Fresno County, California: fatal crash statistics

Counties of California by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 169 deaths in 150 fatal crashes in Fresno County in 2024.

FARS records 1,575 deaths in 1,394 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 15.7 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, Fresno County was number 8 of 58 counties of California.

Deaths in Fresno County rose by 19.5% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (1,318) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (1,575).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 46.2% of the fatal crashes in Fresno 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 Fresno County by year, 2015 to 2024

102

150

160

120

136

182

200

204

152

169

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.Fresno County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	169	150	60
2023	152	139	45
2022	204	178	56
2021	200	173	55
2020	182	161	38
2019	136	123	33
2018	120	108	27
2017	160	138	39
2016	150	135	34
2015	102	89	24
2015 to 2024	1,575	1,394	411

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 257 (1991)2024: 169

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

Table 2.Fresno County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	169	150
2023	152	139
2022	204	178
2021	200	173
2020	182	161
2019	136	123
2018	120	108
2017	160	138
2016	150	135
2015	102	89
2014	117	100
2013	119	101
2012	118	106
2011	115	105
2010	112	95
2009	121	102
2008	138	128
2007	159	141
2006	155	134
2005	164	140
2004	148	134
2003	210	176
2002	182	154
2001	152	141
2000	126	112
1999	200	159
1998	143	128
1997	157	120
1996	181	144
1995	174	151
1994	182	150
1993	202	174
1992	219	173
1991	257	207
1990	217	188
1989	180	158
1988	194	168
1987	175	153
1986	166	149
1985	186	157
1984	199	166
1983	155	134
1982	154	131
1981	176	152
1980	210	176
1979	185	164
1978	190	154
1977	180	155
1976	188	158
1975	184	155

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.Fresno County beside California and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Fresno County	California	United States
2024	16.3	9.8	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	15.7	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. Fresno County had 1,033,698 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Fresno County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in California
A driver recorded as drinkingof 1,394 fatal crashes	411	1,394 fatal crashes	29.5%	27.9%
A speeding-related driverof 1,394 fatal crashes	384	1,394 fatal crashes	27.5%	30.2%
No restraint usedof 878 occupant deaths with restraint use known	309	878 occupant deathswith restraint use known	35.2%	38.0%
Pedestriansof 1,575 deaths	350	1,575 deaths	22.2%	26.0%
Bicyclistsof 1,575 deaths	60	1,575 deaths	3.8%	3.8%
Motorcyclistsof 1,575 deaths	173	1,575 deaths	11.0%	14.1%
On a rural roadof 1,391 fatal crashes with the condition reported	642	1,391 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	46.2%	29.9%
In the darkof 1,394 fatal crashes with the condition reported	768	1,394 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	55.1%	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.Fresno 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	65	27	44	61	197
Monday	37	37	49	62	185
Tuesday	31	25	43	61	160
Wednesday	34	46	50	60	190
Thursday	30	26	42	57	155
Friday	39	30	59	94	222
Saturday	69	29	66	78	242
All days	305	220	353	473	1,351

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.Fresno County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in California
Interstate	50	3.6%	13.7%
Other freeways and expressways	183	13.2%	12.6%
Other principal arterial	224	16.1%	30.1%
Minor arterial	358	25.7%	21.7%
Major collector	324	23.3%	12.3%
Minor collector	102	7.3%	2.3%
Local	150	10.8%	7.3%
Not reported	3	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.Fresno County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	553
Dark, not lighted	433
Dark, lighted	329
Dawn	37
Dusk	36
Dark, lighting unknown	6
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Fresno County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	1,186
Cloudy	138
Rain	41
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	18
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	9

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Fresno County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Fresno	In all of California
Interstate 5	Interstate	50	1,337
State Route 15	State highway	1 or 2	24
State Route 33	State highway	33	134
State Route 41	State highway	58	165
State Route 43	State highway	8	77
State Route 63	State highway	1 or 2	40
State Route 99	State highway	76	755
State Route 145	State highway	14	37
State Route 168	State highway	41	42
State Route 180	State highway	98	99
State Route 198	State highway	13	85

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.Fresno 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
Fresno County: 15.7

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 Fresno County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Inyo County	California	15	85	46.5
Kings County	California	30	288	19.0
Madera County	California	33	348	22.0
Merced County	California	46	594	21.1
Mono County	California	6	48	35.1
Monterey County	California	45	481	11.1
San Benito County	California	11	113	17.7
Tulare County	California	72	793	16.9

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 Fresno 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. Fresno County, California: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/ca/fresno/. 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 Fresno in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 1,318 deaths in Fresno County from 2005 to 2014. It records 1,575 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Fresno in 2024?

The rate of Fresno 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 Fresno had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 411 of 1,394 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 Fresno?

11 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 394 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.