Benton County, Arkansas: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Arkansas by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 27 deaths in 25 fatal crashes in Benton County in 2024.

FARS records 261 deaths in 239 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 9.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Arkansas in the same years is 19.3.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Benton County was number 3 of 75 counties of Arkansas.

Deaths in Benton County rose by 5.2% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (248) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (261).

In the counties of Arkansas the deaths rose by 0.6% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 38.5% of the fatal crashes in Benton County with a known setting were rural, against 63.1% in Arkansas.

To qualify as a FARS case, the crash had to involve a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and must have resulted in the death of a motorist or a non-motorist within 30 days of the crash.
The set of first files, known as the Annual Report File (ARF), is released following the crash year. The ARF is replaced about a year later with a final file, which contains additional cases or updates to cases that had become available after the ARF was released.
NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

This page rests on the FARS 2024 annual file. NHTSA released it on 1 Apr 2026. NHTSA can revise the counts in the final file. Release dates

Figure 1.Deaths in Benton County by year, 2015 to 2024

Table 1 has the numbers. Go to the table

Since the last update: no figure of this county has a change on record.

Deaths and fatal crashes by year

Table 1.Benton County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	27	25	8
2023	26	23	7
2022	27	25	5
2021	35	30	10
2020	35	34	13
2019	23	22	5
2018	18	17	7
2017	15	15	4
2016	30	27	4
2015	25	21	8
2015 to 2024	261	239	71

Each year from 1975

Figure 2.Deaths in Benton County by year, 1975 to 2024

Tallest column: 36 (2006)2024: 27

The columns with a stronger shade are the years 2015 to 2024.

Table 2.Benton County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	27	25
2023	26	23
2022	27	25
2021	35	30
2020	35	34
2019	23	22
2018	18	17
2017	15	15
2016	30	27
2015	25	21
2014	13	12
2013	18	17
2012	22	21
2011	22	16
2010	28	26
2009	22	20
2008	25	24
2007	35	32
2006	36	32
2005	27	27
2004	30	29
2003	21	21
2002	20	18
2001	30	27
2000	25	24
1999	20	20
1998	17	17
1997	16	15
1996	20	16
1995	17	16
1994	17	17
1993	26	24
1992	20	17
1991	22	18
1990	23	21
1989	26	23
1988	27	24
1987	24	20
1986	21	20
1985	18	14
1984	21	19
1983	14	12
1982	21	21
1981	21	16
1980	20	18
1979	21	20
1978	16	14
1977	16	13
1976	15	12
1975	23	19

Note: a count of 1 or 2 is written "1 or 2". A death is in FARS when it occurs in 30 days or less after the crash.

Rate for each 100,000 residents

Table 3.Benton County beside Arkansas and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Benton County	Arkansas	United States
2024	8.4	19.5	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	9.2	19.3	11.8

Note: the rate divides the deaths in the county by its residents. Persons who do not live in the county are in the deaths, not in the residents.

Population: Census Bureau estimates, vintage 2025. Benton County had 322,001 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Benton County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Arkansas
A driver recorded as drinkingof 239 fatal crashes	71	239 fatal crashes	29.7%	26.5%
A speeding-related driverof 239 fatal crashes	58	239 fatal crashes	24.3%	22.2%
No restraint usedof 154 occupant deaths with restraint use known	63	154 occupant deathswith restraint use known	40.9%	54.2%
Pedestriansof 261 deaths	29	261 deaths	11.1%	11.0%
Bicyclistsof 261 deaths	4	261 deaths	1.5%	0.9%
Motorcyclistsof 261 deaths	52	261 deaths	19.9%	13.7%
On a rural roadof 239 fatal crashes with the condition reported	92	239 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	38.5%	63.1%
In the darkof 236 fatal crashes with the condition reported	102	236 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	43.2%	43.1%

Note: FARS records a driver as drinking when police reported alcohol involvement or a test of the driver was positive for alcohol. It is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure, which uses a blood alcohol concentration of .08 g/dL or higher. One crash can be in two or more rows. NHTSA's definitions

Note that alcohol data is often missing. For that reason, this data element may under-count the actual number of drinking drivers.

NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

Weekday, time and road class

Table 5.Benton County: fatal crashes by weekday and time of day, 2015 to 2024
Weekday	Midnight to 6 a.m.	6 a.m. to noon	Noon to 6 p.m.	6 p.m. to midnight	All
Sunday	3	1 or 2	11	10	25
Monday	6	10	9	14	39
Tuesday	5	4	14	6	29
Wednesday	1 or 2	6	10	13	31
Thursday	1 or 2	6	15	8	31
Friday	4	6	9	10	29
Saturday	7	8	20	18	53
All days	29	41	88	79	237

Note: a cell with a stronger shade has a larger count. The table has the fatal crashes with a known hour and weekday.

Table 6.Benton County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Arkansas
Interstate	30	12.6%	14.7%
Other freeways and expressways	1 or 2	0.4%	2.1%
Other principal arterial	73	30.5%	29.0%
Minor arterial	59	24.7%	20.8%
Major collector	34	14.2%	16.9%
Minor collector	1 or 2	0.4%	1.4%
Local	41	17.2%	15.1%
Not reported	0	n/a	n/a

Note: the classes are those of the Federal Highway Administration. The shares are of the crashes with a reported class. Road function classes

Light condition and weather

Table 7.Benton County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	127
Dark, not lighted	75
Dark, lighted	19
Dawn	3
Dusk	4
Dark, lighting unknown	8
Other or unknown	3

Table 8.Benton County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	195
Cloudy	10
Rain	26
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	4
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	3

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Benton County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Benton	In all of Arkansas
Interstate 49	Interstate	27	79
State Route 12	State highway	19	21
State Route 16	State highway	5	49
State Route 59	State highway	9	24
US Route 62	US highway	21	129
US Route 71	US highway	29	163
US Route 412	US highway	13	99

Note: the table has each route with a page that has a fatal crash in the county, in name order. Local streets and county roads have no page. Their crashes are in the county totals. All routes in Arkansas

Adjacent counties

These lists are for navigation. They are in name order.

Figure 3.Benton County on the county map of Arkansas

Deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year, 2015 to 2024

Fewer than 101 county
10 to 14.98 counties
15 to 19.916 counties
20 to 29.927 counties
30 or more23 counties
Benton County: 9.2

The limits of the classes are the same for every state. A county with few residents can show a high rate from few deaths. A class is not a judgement of a county. The full map and the table of counties of Arkansas

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Benton County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Carroll County	Arkansas	6	87	30.7
Madison County	Arkansas	3	56	33.3
Washington County	Arkansas	23	262	10.7
Barry County	Missouri	4	101	28.6
McDonald County	Missouri	12	87	37.4
Adair County	Oklahoma	7	57	27.3
Delaware County	Oklahoma	9	82	19.6

Source of the list: Census Bureau county adjacency file, 2026 edition.

Counties of similar population

These counties of Arkansas have a population nearest to that of Benton County. The list is for navigation and is in name order. The number is the deaths from 2015 to 2024.

Official channels

NHTSA Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST)NHTSA's query tool for FARS counts.
NHTSA FARS EncyclopediaNHTSA's tables of FARS data.
Arkansas Highway Safety OfficeThe highway safety office of Arkansas.

These links go to the sites of the agencies. They were checked on 2 Oct 2026.

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Benton County, Arkansas: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/ar/benton/. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, FARS 2024 annual file. Data to 31 Dec 2024.

The address of this page does not change.

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Source of the figures

Counts: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, national files of 1975 to 2024. The factors use the vehicle and person files from 2015. Residents: Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, vintage 2025. Map: Census Bureau cartographic boundary file, 2021 edition. Data to 31 Dec 2024. The figures are totals. No page of this site is about one crash or one person.

How the figures are made. Data sources and licences. Corrections.

Questions

How many deaths did FARS record in Benton in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 248 deaths in Benton County from 2005 to 2014. It records 261 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Benton in 2024?

The rate of Benton County in 2024 was 8.4 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Arkansas was 19.5. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

How many fatal crashes in Benton had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 71 of 239 fatal crashes from 2015 to 2024. This count is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure. NHTSA says that alcohol data is often missing, so the count may be too low.

How many fatal crashes did FARS record on signed routes in Benton?

7 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 123 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.