Butte County, California: fatal crash statistics

Counties of California by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 34 deaths in 33 fatal crashes in Butte County in 2024.

FARS records 382 deaths in 352 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 17.6 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of California in the same years is 10.1.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Butte County was number 20 of 58 counties of California.

Deaths in Butte County rose by 29.9% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (294) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (382).

In the counties of California the deaths rose by 17.5% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 52.3% of the fatal crashes in Butte County with a known setting were rural, against 29.9% in California.

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 Butte 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.Butte County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	34	33	13
2023	35	33	11
2022	32	31	12
2021	55	48	13
2020	47	41	9
2019	34	33	8
2018	36	36	7
2017	40	33	15
2016	36	33	11
2015	33	31	13
2015 to 2024	382	352	112

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 55 (2021)2024: 34

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

Table 2.Butte County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	34	33
2023	35	33
2022	32	31
2021	55	48
2020	47	41
2019	34	33
2018	36	36
2017	40	33
2016	36	33
2015	33	31
2014	24	21
2013	21	19
2012	23	22
2011	19	19
2010	46	38
2009	23	22
2008	32	30
2007	37	36
2006	34	30
2005	35	32
2004	34	32
2003	29	22
2002	47	41
2001	36	33
2000	27	24
1999	32	27
1998	52	45
1997	40	31
1996	27	25
1995	32	30
1994	27	25
1993	35	28
1992	35	31
1991	37	36
1990	41	39
1989	43	41
1988	51	45
1987	46	44
1986	50	44
1985	41	33
1984	37	34
1983	38	36
1982	29	25
1981	33	31
1980	53	47
1979	42	38
1978	39	34
1977	48	43
1976	30	28
1975	40	35

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.Butte County beside California and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Butte County	California	United States
2024	16.3	9.8	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	17.6	10.1	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. Butte County had 208,586 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Butte County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in California
A driver recorded as drinkingof 352 fatal crashes	112	352 fatal crashes	31.8%	27.9%
A speeding-related driverof 352 fatal crashes	109	352 fatal crashes	31.0%	30.2%
No restraint usedof 209 occupant deaths with restraint use known	77	209 occupant deathswith restraint use known	36.8%	38.0%
Pedestriansof 382 deaths	81	382 deaths	21.2%	26.0%
Bicyclistsof 382 deaths	11	382 deaths	2.9%	3.8%
Motorcyclistsof 382 deaths	57	382 deaths	14.9%	14.1%
On a rural roadof 352 fatal crashes with the condition reported	184	352 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	52.3%	29.9%
In the darkof 350 fatal crashes with the condition reported	171	350 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	48.9%	57.5%

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.Butte 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	12	9	12	17	50
Monday	5	8	12	8	33
Tuesday	7	12	14	10	43
Wednesday	4	10	17	18	49
Thursday	11	6	14	24	55
Friday	4	8	17	28	57
Saturday	14	11	11	18	54
All days	57	64	97	123	341

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.Butte County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in California
Interstate	1 or 2	0.3%	13.7%
Other freeways and expressways	27	7.7%	12.6%
Other principal arterial	129	36.6%	30.1%
Minor arterial	62	17.6%	21.7%
Major collector	71	20.2%	12.3%
Minor collector	10	2.8%	2.3%
Local	52	14.8%	7.3%
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.Butte County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	155
Dark, not lighted	118
Dark, lighted	51
Dawn	11
Dusk	13
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Butte County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	285
Cloudy	37
Rain	21
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	5
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Butte County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Butte	In all of California
State Route 32	State highway	26	40
State Route 70	State highway	36	102
State Route 79	State highway	1 or 2	99
State Route 99	State highway	51	755
State Route 162	State highway	20	32

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 California

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Butte County on the county map of California

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

Fewer than 1014 counties
10 to 14.99 counties
15 to 19.914 counties
20 to 29.913 counties
30 or more8 counties
Butte County: 17.6

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 California

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Butte County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Colusa County	California	8	81	37.3
Glenn County	California	8	82	29.1
Plumas County	California	1 or 2	48	25.2
Sutter County	California	20	190	19.5
Tehama County	California	13	171	26.5
Yuba County	California	14	159	19.8

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of California have a population nearest to that of Butte 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.
California Office of Traffic SafetyThe highway safety office of California.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Butte County, California: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/ca/butte/. 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 Butte in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 294 deaths in Butte County from 2005 to 2014. It records 382 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Butte in 2024?

The rate of Butte County in 2024 was 16.3 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of California was 9.8. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 112 of 352 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 Butte?

5 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 134 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.