Lake County, California: fatal crash statistics

Counties of California by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 25 deaths in 23 fatal crashes in Lake County in 2024.

FARS records 175 deaths in 163 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 26.4 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, Lake County was number 36 of 58 counties of California.

Deaths in Lake County rose by 12.9% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (155) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (175).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 67.9% of the fatal crashes in Lake 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 Lake 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.Lake County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	25	23	5
2023	19	18	7
2022	18	18	9
2021	21	19	6
2020	18	16	1 or 2
2019	14	14	4
2018	11	10	1 or 2
2017	17	15	5
2016	15	14	4
2015	17	16	8
2015 to 2024	175	163	52

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 28 (2000)2024: 25

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

Table 2.Lake County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	25	23
2023	19	18
2022	18	18
2021	21	19
2020	18	16
2019	14	14
2018	11	10
2017	17	15
2016	15	14
2015	17	16
2014	7	6
2013	22	19
2012	17	13
2011	15	14
2010	16	15
2009	12	11
2008	16	15
2007	17	14
2006	19	16
2005	14	13
2004	18	16
2003	17	15
2002	23	19
2001	10	10
2000	28	20
1999	16	15
1998	10	8
1997	13	12
1996	11	10
1995	14	13
1994	22	20
1993	11	11
1992	14	12
1991	15	15
1990	14	14
1989	18	14
1988	20	19
1987	23	21
1986	15	13
1985	15	13
1984	24	21
1983	16	16
1982	18	16
1981	14	13
1980	26	18
1979	18	14
1978	21	20
1977	21	18
1976	23	21
1975	12	10

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.Lake County beside California and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Lake County	California	United States
2024	36.8	9.8	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	26.4	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. Lake County had 67,880 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Lake County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in California
A driver recorded as drinkingof 163 fatal crashes	52	163 fatal crashes	31.9%	27.9%
A speeding-related driverof 163 fatal crashes	33	163 fatal crashes	20.2%	30.2%
No restraint usedof 104 occupant deaths with restraint use known	39	104 occupant deathswith restraint use known	37.5%	38.0%
Pedestriansof 175 deaths	35	175 deaths	20.0%	26.0%
Bicyclistsof 175 deaths	5	175 deaths	2.9%	3.8%
Motorcyclistsof 175 deaths	20	175 deaths	11.4%	14.1%
On a rural roadof 162 fatal crashes with the condition reported	110	162 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	67.9%	29.9%
In the darkof 163 fatal crashes with the condition reported	77	163 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	47.2%	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.Lake 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	8	3	9	12	32
Monday	3	3	3	5	14
Tuesday	0	7	7	6	20
Wednesday	1 or 2	3	12	5	22
Thursday	1 or 2	5	9	9	25
Friday	1 or 2	1 or 2	7	10	19
Saturday	5	5	11	5	26
All days	21	27	58	52	158

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.Lake County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in California
Interstate	0	0.0%	13.7%
Other freeways and expressways	22	13.6%	12.6%
Other principal arterial	69	42.6%	30.1%
Minor arterial	35	21.6%	21.7%
Major collector	25	15.4%	12.3%
Minor collector	1 or 2	1.2%	2.3%
Local	9	5.6%	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.Lake County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	74
Dark, not lighted	66
Dark, lighted	11
Dawn	4
Dusk	8
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Lake County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	128
Cloudy	14
Rain	18
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Lake County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Lake	In all of California
State Route 20	State highway	55	172
State Route 29	State highway	41	113

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.Lake 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
Lake County: 26.4

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 Lake 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
Mendocino County	California	14	224	25.2
Napa County	California	11	152	11.1
Sonoma County	California	29	389	7.9
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 Lake 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. Lake County, California: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/ca/lake/. 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 Lake in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 155 deaths in Lake County from 2005 to 2014. It records 175 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Lake in 2024?

The rate of Lake County in 2024 was 36.8 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 Lake had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 52 of 163 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 Lake?

FARS records 55 fatal crashes on State Route 20 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 41 fatal crashes on State Route 29 in the county from 2015 to 2024.