California Traffic Fatalities

1 Unincorporated 271,005 crashes 3,120 2 Los Angeles 67,333 crashes 681 3 San Diego 20,331 crashes 183 4 Fresno 11,161 crashes 114 5 San Francisco 15,091 crashes 87 6 Sacramento 15,976 crashes 83 7 Bakersfield 6,956 crashes 77 8 San Jose 14,148 crashes 71 9 Stockton 9,501 crashes 60 10 San Bernardino 5,811 crashes 58 11 Santa Ana 11,087 crashes 58 12 Long Beach 10,584 crashes 56 13 Anaheim 11,715 crashes 54 14 Oakland 12,184 crashes 51 15 Pomona 5,506 crashes 48

View all counties →

California traffic fatalities increased sharply between 2020 and 2022, driven by higher speeds on emptied pandemic-era roads, increased impaired driving, and a spike in pedestrian deaths on urban arterials. Statewide fatals peaked in 2022 at roughly 4,000 deaths — the highest total since 2007. The 2023 and 2024 figures showed a modest decline, but the rate remains well above the pre-pandemic baseline of approximately 3,500 annual deaths. California accounts for roughly 11% of all U.S. traffic fatalities despite holding 12% of the national population, meaning the per-capita rate is slightly better than the national average but far from the safest states in New England and the upper Midwest.

Speed is the leading primary collision factor in California fatal crashes, implicated in roughly 35–40% of all traffic deaths annually according to the CHP Annual Report of Fatal and Injury Motor Vehicle Traffic Collisions. CHP Annual Report Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is the second most common factor, contributing to approximately 30% of fatalities. Distracted driving — primarily mobile phone use — is the third major factor, though it is likely undercounted because post-crash investigation rarely produces definitive evidence of distraction. Together, these three behavioral factors account for the majority of preventable traffic deaths in the state.

Pedestrian fatalities represent a disproportionate share of California's traffic deaths. Pedestrians account for roughly 25% of all traffic fatalities statewide, compared to a national average of approximately 17%. NHTSA State Traffic Safety Facts This disparity is concentrated in Southern California and the Bay Area, where high-speed urban arterials — roads designed for vehicle throughput but frequently crossed on foot — generate a large share of fatal pedestrian-vehicle conflicts. Unlike freeway fatalities, which are concentrated among drivers and passengers, pedestrian deaths occur overwhelmingly on surface streets at night, often outside marked crosswalks, and disproportionately involve older adults and unhoused individuals.

Rural two-lane highways produce a different fatality profile. Roads such as State Route 46 in Kern County, SR-33 through the Coast Range, and US-395 in the Eastern Sierra consistently record high fatality rates per crash despite lower absolute crash volumes. The combination of high operating speeds (55–70 mph), limited shoulder width, no median barriers, and long emergency response times means that crashes on these corridors are far more likely to be fatal than crashes on urban freeways. Head-on collisions from crossing the centerline — rare on divided urban freeways — account for a large share of rural two-lane fatalities.

The fatality data on this page is sourced from CrashInjury records in the California Crash Records System (CCRS), where extent_of_injury = "Fatal". Each record represents one fatality victim, not one crash — a single crash involving multiple deaths generates multiple records. This methodology aligns with how NHTSA and the Federal Highway Administration count traffic fatalities nationally. Data covers January 2024 to present. For historical trend data going back to 2003, see the CHP SWITRS database.