Columbia County, Florida: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Florida by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 27 deaths in 25 fatal crashes in Columbia County in 2024.

FARS records 231 deaths in 217 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 32.6 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Florida in the same years is 15.1.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Columbia County was number 36 of 67 counties of Florida.

Deaths in Columbia County fell by 5.3% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (244) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (231).

In the counties of Florida the deaths rose by 17.6% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 69.4% of the fatal crashes in Columbia County with a known setting were rural, against 23.6% in Florida.

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 Columbia 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.Columbia County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	27	25	3
2023	24	19	5
2022	21	20	4
2021	25	24	3
2020	21	19	6
2019	30	27	10
2018	21	21	5
2017	20	20	6
2016	20	20	4
2015	22	22	10
2015 to 2024	231	217	56

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 36 (2008)2024: 27

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

Table 2.Columbia County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	27	25
2023	24	19
2022	21	20
2021	25	24
2020	21	19
2019	30	27
2018	21	21
2017	20	20
2016	20	20
2015	22	22
2014	15	13
2013	17	16
2012	9	9
2011	31	28
2010	25	22
2009	26	24
2008	36	32
2007	28	25
2006	29	27
2005	28	23
2004	31	27
2003	32	27
2002	29	28
2001	21	18
2000	21	19
1999	18	14
1998	18	15
1997	26	23
1996	26	26
1995	14	14
1994	23	18
1993	26	20
1992	13	12
1991	27	23
1990	17	13
1989	23	21
1988	17	16
1987	16	15
1986	14	13
1985	17	16
1984	13	13
1983	15	13
1982	14	9
1981	11	11
1980	26	22
1979	17	16
1978	17	13
1977	15	14
1976	14	12
1975	9	9

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.Columbia County beside Florida and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Columbia County	Florida	United States
2024	36.6	13.5	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	32.6	15.1	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. Columbia County had 73,721 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Columbia County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Florida
A driver recorded as drinkingof 217 fatal crashes	56	217 fatal crashes	25.8%	20.7%
A speeding-related driverof 217 fatal crashes	27	217 fatal crashes	12.4%	9.8%
No restraint usedof 177 occupant deaths with restraint use known	85	177 occupant deathswith restraint use known	48.0%	45.3%
Pedestriansof 231 deaths	25	231 deaths	10.8%	21.7%
Bicyclistsof 231 deaths	8	231 deaths	3.5%	5.4%
Motorcyclistsof 231 deaths	18	231 deaths	7.8%	19.0%
On a rural roadof 216 fatal crashes with the condition reported	150	216 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	69.4%	23.6%
In the darkof 217 fatal crashes with the condition reported	105	217 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	48.4%	55.3%

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.Columbia 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	10	1 or 2	7	14	33
Monday	6	1 or 2	9	13	29
Tuesday	6	9	8	8	31
Wednesday	1 or 2	7	9	10	27
Thursday	3	5	10	5	23
Friday	5	9	11	13	38
Saturday	10	5	14	7	36
All days	41	38	68	70	217

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.Columbia County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Florida
Interstate	57	26.4%	9.5%
Other freeways and expressways	1 or 2	0.5%	3.4%
Other principal arterial	46	21.3%	40.4%
Minor arterial	52	24.1%	19.0%
Major collector	19	8.8%	11.8%
Minor collector	8	3.7%	3.1%
Local	33	15.3%	12.9%
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.Columbia County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	102
Dark, not lighted	89
Dark, lighted	15
Dawn	6
Dusk	4
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Columbia County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	145
Cloudy	44
Rain	21
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	7
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Columbia County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Columbia	In all of Florida
Interstate 10	Interstate	19	394
Interstate 75	Interstate	38	765
State Route 10A	State highway	5	20
State Route 100	State highway	4	65
US Route 27	US highway	9	670
US Route 41	US highway	10	923
US Route 90	US highway	26	444
US Route 441	US highway	18	594

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 Florida

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Columbia County on the county map of Florida

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

Fewer than 101 county
10 to 14.917 counties
15 to 19.918 counties
20 to 29.912 counties
30 or more19 counties
Columbia County: 32.6

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 Florida

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Columbia County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Alachua County	Florida	50	526	19.1
Baker County	Florida	9	72	25.4
Gilchrist County	Florida	6	51	27.6
Hamilton County	Florida	8	69	49.4
Suwannee County	Florida	15	167	37.3
Union County	Florida	5	37	23.9
Clinch County	Georgia	1 or 2	20	29.7
Echols County	Georgia	1 or 2	9	23.5

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Florida have a population nearest to that of Columbia 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.
Florida State Safety OfficeThe highway safety office of Florida.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Columbia County, Florida: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/fl/columbia/. 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 Columbia in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 244 deaths in Columbia County from 2005 to 2014. It records 231 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Columbia in 2024?

The rate of Columbia County in 2024 was 36.6 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Florida was 13.5. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 56 of 217 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 Columbia?

8 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 129 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.