Tulare County, California: fatal crash statistics

Counties of California by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 72 deaths in 67 fatal crashes in Tulare County in 2024.

FARS records 793 deaths in 718 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 16.9 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, Tulare County was number 14 of 58 counties of California.

Deaths in Tulare County rose by 2.9% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (771) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (793).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 54.7% of the fatal crashes in Tulare 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 Tulare 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.Tulare County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	72	67	27
2023	82	75	31
2022	83	79	23
2021	91	82	28
2020	83	74	32
2019	70	60	20
2018	72	64	20
2017	85	76	28
2016	80	74	20
2015	75	67	14
2015 to 2024	793	718	243

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 151 (1989)2024: 72

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

Table 2.Tulare County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	72	67
2023	82	75
2022	83	79
2021	91	82
2020	83	74
2019	70	60
2018	72	64
2017	85	76
2016	80	74
2015	75	67
2014	60	54
2013	54	51
2012	69	61
2011	57	52
2010	71	65
2009	74	62
2008	76	68
2007	97	79
2006	98	88
2005	115	96
2004	100	85
2003	101	87
2002	98	85
2001	82	74
2000	106	83
1999	68	60
1998	125	96
1997	57	51
1996	102	89
1995	110	92
1994	95	83
1993	93	77
1992	104	90
1991	82	71
1990	110	90
1989	151	123
1988	111	93
1987	101	86
1986	85	76
1985	113	84
1984	82	70
1983	99	82
1982	102	83
1981	117	96
1980	96	88
1979	107	90
1978	104	82
1977	71	62
1976	91	73
1975	79	67

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.Tulare County beside California and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Tulare County	California	United States
2024	14.9	9.8	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	16.9	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. Tulare County had 483,851 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Tulare County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in California
A driver recorded as drinkingof 718 fatal crashes	243	718 fatal crashes	33.8%	27.9%
A speeding-related driverof 718 fatal crashes	168	718 fatal crashes	23.4%	30.2%
No restraint usedof 492 occupant deaths with restraint use known	193	492 occupant deathswith restraint use known	39.2%	38.0%
Pedestriansof 793 deaths	134	793 deaths	16.9%	26.0%
Bicyclistsof 793 deaths	33	793 deaths	4.2%	3.8%
Motorcyclistsof 793 deaths	82	793 deaths	10.3%	14.1%
On a rural roadof 718 fatal crashes with the condition reported	393	718 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	54.7%	29.9%
In the darkof 718 fatal crashes with the condition reported	373	718 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	51.9%	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.Tulare 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	33	10	32	36	111
Monday	18	19	23	21	81
Tuesday	19	21	27	38	105
Wednesday	14	20	30	28	92
Thursday	19	18	20	32	89
Friday	16	18	26	48	108
Saturday	29	18	30	41	118
All days	148	124	188	244	704

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.Tulare 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	18.7%	12.6%
Other principal arterial	131	18.3%	30.1%
Minor arterial	162	22.6%	21.7%
Major collector	145	20.2%	12.3%
Minor collector	54	7.5%	2.3%
Local	91	12.7%	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.Tulare County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	300
Dark, not lighted	242
Dark, lighted	129
Dawn	22
Dusk	23
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Tulare County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	624
Cloudy	59
Rain	20
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 Tulare County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Tulare	In all of California
State Route 43	State highway	21	77
State Route 63	State highway	38	40
State Route 65	State highway	38	94
State Route 99	State highway	69	755
State Route 137	State highway	24	25
State Route 163	State highway	1 or 2	29
State Route 180	State highway	1 or 2	99
State Route 190	State highway	19	31
State Route 198	State highway	42	85

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.Tulare 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
Tulare County: 16.9

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 Tulare 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
Inyo County	California	15	85	46.5
Kern County	California	194	1,808	20.1
Kings County	California	30	288	19.0

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

FARS records 771 deaths in Tulare County from 2005 to 2014. It records 793 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Tulare in 2024?

The rate of Tulare County in 2024 was 14.9 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 Tulare had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 243 of 718 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 Tulare?

9 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 253 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.