The fatality rate is an important overall measure of each state’s road performance. The overall fatality rate measures fatalities on all roadways in the state as fatalities per 100 million vehicle-miles. The nation’s highway fatality rate improved from 1.13 in 2018, the last time this assessment was completed, to 1.11 in 2019, (Table 17, Overall Fatality Rate per 100 Million Vehicle-Miles, 2019, Figure 12). In 2019, 36,073 fatalities were reported, fewer than the 36,529 fatalities reported in 2018, as VMT (vehicle-miles of travel) increased to 3.28 trillion from 3.26 trillion in 2018.
For 2019, Massachusetts reported the overall lowest fatality rate, 0.51, while South Carolina reported the highest, 1.73 Most states (32 of 50) reported a decrease in their fatality rate compared to 2018, led by Wyoming, New Hampshire, and Alaska (which improved by 0.38, 0.34, and 0.32 points respectively). Three states saw their fatality rates stay the same. Fifteen states saw their fatality rates increase, led by Wyoming, Delaware, and Maine (reporting increases of 0.38, 0.20, and 0.13 points, respectively).
Overall Fatality Rate (Per 100 Million Vehicle-Miles Traveled)
| 2019 Rank | State | Fatality Rate Per 100 Million Vehicle-Miles |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | 0.51 |
| 2 | Minnesota | 0.60 |
| 3 | Vermont | 0.64 |
| 4 | New Jersey | 0.71 |
| 5 | New Hampshire | 0.73 |
| 6 | New York | 0.75 |
| 7 | Rhode Island | 0.75 |
| 8 | Utah | 0.75 |
| 9 | Connecticut | 0.79 |
| 10 | Washington | 0.83 |
| 11 | Wisconsin | 0.85 |
| 12 | Maryland | 0.87 |
| 13 | Illinois | 0.94 |
| 14 | Michigan | 0.96 |
| 15 | Virginia | 0.97 |
| 16 | Indiana | 0.98 |
| 17 | Hawaii | 0.98 |
| 18 | Iowa | 1.00 |
| 19 | Ohio | 1.01 |
| 20 | North Dakota | 1.02 |
| 21 | South Dakota | 1.03 |
| 22 | Pennsylvania | 1.03 |
| 23 | Maine | 1.06 |
| 24 | Nevada | 1.06 |
| 25 | California | 1.06 |
| 26 | Colorado | 1.09 |
| 27 | Missouri | 1.11 |
| 28 | Georgia | 1.12 |
| 29 | North Carolina | 1.12 |
| 30 | Alaska | 1.14 |
| 31 | Nebraska | 1.17 |
| 32 | Idaho | 1.24 |
| 33 | Texas | 1.25 |
| 34 | Delaware | 1.29 |
| 35 | Kansas | 1.29 |
| 36 | Alabama | 1.30 |
| 37 | Arkansas | 1.36 |
| 38 | West Virginia | 1.36 |
| 39 | Oregon | 1.37 |
| 40 | Tennessee | 1.37 |
| 41 | Arizona | 1.40 |
| 42 | Florida | 1.41 |
| 43 | Louisiana | 1.42 |
| 44 | Montana | 1.43 |
| 45 | Oklahoma | 1.43 |
| 46 | Wyoming | 1.44 |
| 47 | Kentucky | 1.48 |
| 48 | New Mexico | 1.53 |
| 49 | Mississippi | 1.56 |
| 50 | South Carolina | 1.73 |
| Average | 1.11 |