Mesa County, Colorado: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Colorado by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 17 deaths in 15 fatal crashes in Mesa County in 2024.

FARS records 181 deaths in 174 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 11.7 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, Mesa County was number 11 of 64 counties of Colorado.

Deaths in Mesa County did not change between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (181) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (181).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 31.8% of the fatal crashes in Mesa 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 Mesa 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.Mesa County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	17	15	6
2023	21	21	8
2022	29	28	8
2021	15	15	4
2020	13	13	6
2019	13	13	6
2018	20	20	6
2017	16	15	6
2016	17	15	6
2015	20	19	1 or 2
2015 to 2024	181	174	58

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 38 (1981)2024: 17

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

Table 2.Mesa County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	17	15
2023	21	21
2022	29	28
2021	15	15
2020	13	13
2019	13	13
2018	20	20
2017	16	15
2016	17	15
2015	20	19
2014	13	12
2013	19	18
2012	15	15
2011	19	17
2010	12	12
2009	17	16
2008	14	13
2007	29	23
2006	24	24
2005	19	16
2004	18	17
2003	10	9
2002	26	23
2001	31	27
2000	20	20
1999	22	20
1998	15	15
1997	16	15
1996	24	21
1995	13	12
1994	22	20
1993	16	15
1992	20	17
1991	20	16
1990	14	14
1989	17	13
1988	12	11
1987	13	13
1986	13	11
1985	8	7
1984	12	12
1983	28	24
1982	29	23
1981	38	33
1980	31	21
1979	21	15
1978	19	18
1977	17	16
1976	25	22
1975	21	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.Mesa County beside Colorado and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Mesa County	Colorado	United States
2024	10.5	11.5	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	11.7	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. Mesa County had 161,400 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Mesa County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Colorado
A driver recorded as drinkingof 174 fatal crashes	58	174 fatal crashes	33.3%	34.1%
A speeding-related driverof 174 fatal crashes	60	174 fatal crashes	34.5%	35.4%
No restraint usedof 94 occupant deaths with restraint use known	54	94 occupant deathswith restraint use known	57.4%	54.5%
Pedestriansof 181 deaths	27	181 deaths	14.9%	14.1%
Bicyclistsof 181 deaths	5	181 deaths	2.8%	2.5%
Motorcyclistsof 181 deaths	47	181 deaths	26.0%	19.4%
On a rural roadof 173 fatal crashes with the condition reported	55	173 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	31.8%	39.1%
In the darkof 174 fatal crashes with the condition reported	67	174 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	38.5%	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.Mesa 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	1 or 2	5	8	8	23
Monday	1 or 2	4	13	5	23
Tuesday	5	4	6	10	25
Wednesday	1 or 2	7	11	6	25
Thursday	1 or 2	9	4	7	22
Friday	3	3	9	11	26
Saturday	4	3	13	10	30
All days	18	35	64	57	174

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.Mesa County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Colorado
Interstate	30	17.3%	14.9%
Other freeways and expressways	0	0.0%	4.6%
Other principal arterial	34	19.7%	39.3%
Minor arterial	57	32.9%	19.3%
Major collector	25	14.5%	10.2%
Minor collector	6	3.5%	2.8%
Local	21	12.1%	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.Mesa County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	98
Dark, not lighted	40
Dark, lighted	27
Dawn	3
Dusk	6
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Mesa County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	87
Cloudy	10
Rain	6
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	3
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	67

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Mesa County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Mesa	In all of Colorado
Interstate 70	Interstate	30	313
State Route 141	State highway	10	22
US Route 6	US highway	20	109
US Route 50	US highway	9	169
US Route 550	US highway	1 or 2	57

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.Mesa 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
Mesa County: 11.7

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 Mesa County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Delta County	Colorado	7	51	16.4
Garfield County	Colorado	6	101	16.6
Gunnison County	Colorado	1 or 2	45	26.4
Montrose County	Colorado	10	61	14.3
Pitkin County	Colorado	1 or 2	18	10.3
Grand County	Utah	10	67	69.2

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

FARS records 181 deaths in Mesa County from 2005 to 2014. It records 181 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Mesa in 2024?

The rate of Mesa County in 2024 was 10.5 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 Mesa had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 58 of 174 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 Mesa?

5 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 70 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.