Monterey County, California: fatal crash statistics

Counties of California by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 45 deaths in 43 fatal crashes in Monterey County in 2024.

FARS records 481 deaths in 444 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 11.1 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, Monterey County was number 17 of 58 counties of California.

Deaths in Monterey County rose by 15.6% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (416) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (481).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 53.7% of the fatal crashes in Monterey 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 Monterey 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.Monterey County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	45	43	18
2023	39	36	13
2022	57	49	18
2021	47	43	15
2020	50	47	21
2019	35	32	11
2018	47	44	18
2017	57	53	18
2016	55	50	15
2015	49	47	17
2015 to 2024	481	444	164

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 107 (1976)2024: 45

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

Table 2.Monterey County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	45	43
2023	39	36
2022	57	49
2021	47	43
2020	50	47
2019	35	32
2018	47	44
2017	57	53
2016	55	50
2015	49	47
2014	32	31
2013	33	32
2012	28	26
2011	49	44
2010	36	33
2009	35	27
2008	49	40
2007	48	40
2006	51	48
2005	55	46
2004	87	65
2003	59	53
2002	57	47
2001	65	56
2000	53	46
1999	42	39
1998	41	37
1997	46	43
1996	59	57
1995	62	56
1994	71	64
1993	46	39
1992	48	40
1991	79	70
1990	67	61
1989	87	76
1988	74	67
1987	77	71
1986	90	81
1985	72	64
1984	57	51
1983	78	60
1982	75	67
1981	87	78
1980	89	77
1979	95	82
1978	86	74
1977	81	71
1976	107	91
1975	92	77

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.Monterey County beside California and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Monterey County	California	United States
2024	10.4	9.8	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	11.1	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. Monterey County had 433,447 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Monterey County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in California
A driver recorded as drinkingof 444 fatal crashes	164	444 fatal crashes	36.9%	27.9%
A speeding-related driverof 444 fatal crashes	95	444 fatal crashes	21.4%	30.2%
No restraint usedof 301 occupant deaths with restraint use known	109	301 occupant deathswith restraint use known	36.2%	38.0%
Pedestriansof 481 deaths	97	481 deaths	20.2%	26.0%
Bicyclistsof 481 deaths	6	481 deaths	1.2%	3.8%
Motorcyclistsof 481 deaths	48	481 deaths	10.0%	14.1%
On a rural roadof 443 fatal crashes with the condition reported	238	443 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	53.7%	29.9%
In the darkof 444 fatal crashes with the condition reported	233	444 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	52.5%	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.Monterey 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	8	13	29	68
Monday	10	15	12	16	53
Tuesday	8	19	19	19	65
Wednesday	6	10	21	11	48
Thursday	5	9	13	19	46
Friday	16	9	17	29	71
Saturday	25	13	15	27	80
All days	88	83	110	150	431

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.Monterey County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in California
Interstate	4	0.9%	13.7%
Other freeways and expressways	130	29.3%	12.6%
Other principal arterial	68	15.3%	30.1%
Minor arterial	63	14.2%	21.7%
Major collector	102	23.0%	12.3%
Minor collector	30	6.8%	2.3%
Local	46	10.4%	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.Monterey County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	179
Dark, not lighted	171
Dark, lighted	62
Dawn	20
Dusk	12
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Monterey County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	312
Cloudy	87
Rain	29
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	13
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Monterey County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Monterey	In all of California
State Route 1	State highway	65	502
State Route 15	State highway	1 or 2	24
State Route 68	State highway	20	20
State Route 156	State highway	6	27
State Route 198	State highway	5	85
US Route 101	US highway	87	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.Monterey 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
Monterey County: 11.1

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 Monterey 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
Kings County	California	30	288	19.0
San Benito County	California	11	113	17.7
San Luis Obispo County	California	30	308	10.9
Santa Cruz County	California	16	214	7.9

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

FARS records 416 deaths in Monterey County from 2005 to 2014. It records 481 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Monterey in 2024?

The rate of Monterey County in 2024 was 10.4 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 Monterey had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 164 of 444 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 Monterey?

6 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 184 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.