Imperial County, California: fatal crash statistics

Counties of California by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 26 deaths in 21 fatal crashes in Imperial County in 2024.

FARS records 323 deaths in 274 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 17.9 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, Imperial County was number 27 of 58 counties of California.

Deaths in Imperial County fell by 12.0% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (367) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (323).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 75.1% of the fatal crashes in Imperial 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 Imperial 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.Imperial County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	26	21	6
2023	17	13	5
2022	40	36	16
2021	55	41	16
2020	29	25	1 or 2
2019	32	29	8
2018	37	31	8
2017	25	24	5
2016	34	28	4
2015	28	26	5
2015 to 2024	323	274	75

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 72 (1989)2024: 26

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

Table 2.Imperial County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	26	21
2023	17	13
2022	40	36
2021	55	41
2020	29	25
2019	32	29
2018	37	31
2017	25	24
2016	34	28
2015	28	26
2014	46	35
2013	28	26
2012	32	29
2011	13	12
2010	33	26
2009	37	30
2008	46	36
2007	42	35
2006	42	36
2005	48	41
2004	57	48
2003	45	32
2002	50	45
2001	46	39
2000	55	39
1999	37	33
1998	62	49
1997	67	55
1996	37	33
1995	44	36
1994	35	32
1993	40	33
1992	51	42
1991	39	36
1990	56	47
1989	72	58
1988	68	56
1987	57	44
1986	47	37
1985	53	41
1984	51	35
1983	59	51
1982	52	40
1981	50	42
1980	66	51
1979	55	49
1978	55	49
1977	53	40
1976	45	42
1975	62	48

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.Imperial County beside California and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Imperial County	California	United States
2024	14.2	9.8	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	17.9	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. Imperial County had 182,771 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Imperial County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in California
A driver recorded as drinkingof 274 fatal crashes	75	274 fatal crashes	27.4%	27.9%
A speeding-related driverof 274 fatal crashes	66	274 fatal crashes	24.1%	30.2%
No restraint usedof 216 occupant deaths with restraint use known	90	216 occupant deathswith restraint use known	41.7%	38.0%
Pedestriansof 323 deaths	53	323 deaths	16.4%	26.0%
Bicyclistsof 323 deaths	6	323 deaths	1.9%	3.8%
Motorcyclistsof 323 deaths	29	323 deaths	9.0%	14.1%
On a rural roadof 273 fatal crashes with the condition reported	205	273 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	75.1%	29.9%
In the darkof 274 fatal crashes with the condition reported	138	274 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	50.4%	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.Imperial 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	9	8	9	9	35
Monday	4	6	10	19	39
Tuesday	6	9	15	10	40
Wednesday	9	8	9	11	37
Thursday	6	6	10	10	32
Friday	5	4	12	14	35
Saturday	11	9	11	12	43
All days	50	50	76	85	261

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.Imperial County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in California
Interstate	74	27.1%	13.7%
Other freeways and expressways	20	7.3%	12.6%
Other principal arterial	77	28.2%	30.1%
Minor arterial	44	16.1%	21.7%
Major collector	38	13.9%	12.3%
Minor collector	11	4.0%	2.3%
Local	9	3.3%	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.Imperial County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	122
Dark, not lighted	112
Dark, lighted	24
Dawn	7
Dusk	7
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Imperial County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	249
Cloudy	11
Rain	5
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	0
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	9
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Imperial County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Imperial	In all of California
Interstate 5	Interstate	3	1,337
Interstate 8	Interstate	71	211
State Route 22	State highway	1 or 2	42
State Route 78	State highway	17	128
State Route 86	State highway	32	53
State Route 111	State highway	27	86

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.Imperial 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
Imperial County: 17.9

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 Imperial County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
La Paz County	Arizona	29	185	99.0
Yuma County	Arizona	24	253	12.0
Riverside County	California	289	3,065	12.5
San Diego County	California	303	2,735	8.3

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

FARS records 367 deaths in Imperial County from 2005 to 2014. It records 323 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Imperial in 2024?

The rate of Imperial County in 2024 was 14.2 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 Imperial had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 75 of 274 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 Imperial?

6 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 151 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.