Arapahoe County, Colorado: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Colorado by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 55 deaths in 55 fatal crashes in Arapahoe County in 2024.

FARS records 501 deaths in 464 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 7.7 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Colorado in the same years is 11.4.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Arapahoe County was number 5 of 64 counties of Colorado.

Deaths in Arapahoe County rose by 61.6% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (310) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (501).

In the counties of Colorado the deaths rose by 29.1% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 9.9% of the fatal crashes in Arapahoe County with a known setting were rural, against 39.1% in Colorado.

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 Arapahoe 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.Arapahoe County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	55	55	15
2023	70	63	23
2022	62	58	21
2021	51	47	17
2020	52	48	23
2019	36	32	13
2018	47	45	16
2017	45	42	14
2016	46	38	14
2015	37	36	11
2015 to 2024	501	464	167

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 70 (2023)2024: 55

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

Table 2.Arapahoe County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	55	55
2023	70	63
2022	62	58
2021	51	47
2020	52	48
2019	36	32
2018	47	45
2017	45	42
2016	46	38
2015	37	36
2014	30	29
2013	21	21
2012	29	26
2011	27	26
2010	19	17
2009	29	28
2008	44	34
2007	36	32
2006	40	35
2005	35	31
2004	30	29
2003	24	24
2002	39	38
2001	40	37
2000	34	31
1999	37	34
1998	39	36
1997	32	30
1996	28	25
1995	23	23
1994	25	25
1993	21	19
1992	24	22
1991	23	20
1990	37	29
1989	25	25
1988	17	17
1987	34	27
1986	35	29
1985	31	27
1984	25	24
1983	28	26
1982	35	33
1981	29	27
1980	30	25
1979	31	27
1978	26	22
1977	26	24
1976	27	18
1975	22	18

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.Arapahoe County beside Colorado and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Arapahoe County	Colorado	United States
2024	8.1	11.5	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	7.7	11.4	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. Arapahoe County had 675,760 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Arapahoe County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Colorado
A driver recorded as drinkingof 464 fatal crashes	167	464 fatal crashes	36.0%	34.1%
A speeding-related driverof 464 fatal crashes	162	464 fatal crashes	34.9%	35.4%
No restraint usedof 271 occupant deaths with restraint use known	146	271 occupant deathswith restraint use known	53.9%	54.5%
Pedestriansof 501 deaths	107	501 deaths	21.4%	14.1%
Bicyclistsof 501 deaths	15	501 deaths	3.0%	2.5%
Motorcyclistsof 501 deaths	92	501 deaths	18.4%	19.4%
On a rural roadof 463 fatal crashes with the condition reported	46	463 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	9.9%	39.1%
In the darkof 464 fatal crashes with the condition reported	259	464 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	55.8%	45.1%

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.Arapahoe 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	24	12	16	28	80
Monday	17	8	20	30	75
Tuesday	7	10	17	22	56
Wednesday	4	8	16	16	44
Thursday	9	8	20	22	59
Friday	16	8	10	35	69
Saturday	17	18	17	29	81
All days	94	72	116	182	464

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.Arapahoe County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Colorado
Interstate	68	14.7%	14.9%
Other freeways and expressways	14	3.0%	4.6%
Other principal arterial	251	54.2%	39.3%
Minor arterial	60	13.0%	19.3%
Major collector	29	6.3%	10.2%
Minor collector	6	1.3%	2.8%
Local	35	7.6%	8.9%
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.Arapahoe County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	185
Dark, not lighted	63
Dark, lighted	196
Dawn	10
Dusk	10
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Arapahoe County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	227
Cloudy	26
Rain	13
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	9
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	186

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Arapahoe County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Arapahoe	In all of Colorado
Interstate 25	Interstate	9	382
Interstate 70	Interstate	34	313
Interstate 225	Interstate	24	31
State Route 30	State highway	33	42
State Route 83	State highway	25	71
State Route 88	State highway	11	46
State Route 470	State highway	6	41
US Route 36	US highway	5	56
US Route 40	US highway	22	176
US Route 85	US highway	9	146
US Route 285	US highway	19	103

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 Colorado

Adjacent counties

These lists are for navigation. They are in name order.

Figure 3.Arapahoe County on the county map of Colorado

Deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year, 2015 to 2024

Fewer than 108 counties
10 to 14.99 counties
15 to 19.917 counties
20 to 29.912 counties
30 or more18 counties
Arapahoe County: 7.7

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 Colorado

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Arapahoe County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Adams County	Colorado	84	635	12.3
Denver County	Colorado	63	608	8.5
Douglas County	Colorado	19	207	5.8
Elbert County	Colorado	4	39	14.6
Jefferson County	Colorado	54	478	8.3
Lincoln County	Colorado	6	39	70.1
Washington County	Colorado	1 or 2	34	70.3

Source of the list: Census Bureau county adjacency file, 2026 edition.

Counties of similar population

These counties of Colorado have a population nearest to that of Arapahoe 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.
Colorado Office of Transportation SafetyThe highway safety office of Colorado.

These links go to the sites of the agencies. They were checked on 2 Oct 2026.

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Arapahoe County, Colorado: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/co/arapahoe/. 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 Arapahoe in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 310 deaths in Arapahoe County from 2005 to 2014. It records 501 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Arapahoe in 2024?

The rate of Arapahoe County in 2024 was 8.1 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Colorado was 11.5. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

How many fatal crashes in Arapahoe had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 167 of 464 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 Arapahoe?

11 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 197 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.