Mendocino County, California: fatal crash statistics

Counties of California by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 14 deaths in 14 fatal crashes in Mendocino County in 2024.

FARS records 224 deaths in 207 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 25.2 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, Mendocino County was number 33 of 58 counties of California.

Deaths in Mendocino County rose by 0.9% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (222) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (224).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 85.4% of the fatal crashes in Mendocino 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 Mendocino 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.Mendocino County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	14	14	6
2023	22	20	3
2022	17	17	6
2021	20	20	7
2020	25	22	8
2019	23	21	8
2018	38	32	14
2017	30	27	4
2016	25	24	11
2015	10	10	1 or 2
2015 to 2024	224	207	68

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 48 (1980)2024: 14

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

Table 2.Mendocino County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	14	14
2023	22	20
2022	17	17
2021	20	20
2020	25	22
2019	23	21
2018	38	32
2017	30	27
2016	25	24
2015	10	10
2014	19	16
2013	14	14
2012	23	18
2011	17	17
2010	18	17
2009	29	26
2008	27	26
2007	18	16
2006	19	19
2005	38	31
2004	15	14
2003	30	23
2002	28	24
2001	26	21
2000	21	21
1999	32	29
1998	37	32
1997	27	23
1996	28	24
1995	27	25
1994	27	24
1993	23	21
1992	35	31
1991	34	28
1990	43	37
1989	32	29
1988	40	34
1987	40	33
1986	31	28
1985	41	39
1984	31	29
1983	22	21
1982	35	30
1981	42	36
1980	48	43
1979	34	28
1978	43	33
1977	25	23
1976	28	20
1975	26	22

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.Mendocino County beside California and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Mendocino County	California	United States
2024	15.7	9.8	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	25.2	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. Mendocino County had 88,939 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Mendocino County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in California
A driver recorded as drinkingof 207 fatal crashes	68	207 fatal crashes	32.9%	27.9%
A speeding-related driverof 207 fatal crashes	57	207 fatal crashes	27.5%	30.2%
No restraint usedof 153 occupant deaths with restraint use known	54	153 occupant deathswith restraint use known	35.3%	38.0%
Pedestriansof 224 deaths	17	224 deaths	7.6%	26.0%
Bicyclistsof 224 deaths	4	224 deaths	1.8%	3.8%
Motorcyclistsof 224 deaths	33	224 deaths	14.7%	14.1%
On a rural roadof 206 fatal crashes with the condition reported	176	206 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	85.4%	29.9%
In the darkof 207 fatal crashes with the condition reported	85	207 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	41.1%	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.Mendocino 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	3	14	12	38
Monday	4	3	10	7	24
Tuesday	5	7	8	9	29
Wednesday	1 or 2	5	6	5	17
Thursday	3	4	6	12	25
Friday	5	7	11	8	31
Saturday	8	7	12	3	30
All days	35	36	67	56	194

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.Mendocino County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in California
Interstate	1 or 2	1.0%	13.7%
Other freeways and expressways	38	18.4%	12.6%
Other principal arterial	70	34.0%	30.1%
Minor arterial	45	21.8%	21.7%
Major collector	23	11.2%	12.3%
Minor collector	10	4.9%	2.3%
Local	18	8.7%	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.Mendocino County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	111
Dark, not lighted	78
Dark, lighted	7
Dawn	5
Dusk	6
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Mendocino County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	144
Cloudy	25
Rain	31
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	6
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Mendocino County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Mendocino	In all of California
State Route 1	State highway	21	502
State Route 20	State highway	23	172
State Route 128	State highway	13	37
State Route 162	State highway	7	32
US Route 101	US highway	79	1,025

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.Mendocino 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
Mendocino County: 25.2

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 Mendocino County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Glenn County	California	8	82	29.1
Humboldt County	California	26	249	18.4
Lake County	California	25	175	26.4
Sonoma County	California	29	389	7.9
Tehama County	California	13	171	26.5
Trinity County	California	6	75	52.5

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

FARS records 222 deaths in Mendocino County from 2005 to 2014. It records 224 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Mendocino in 2024?

The rate of Mendocino County in 2024 was 15.7 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 Mendocino had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 68 of 207 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 Mendocino?

5 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 143 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.