Polk County, Florida: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Florida by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 113 deaths in 107 fatal crashes in Polk County in 2024.

FARS records 1,328 deaths in 1,217 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 18.0 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, Polk County was number 7 of 67 counties of Florida.

Deaths in Polk County rose by 20.1% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (1,106) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (1,328).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 29.1% of the fatal crashes in Polk 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 Polk County by year, 2015 to 2024

112

137

112

123

125

134

182

133

157

113

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.Polk County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	113	107	28
2023	157	143	32
2022	133	121	24
2021	182	172	33
2020	134	122	38
2019	125	115	19
2018	123	110	24
2017	112	108	33
2016	137	121	31
2015	112	98	30
2015 to 2024	1,328	1,217	292

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 182 (2021)2024: 113

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

Table 2.Polk County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	113	107
2023	157	143
2022	133	121
2021	182	172
2020	134	122
2019	125	115
2018	123	110
2017	112	108
2016	137	121
2015	112	98
2014	113	107
2013	94	82
2012	88	80
2011	92	87
2010	85	79
2009	94	86
2008	133	122
2007	105	94
2006	159	140
2005	143	125
2004	140	119
2003	113	98
2002	127	110
2001	111	99
2000	124	111
1999	121	110
1998	107	95
1997	102	96
1996	102	90
1995	128	112
1994	88	81
1993	110	96
1992	100	90
1991	100	86
1990	108	103
1989	139	123
1988	125	110
1987	100	86
1986	113	101
1985	117	98
1984	115	100
1983	101	92
1982	110	98
1981	132	113
1980	114	98
1979	124	108
1978	100	92
1977	103	91
1976	119	94
1975	114	103

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.Polk County beside Florida and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Polk County	Florida	United States
2024	13.3	13.5	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	18.0	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. Polk County had 851,434 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Polk County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Florida
A driver recorded as drinkingof 1,217 fatal crashes	292	1,217 fatal crashes	24.0%	20.7%
A speeding-related driverof 1,217 fatal crashes	136	1,217 fatal crashes	11.2%	9.8%
No restraint usedof 780 occupant deaths with restraint use known	329	780 occupant deathswith restraint use known	42.2%	45.3%
Pedestriansof 1,328 deaths	217	1,328 deaths	16.3%	21.7%
Bicyclistsof 1,328 deaths	56	1,328 deaths	4.2%	5.4%
Motorcyclistsof 1,328 deaths	239	1,328 deaths	18.0%	19.0%
On a rural roadof 1,197 fatal crashes with the condition reported	348	1,197 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	29.1%	23.6%
In the darkof 1,216 fatal crashes with the condition reported	647	1,216 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	53.2%	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.Polk 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	48	27	40	57	172
Monday	25	28	52	58	163
Tuesday	34	51	35	58	178
Wednesday	26	49	38	46	159
Thursday	38	28	36	50	152
Friday	27	39	57	64	187
Saturday	54	35	35	82	206
All days	252	257	293	415	1,217

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.Polk County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Florida
Interstate	68	5.7%	9.5%
Other freeways and expressways	13	1.1%	3.4%
Other principal arterial	513	42.8%	40.4%
Minor arterial	186	15.5%	19.0%
Major collector	207	17.3%	11.8%
Minor collector	16	1.3%	3.1%
Local	196	16.3%	12.9%
Not reported	18	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.Polk County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	513
Dark, not lighted	390
Dark, lighted	249
Dawn	18
Dusk	38
Dark, lighting unknown	8
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Polk County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	948
Cloudy	164
Rain	82
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	22
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Polk County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Polk	In all of Florida
Interstate 4	Interstate	68	343
State Route 9	State highway	1 or 2	91
State Route 17	State highway	17	24
State Route 33	State highway	36	50
State Route 37	State highway	34	34
State Route 60	State highway	99	325
State Route 540	State highway	25	25
State Route 674	State highway	1 or 2	27
US Route 17	US highway	59	506
US Route 27	US highway	119	670
US Route 92	US highway	72	282
US Route 98	US highway	95	514
US Route 192	US highway	1 or 2	158

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.Polk 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
Polk County: 18.0

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 Polk County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Hardee County	Florida	13	100	37.9
Highlands County	Florida	22	253	24.2
Hillsborough County	Florida	181	2,124	14.4
Lake County	Florida	52	613	16.2
Osceola County	Florida	48	618	15.9
Pasco County	Florida	111	979	17.2
Sumter County	Florida	21	241	17.9

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 Polk 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. Polk County, Florida: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/fl/polk/. 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 Polk in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 1,106 deaths in Polk County from 2005 to 2014. It records 1,328 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Polk in 2024?

The rate of Polk County in 2024 was 13.3 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 Polk had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 292 of 1,217 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 Polk?

13 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 628 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.