Colusa County, California: fatal crash statistics

Counties of California by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 8 deaths in 7 fatal crashes in Colusa County in 2024.

FARS records 81 deaths in 69 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 37.3 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, Colusa County was number 50 of 58 counties of California.

Deaths in Colusa County fell by 9.0% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (89) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (81).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 95.6% of the fatal crashes in Colusa 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 Colusa 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.Colusa County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	8	7	3
2023	5	5	1 or 2
2022	12	9	1 or 2
2021	5	5	3
2020	8	6	1 or 2
2019	11	8	1 or 2
2018	12	9	0
2017	10	10	4
2016	5	5	0
2015	5	5	1 or 2
2015 to 2024	81	69	16

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 16 (2008)2024: 8

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

Table 2.Colusa County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	8	7
2023	5	5
2022	12	9
2021	5	5
2020	8	6
2019	11	8
2018	12	9
2017	10	10
2016	5	5
2015	5	5
2014	7	4
2013	9	8
2012	6	5
2011	8	7
2010	6	6
2009	10	10
2008	16	6
2007	11	6
2006	6	6
2005	10	8
2004	11	7
2003	7	7
2002	9	7
2001	5	4
2000	3	3
1999	7	5
1998	3	3
1997	4	3
1996	9	6
1995	12	9
1994	7	7
1993	13	10
1992	13	11
1991	6	6
1990	6	6
1989	15	14
1988	6	6
1987	3	3
1986	5	5
1985	7	6
1984	13	12
1983	4	4
1982	7	6
1981	9	9
1980	9	9
1979	5	5
1978	8	7
1977	11	10
1976	11	11
1975	4	4

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.Colusa County beside California and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Colusa County	California	United States
2024	36.3	9.8	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	37.3	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. Colusa County had 22,016 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Colusa County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in California
A driver recorded as drinkingof 69 fatal crashes	16	69 fatal crashes	23.2%	27.9%
A speeding-related driverof 69 fatal crashes	13	69 fatal crashes	18.8%	30.2%
No restraint usedof 66 occupant deaths with restraint use known	17	66 occupant deathswith restraint use known	25.8%	38.0%
Pedestriansof 81 deaths	4	81 deaths	4.9%	26.0%
Bicyclistsof 81 deaths	1 or 2	81 deaths	1.2%	3.8%
Motorcyclistsof 81 deaths	7	81 deaths	8.6%	14.1%
On a rural roadof 68 fatal crashes with the condition reported	65	68 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	95.6%	29.9%
In the darkof 69 fatal crashes with the condition reported	26	69 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	37.7%	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.Colusa 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	4	5	13
Monday	1 or 2	1 or 2	4	1 or 2	8
Tuesday	0	1 or 2	1 or 2	0	1 or 2
Wednesday	1 or 2	4	7	1 or 2	15
Thursday	1 or 2	1 or 2	5	5	13
Friday	1 or 2	4	1 or 2	1 or 2	9
Saturday	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	3	7
All days	11	14	24	18	67

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.Colusa County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in California
Interstate	21	30.9%	13.7%
Other freeways and expressways	5	7.4%	12.6%
Other principal arterial	22	32.4%	30.1%
Minor arterial	4	5.9%	21.7%
Major collector	6	8.8%	12.3%
Minor collector	6	8.8%	2.3%
Local	4	5.9%	7.3%
Not reported	1 or 2	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.Colusa County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	35
Dark, not lighted	21
Dark, lighted	5
Dawn	3
Dusk	5
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Colusa County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	60
Cloudy	4
Rain	4
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Colusa County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Colusa	In all of California
Interstate 5	Interstate	21	1,337
State Route 20	State highway	26	172

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.Colusa 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
Colusa County: 37.3

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 Colusa County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Butte County	California	34	382	17.6
Glenn County	California	8	82	29.1
Lake County	California	25	175	26.4
Sutter County	California	20	190	19.5
Yolo County	California	21	278	12.7

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 Colusa 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. Colusa County, California: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/ca/colusa/. 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.

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 Colusa in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 89 deaths in Colusa County from 2005 to 2014. It records 81 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Colusa in 2024?

The rate of Colusa County in 2024 was 36.3 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 Colusa had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 16 of 69 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 Colusa?

FARS records 21 fatal crashes on Interstate 5 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 26 fatal crashes on State Route 20 in the county from 2015 to 2024.