Boulder County, Colorado: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Colorado by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 23 deaths in 22 fatal crashes in Boulder County in 2024.

FARS records 255 deaths in 233 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 7.8 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, Boulder County was number 9 of 64 counties of Colorado.

Deaths in Boulder County rose by 34.9% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (189) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (255).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 34.8% of the fatal crashes in Boulder County with known light were in the dark, against 45.1% 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 Boulder 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.Boulder County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	23	22	4
2023	28	24	8
2022	34	31	16
2021	33	31	10
2020	16	14	3
2019	26	25	7
2018	21	19	8
2017	31	28	5
2016	24	21	5
2015	19	18	6
2015 to 2024	255	233	72

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 46 (1975)2024: 23

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

Table 2.Boulder County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	23	22
2023	28	24
2022	34	31
2021	33	31
2020	16	14
2019	26	25
2018	21	19
2017	31	28
2016	24	21
2015	19	18
2014	16	14
2013	12	12
2012	26	23
2011	17	17
2010	20	20
2009	19	18
2008	23	19
2007	15	15
2006	18	18
2005	23	21
2004	21	20
2003	20	19
2002	33	30
2001	29	25
2000	28	26
1999	18	18
1998	24	20
1997	21	19
1996	18	16
1995	31	27
1994	24	23
1993	27	25
1992	19	18
1991	19	18
1990	24	23
1989	29	26
1988	19	16
1987	28	27
1986	27	23
1985	36	31
1984	30	28
1983	30	29
1982	40	38
1981	38	34
1980	23	22
1979	30	27
1978	41	35
1977	38	33
1976	23	22
1975	46	37

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.Boulder County beside Colorado and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Boulder County	Colorado	United States
2024	7.0	11.5	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	7.8	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. Boulder County had 329,485 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Boulder County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Colorado
A driver recorded as drinkingof 233 fatal crashes	72	233 fatal crashes	30.9%	34.1%
A speeding-related driverof 233 fatal crashes	68	233 fatal crashes	29.2%	35.4%
No restraint usedof 142 occupant deaths with restraint use known	67	142 occupant deathswith restraint use known	47.2%	54.5%
Pedestriansof 255 deaths	33	255 deaths	12.9%	14.1%
Bicyclistsof 255 deaths	22	255 deaths	8.6%	2.5%
Motorcyclistsof 255 deaths	49	255 deaths	19.2%	19.4%
On a rural roadof 233 fatal crashes with the condition reported	96	233 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	41.2%	39.1%
In the darkof 233 fatal crashes with the condition reported	81	233 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	34.8%	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.Boulder 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	6	3	12	5	26
Monday	3	7	19	10	39
Tuesday	1 or 2	12	10	3	27
Wednesday	5	9	12	4	30
Thursday	1 or 2	8	13	14	36
Friday	5	6	11	9	31
Saturday	7	8	17	12	44
All days	29	53	94	57	233

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.Boulder County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Colorado
Interstate	0	0.0%	14.9%
Other freeways and expressways	24	10.3%	4.6%
Other principal arterial	94	40.3%	39.3%
Minor arterial	83	35.6%	19.3%
Major collector	16	6.9%	10.2%
Minor collector	4	1.7%	2.8%
Local	12	5.2%	8.9%
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.Boulder County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	147
Dark, not lighted	38
Dark, lighted	43
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	3
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Boulder County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	112
Cloudy	6
Rain	6
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	5
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	102

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Boulder County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Boulder	In all of Colorado
State Route 52	State highway	1 or 2	26
State Route 66	State highway	13	24
State Route 72	State highway	8	20
State Route 119	State highway	26	41
US Route 36	US highway	29	56
US Route 287	US highway	47	177

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.Boulder 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
Boulder County: 7.8

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 Boulder County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Broomfield County	Colorado	4	35	4.9
Gilpin County	Colorado	0	8	13.4
Grand County	Colorado	1 or 2	31	19.8
Jefferson County	Colorado	54	478	8.3
Larimer County	Colorado	35	352	9.9
Weld County	Colorado	67	569	17.3

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 Boulder 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. Boulder County, Colorado: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/co/boulder/. 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 Boulder in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 189 deaths in Boulder County from 2005 to 2014. It records 255 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Boulder in 2024?

The rate of Boulder County in 2024 was 7.0 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 Boulder had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 72 of 233 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 Boulder?

6 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 124 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.