Placer County, California: fatal crash statistics

Counties of California by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 40 deaths in 40 fatal crashes in Placer County in 2024.

FARS records 334 deaths in 313 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 8.3 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, Placer County was number 25 of 58 counties of California.

Deaths in Placer County rose by 19.7% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (279) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (334).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 45.0% of the fatal crashes in Placer 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 Placer 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.Placer County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	40	40	11
2023	43	38	12
2022	38	33	9
2021	34	32	10
2020	35	33	10
2019	24	24	9
2018	29	27	7
2017	30	29	9
2016	40	36	12
2015	21	21	5
2015 to 2024	334	313	94

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 62 (1990)2024: 40

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

Table 2.Placer County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	40	40
2023	43	38
2022	38	33
2021	34	32
2020	35	33
2019	24	24
2018	29	27
2017	30	29
2016	40	36
2015	21	21
2014	13	13
2013	21	19
2012	27	27
2011	28	24
2010	24	23
2009	25	24
2008	29	26
2007	28	25
2006	40	36
2005	44	38
2004	33	30
2003	41	36
2002	45	38
2001	34	31
2000	23	22
1999	44	36
1998	27	24
1997	31	26
1996	34	31
1995	27	25
1994	24	20
1993	29	25
1992	45	35
1991	37	33
1990	62	53
1989	61	51
1988	37	36
1987	31	29
1986	35	32
1985	40	34
1984	36	30
1983	42	35
1982	35	27
1981	45	36
1980	52	40
1979	44	36
1978	50	42
1977	33	30
1976	45	41
1975	26	26

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.Placer County beside California and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Placer County	California	United States
2024	9.2	9.8	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	8.3	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. Placer County had 434,279 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Placer County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in California
A driver recorded as drinkingof 313 fatal crashes	94	313 fatal crashes	30.0%	27.9%
A speeding-related driverof 313 fatal crashes	90	313 fatal crashes	28.8%	30.2%
No restraint usedof 199 occupant deaths with restraint use known	68	199 occupant deathswith restraint use known	34.2%	38.0%
Pedestriansof 334 deaths	49	334 deaths	14.7%	26.0%
Bicyclistsof 334 deaths	11	334 deaths	3.3%	3.8%
Motorcyclistsof 334 deaths	53	334 deaths	15.9%	14.1%
On a rural roadof 313 fatal crashes with the condition reported	141	313 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	45.0%	29.9%
In the darkof 313 fatal crashes with the condition reported	153	313 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	48.9%	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.Placer 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	7	6	12	11	36
Monday	10	9	17	12	48
Tuesday	11	6	13	10	40
Wednesday	5	8	8	7	28
Thursday	6	8	13	13	40
Friday	6	12	19	20	57
Saturday	10	11	16	17	54
All days	55	60	98	90	303

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.Placer County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in California
Interstate	68	21.7%	13.7%
Other freeways and expressways	24	7.7%	12.6%
Other principal arterial	63	20.1%	30.1%
Minor arterial	66	21.1%	21.7%
Major collector	58	18.5%	12.3%
Minor collector	15	4.8%	2.3%
Local	19	6.1%	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.Placer County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	150
Dark, not lighted	92
Dark, lighted	60
Dawn	4
Dusk	6
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Placer County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	238
Cloudy	48
Rain	18
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	5
Fog, smog or smoke	3
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Placer County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Placer	In all of California
Interstate 80	Interstate	69	445
State Route 20	State highway	1 or 2	172
State Route 49	State highway	23	154
State Route 65	State highway	31	94
State Route 89	State highway	7	40

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.Placer 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
Placer County: 8.3

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 Placer County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
El Dorado County	California	17	240	12.6
Nevada County	California	8	148	14.7
Sacramento County	California	156	1,757	11.3
Sutter County	California	20	190	19.5
Yuba County	California	14	159	19.8
Carson City	Nevada	3	47	8.3
Douglas County	Nevada	1 or 2	54	11.0
Washoe County	Nevada	50	460	9.6

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

FARS records 279 deaths in Placer County from 2005 to 2014. It records 334 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Placer in 2024?

The rate of Placer County in 2024 was 9.2 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 Placer had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 94 of 313 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 Placer?

5 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 132 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.