Jefferson County, Colorado: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Colorado by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 54 deaths in 52 fatal crashes in Jefferson County in 2024.

FARS records 478 deaths in 450 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 Colorado in the same years is 11.4.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Jefferson County was number 6 of 64 counties of Colorado.

Deaths in Jefferson County rose by 25.1% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (382) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (478).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 18.3% of the fatal crashes in Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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.Jefferson County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	54	52	15
2023	47	47	17
2022	49	49	21
2021	52	50	21
2020	43	41	12
2019	51	45	10
2018	38	36	14
2017	41	35	10
2016	48	45	12
2015	55	50	22
2015 to 2024	478	450	154

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 64 (1979)2024: 54

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

Table 2.Jefferson County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	54	52
2023	47	47
2022	49	49
2021	52	50
2020	43	41
2019	51	45
2018	38	36
2017	41	35
2016	48	45
2015	55	50
2014	42	40
2013	43	36
2012	32	32
2011	32	30
2010	35	31
2009	28	28
2008	39	37
2007	39	34
2006	45	41
2005	47	46
2004	34	34
2003	52	48
2002	41	40
2001	59	54
2000	56	50
1999	48	43
1998	36	31
1997	35	27
1996	49	44
1995	45	42
1994	51	49
1993	41	38
1992	44	40
1991	44	39
1990	51	46
1989	53	49
1988	52	48
1987	48	45
1986	60	51
1985	46	42
1984	42	37
1983	60	56
1982	55	50
1981	49	47
1980	64	58
1979	64	60
1978	61	57
1977	53	46
1976	48	44
1975	48	43

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.Jefferson County beside Colorado and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Jefferson County	Colorado	United States
2024	9.3	11.5	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	8.3	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. Jefferson County had 580,359 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Jefferson County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Colorado
A driver recorded as drinkingof 450 fatal crashes	154	450 fatal crashes	34.2%	34.1%
A speeding-related driverof 450 fatal crashes	166	450 fatal crashes	36.9%	35.4%
No restraint usedof 220 occupant deaths with restraint use known	107	220 occupant deathswith restraint use known	48.6%	54.5%
Pedestriansof 478 deaths	86	478 deaths	18.0%	14.1%
Bicyclistsof 478 deaths	18	478 deaths	3.8%	2.5%
Motorcyclistsof 478 deaths	139	478 deaths	29.1%	19.4%
On a rural roadof 449 fatal crashes with the condition reported	82	449 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	18.3%	39.1%
In the darkof 450 fatal crashes with the condition reported	208	450 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	46.2%	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.Jefferson 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	10	28	36	89
Monday	9	7	21	15	52
Tuesday	5	11	21	22	59
Wednesday	10	12	11	15	48
Thursday	8	11	17	26	62
Friday	7	7	15	33	62
Saturday	10	14	30	24	78
All days	64	72	143	171	450

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.Jefferson County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Colorado
Interstate	35	7.8%	14.9%
Other freeways and expressways	47	10.5%	4.6%
Other principal arterial	220	49.0%	39.3%
Minor arterial	77	17.1%	19.3%
Major collector	33	7.3%	10.2%
Minor collector	16	3.6%	2.8%
Local	21	4.7%	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.Jefferson County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	223
Dark, not lighted	55
Dark, lighted	153
Dawn	5
Dusk	14
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Jefferson County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	213
Cloudy	15
Rain	8
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	8
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	203

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Jefferson County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Jefferson	In all of Colorado
Interstate 70	Interstate	35	313
State Route 71	State highway	1 or 2	23
State Route 72	State highway	12	20
State Route 95	State highway	16	49
State Route 121	State highway	56	62
State Route 391	State highway	28	28
State Route 470	State highway	11	41
US Route 6	US highway	42	109
US Route 36	US highway	4	56
US Route 40	US highway	30	176
US Route 285	US highway	26	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.Jefferson 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
Jefferson 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 Colorado

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Jefferson County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Adams County	Colorado	84	635	12.3
Arapahoe County	Colorado	55	501	7.7
Boulder County	Colorado	23	255	7.8
Broomfield County	Colorado	4	35	4.9
Clear Creek County	Colorado	5	32	34.2
Denver County	Colorado	63	608	8.5
Douglas County	Colorado	19	207	5.8
Gilpin County	Colorado	0	8	13.4
Park County	Colorado	4	53	29.6
Teller County	Colorado	0	27	10.9

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

FARS records 382 deaths in Jefferson County from 2005 to 2014. It records 478 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Jefferson in 2024?

The rate of Jefferson County in 2024 was 9.3 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 Jefferson had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 154 of 450 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 Jefferson?

11 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 261 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.