Merced County, California: fatal crash statistics

Counties of California by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 46 deaths in 42 fatal crashes in Merced County in 2024.

FARS records 594 deaths in 526 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 21.1 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, Merced County was number 15 of 58 counties of California.

Deaths in Merced County rose by 22.7% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (484) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (594).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 63.3% of the fatal crashes in Merced 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 Merced 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.Merced County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	46	42	12
2023	59	52	13
2022	71	62	12
2021	67	62	20
2020	46	45	13
2019	54	47	13
2018	55	48	14
2017	70	62	18
2016	72	60	18
2015	54	46	21
2015 to 2024	594	526	154

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 94 (1989)2024: 46

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

Table 2.Merced County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	46	42
2023	59	52
2022	71	62
2021	67	62
2020	46	45
2019	54	47
2018	55	48
2017	70	62
2016	72	60
2015	54	46
2014	37	34
2013	48	44
2012	45	39
2011	43	39
2010	31	30
2009	53	45
2008	56	51
2007	46	41
2006	57	49
2005	68	54
2004	62	54
2003	52	47
2002	61	51
2001	73	63
2000	61	53
1999	48	40
1998	55	45
1997	55	43
1996	57	47
1995	69	54
1994	50	44
1993	77	63
1992	60	51
1991	70	59
1990	67	58
1989	94	73
1988	75	56
1987	73	54
1986	67	52
1985	56	47
1984	55	53
1983	63	51
1982	43	37
1981	46	43
1980	50	42
1979	51	42
1978	51	44
1977	47	43
1976	62	57
1975	33	32

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.Merced County beside California and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Merced County	California	United States
2024	15.5	9.8	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	21.1	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. Merced County had 296,807 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Merced County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in California
A driver recorded as drinkingof 526 fatal crashes	154	526 fatal crashes	29.3%	27.9%
A speeding-related driverof 526 fatal crashes	113	526 fatal crashes	21.5%	30.2%
No restraint usedof 364 occupant deaths with restraint use known	138	364 occupant deathswith restraint use known	37.9%	38.0%
Pedestriansof 594 deaths	105	594 deaths	17.7%	26.0%
Bicyclistsof 594 deaths	17	594 deaths	2.9%	3.8%
Motorcyclistsof 594 deaths	62	594 deaths	10.4%	14.1%
On a rural roadof 526 fatal crashes with the condition reported	333	526 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	63.3%	29.9%
In the darkof 525 fatal crashes with the condition reported	295	525 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	56.2%	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.Merced 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	18	20	12	35	85
Monday	13	7	21	20	61
Tuesday	14	8	26	23	71
Wednesday	16	12	21	22	71
Thursday	18	22	13	15	68
Friday	12	9	18	32	71
Saturday	17	12	18	34	81
All days	108	90	129	181	508

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.Merced County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in California
Interstate	41	7.8%	13.7%
Other freeways and expressways	83	15.8%	12.6%
Other principal arterial	141	26.8%	30.1%
Minor arterial	97	18.4%	21.7%
Major collector	116	22.1%	12.3%
Minor collector	19	3.6%	2.3%
Local	29	5.5%	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.Merced County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	209
Dark, not lighted	207
Dark, lighted	87
Dawn	12
Dusk	9
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Merced County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	442
Cloudy	46
Rain	17
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	13
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	7
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Merced County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Merced	In all of California
Interstate 5	Interstate	40	1,337
State Route 33	State highway	18	134
State Route 59	State highway	31	31
State Route 99	State highway	52	755
State Route 140	State highway	19	30
State Route 152	State highway	69	124
State Route 165	State highway	30	34

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.Merced 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
Merced County: 21.1

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 Merced 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
Madera County	California	33	348	22.0
Mariposa County	California	1 or 2	31	18.0
San Benito County	California	11	113	17.7
Santa Clara County	California	100	1,195	6.2
Stanislaus County	California	88	830	15.1

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

FARS records 484 deaths in Merced County from 2005 to 2014. It records 594 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Merced in 2024?

The rate of Merced County in 2024 was 15.5 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 Merced had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 154 of 526 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 Merced?

7 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 259 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.