Madera County, California: fatal crash statistics

Counties of California by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 33 deaths in 26 fatal crashes in Madera County in 2024.

FARS records 348 deaths in 298 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 22.0 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, Madera County was number 24 of 58 counties of California.

Deaths in Madera County rose by 4.2% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (334) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (348).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 72.8% of the fatal crashes in Madera 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 Madera 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.Madera County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	33	26	7
2023	28	25	12
2022	48	41	16
2021	40	36	8
2020	30	28	11
2019	39	35	9
2018	36	23	5
2017	26	22	7
2016	39	35	12
2015	29	27	8
2015 to 2024	348	298	95

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 59 (1988)2024: 33

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

Table 2.Madera County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	33	26
2023	28	25
2022	48	41
2021	40	36
2020	30	28
2019	39	35
2018	36	23
2017	26	22
2016	39	35
2015	29	27
2014	32	29
2013	21	19
2012	30	24
2011	25	23
2010	26	22
2009	31	27
2008	36	33
2007	47	41
2006	49	38
2005	37	34
2004	44	41
2003	44	40
2002	33	30
2001	44	37
2000	27	24
1999	37	33
1998	40	35
1997	38	31
1996	44	39
1995	50	37
1994	47	35
1993	38	34
1992	29	26
1991	45	39
1990	31	27
1989	54	39
1988	59	47
1987	38	29
1986	41	34
1985	36	27
1984	34	28
1983	37	32
1982	26	22
1981	35	31
1980	31	28
1979	40	34
1978	42	33
1977	32	27
1976	35	28
1975	18	14

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.Madera County beside California and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Madera County	California	United States
2024	19.9	9.8	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	22.0	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. Madera County had 166,132 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Madera County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in California
A driver recorded as drinkingof 298 fatal crashes	95	298 fatal crashes	31.9%	27.9%
A speeding-related driverof 298 fatal crashes	76	298 fatal crashes	25.5%	30.2%
No restraint usedof 231 occupant deaths with restraint use known	91	231 occupant deathswith restraint use known	39.4%	38.0%
Pedestriansof 348 deaths	49	348 deaths	14.1%	26.0%
Bicyclistsof 348 deaths	6	348 deaths	1.7%	3.8%
Motorcyclistsof 348 deaths	44	348 deaths	12.6%	14.1%
On a rural roadof 298 fatal crashes with the condition reported	217	298 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	72.8%	29.9%
In the darkof 298 fatal crashes with the condition reported	152	298 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	51.0%	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.Madera 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	4	7	11	34
Monday	7	7	12	11	37
Tuesday	7	10	11	7	35
Wednesday	6	3	8	14	31
Thursday	12	9	14	12	47
Friday	6	7	11	18	42
Saturday	9	8	20	22	59
All days	59	48	83	95	285

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.Madera 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	57	19.1%	12.6%
Other principal arterial	58	19.5%	30.1%
Minor arterial	79	26.5%	21.7%
Major collector	51	17.1%	12.3%
Minor collector	18	6.0%	2.3%
Local	35	11.7%	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.Madera County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	132
Dark, not lighted	116
Dark, lighted	36
Dawn	7
Dusk	7
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Madera County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	257
Cloudy	19
Rain	12
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	6
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	4

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Madera County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Madera	In all of California
State Route 41	State highway	46	165
State Route 49	State highway	4	154
State Route 99	State highway	40	755
State Route 145	State highway	23	37
State Route 152	State highway	12	124

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.Madera 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
Madera County: 22.0

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 Madera County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Fresno County	California	169	1,575	15.7
Mariposa County	California	1 or 2	31	18.0
Merced County	California	46	594	21.1
Mono County	California	6	48	35.1
Tuolumne County	California	11	130	24.0

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 Madera 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. Madera County, California: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/ca/madera/. 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.

Embed this card on your site

Copy this code into your page. The card shows the figures above with their source. A line under the card links to this page.

<iframe src="https://fatalroads.com/embed/county/ca/madera/" title="Fatal crashes in Madera County, California" width="100%" height="300" style="border:0;max-width:640px" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p style="margin:4px 0 0;font-size:13px"><a href="https://fatalroads.com/county/ca/madera/">Fatal crashes in Madera County, California</a>, from fatalroads.com</p>

How embedding works. It is free. Keep the link in the card and the link line under it.

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 Madera in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 334 deaths in Madera County from 2005 to 2014. It records 348 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Madera in 2024?

The rate of Madera County in 2024 was 19.9 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 Madera had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 95 of 298 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 Madera?

5 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 125 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.