Santa Barbara County, California: fatal crash statistics

Counties of California by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 38 deaths in 35 fatal crashes in Santa Barbara County in 2024.

FARS records 380 deaths in 339 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 8.6 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, Santa Barbara County was number 21 of 58 counties of California.

Deaths in Santa Barbara County fell by 1.6% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (386) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (380).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 47.2% of the fatal crashes in Santa Barbara 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 Santa Barbara 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.Santa Barbara County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	38	35	10
2023	40	34	12
2022	39	36	10
2021	51	46	10
2020	28	25	13
2019	38	33	9
2018	35	31	6
2017	42	33	12
2016	34	31	9
2015	35	35	9
2015 to 2024	380	339	100

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 72 (1979)2024: 38

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

Table 2.Santa Barbara County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	38	35
2023	40	34
2022	39	36
2021	51	46
2020	28	25
2019	38	33
2018	35	31
2017	42	33
2016	34	31
2015	35	35
2014	23	19
2013	31	30
2012	31	30
2011	27	27
2010	32	29
2009	39	32
2008	37	34
2007	51	43
2006	45	39
2005	70	61
2004	44	37
2003	42	38
2002	30	27
2001	41	35
2000	32	29
1999	34	29
1998	40	35
1997	35	21
1996	48	45
1995	43	35
1994	44	40
1993	33	29
1992	46	38
1991	55	45
1990	38	36
1989	63	50
1988	54	47
1987	57	54
1986	58	53
1985	57	51
1984	69	63
1983	57	55
1982	65	50
1981	65	54
1980	61	53
1979	72	67
1978	59	51
1977	58	52
1976	54	49
1975	42	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.Santa Barbara County beside California and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Santa Barbara County	California	United States
2024	8.6	9.8	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	8.6	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. Santa Barbara County had 443,081 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Santa Barbara County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in California
A driver recorded as drinkingof 339 fatal crashes	100	339 fatal crashes	29.5%	27.9%
A speeding-related driverof 339 fatal crashes	102	339 fatal crashes	30.1%	30.2%
No restraint usedof 237 occupant deaths with restraint use known	69	237 occupant deathswith restraint use known	29.1%	38.0%
Pedestriansof 380 deaths	62	380 deaths	16.3%	26.0%
Bicyclistsof 380 deaths	12	380 deaths	3.2%	3.8%
Motorcyclistsof 380 deaths	54	380 deaths	14.2%	14.1%
On a rural roadof 339 fatal crashes with the condition reported	160	339 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	47.2%	29.9%
In the darkof 339 fatal crashes with the condition reported	170	339 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	50.1%	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.Santa Barbara 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	15	9	15	10	49
Monday	5	9	19	14	47
Tuesday	3	9	12	13	37
Wednesday	8	11	16	8	43
Thursday	11	10	11	13	45
Friday	13	11	12	25	61
Saturday	16	3	12	18	49
All days	71	62	97	101	331

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.Santa Barbara 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	134	39.5%	12.6%
Other principal arterial	75	22.1%	30.1%
Minor arterial	86	25.4%	21.7%
Major collector	23	6.8%	12.3%
Minor collector	7	2.1%	2.3%
Local	14	4.1%	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.Santa Barbara County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	152
Dark, not lighted	106
Dark, lighted	62
Dawn	9
Dusk	8
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Santa Barbara County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	267
Cloudy	41
Rain	20
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	7
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	4

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Santa Barbara County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Santa Barbara	In all of California
State Route 1	State highway	34	502
State Route 154	State highway	26	26
State Route 166	State highway	22	41
US Route 101	US highway	109	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.Santa Barbara 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
Santa Barbara County: 8.6

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 Santa Barbara County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Kern County	California	194	1,808	20.1
San Luis Obispo County	California	30	308	10.9
Ventura County	California	58	576	6.8

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 Santa Barbara 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. Santa Barbara County, California: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/ca/santa-barbara/. 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 Santa Barbara in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 386 deaths in Santa Barbara County from 2005 to 2014. It records 380 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Santa Barbara in 2024?

The rate of Santa Barbara County in 2024 was 8.6 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 Santa Barbara had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 100 of 339 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 Santa Barbara?

4 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 191 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.