after work or road-tripping at night. But statistics show that the riskiest driving times are between 8 pm and 10 pm, according to the NHTSA. Second to that is rush hour anytime from 5 pm to 8 pm. These times are likely when most people are commuting home or going to restaurants or stores.
When you’re not steering clear of weekday traffic, nights and weekends bring more risk with drunk drivers and low visibility, says the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. To avoid this high-risk time of day, try staying off the road from midnight to 3 a.m.
Deadliest holidays
Celebrations and holidays lead to more accidents and drunk driving. While New Year’s might be your first guess, July 4th is the deadliest holiday on the road, according to NHTSA data.
Fourth of July This weekend sees over 450 fatal accidents each year. In the past 10 years, nearly 46% of accidents on the 4th were related to drunk driving.
Memorial Day Another top drunk driving day comes in second with 360 fatal accidents per year — and about 37% of those are caused by drunk drivers.
ThanksgivingIt’s a high-risk weekend to drive that hits around 330 driving-related deaths each year.
Christmas Holiday merrymaking leads to about 260 fatalities from year to year. And a huge majority of its drunk driving fatalities happened during night hours.
Labor Day The last holiday of summer sees a solid 300 fatalities each year, and many of those happen in California.
New Year’s DayJanuary celebrations cause around 250 fatal accidents annually, with drunk drivers causing shy of half those deaths.
Where are holiday deaths the worst?
You guessed it: Texas. Being one of the biggest deadliest driving states, Texas holds the highest number of deaths for Memorial Day and New Year’s — and is top three for July 4th, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Labor Day.
For all media inquiries, please contact:
Richard Laycock, Insights editor and senior content marketing manager
Sarah George is Staff Writer for Small Business Loans at BankRate and formally a personal finance writer at Finder focusing on all things banking and insurance. Her know-how has been featured in such publications as CBS, CNET and Reviews.com, and she was a panelist in Finder’s 2020 money-saving webinar. Sarah earned an English education degree and is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance. See full bio
Sarah's expertise
Sarah has written 28 Finder guides across topics including:
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