Polk County, Iowa: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Iowa by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 47 deaths in 40 fatal crashes in Polk County in 2024.

FARS records 337 deaths in 309 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 6.9 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Iowa in the same years is 11.0.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Polk County was number 1 of 99 counties of Iowa.

Deaths in Polk County rose by 15.8% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (291) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (337).

In the counties of Iowa the deaths fell by 10.1% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 16.5% of the fatal crashes in Polk County with a known setting were rural, against 71.5% in Iowa.

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

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	47	40	12
2023	39	37	8
2022	33	33	10
2021	45	41	9
2020	38	30	6
2019	34	34	9
2018	27	24	9
2017	26	24	4
2016	28	27	9
2015	20	19	7
2015 to 2024	337	309	83

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 58 (1980)2024: 47

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	47	40
2023	39	37
2022	33	33
2021	45	41
2020	38	30
2019	34	34
2018	27	24
2017	26	24
2016	28	27
2015	20	19
2014	19	19
2013	26	26
2012	20	19
2011	35	31
2010	39	37
2009	23	22
2008	34	33
2007	32	29
2006	38	34
2005	25	25
2004	38	34
2003	36	30
2002	31	28
2001	30	26
2000	35	29
1999	28	26
1998	41	35
1997	46	42
1996	31	29
1995	28	27
1994	45	41
1993	35	32
1992	28	28
1991	40	33
1990	32	31
1989	45	43
1988	44	42
1987	38	37
1986	34	30
1985	25	23
1984	32	30
1983	35	32
1982	24	23
1981	51	43
1980	58	51
1979	43	41
1978	28	28
1977	46	43
1976	48	38
1975	47	39

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 Iowa and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Polk County	Iowa	United States
2024	9.2	11.0	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	6.9	11.0	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 513,511 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 Iowa
A driver recorded as drinkingof 309 fatal crashes	83	309 fatal crashes	26.9%	25.4%
A speeding-related driverof 309 fatal crashes	98	309 fatal crashes	31.7%	20.2%
No restraint usedof 163 occupant deaths with restraint use known	66	163 occupant deathswith restraint use known	40.5%	48.1%
Pedestriansof 337 deaths	53	337 deaths	15.7%	7.1%
Bicyclistsof 337 deaths	6	337 deaths	1.8%	2.0%
Motorcyclistsof 337 deaths	78	337 deaths	23.1%	15.7%
On a rural roadof 309 fatal crashes with the condition reported	51	309 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	16.5%	71.5%
In the darkof 306 fatal crashes with the condition reported	149	306 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	48.7%	39.9%

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	23	6	12	16	57
Monday	7	10	14	13	44
Tuesday	1 or 2	4	9	15	29
Wednesday	4	10	11	10	35
Thursday	6	5	20	11	42
Friday	3	8	13	16	40
Saturday	22	8	7	24	61
All days	66	51	86	105	308

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 Iowa
Interstate	54	17.5%	11.0%
Other freeways and expressways	0	0.0%	0.1%
Other principal arterial	105	34.0%	29.3%
Minor arterial	77	24.9%	17.4%
Major collector	13	4.2%	20.0%
Minor collector	4	1.3%	5.7%
Local	56	18.1%	16.4%
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.Polk County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	136
Dark, not lighted	40
Dark, lighted	108
Dawn	7
Dusk	14
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	3

Table 8.Polk County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	234
Cloudy	50
Rain	12
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	5
Fog, smog or smoke	5
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	3

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 Iowa
Interstate 35	Interstate	21	66
Interstate 80	Interstate	19	165
State Route 163	State highway	11	26
US Route 6	US highway	18	56
US Route 65	US highway	12	48
US Route 69	US highway	22	48

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 Iowa

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Polk County on the county map of Iowa

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

Fewer than 1015 counties
10 to 14.941 counties
15 to 19.924 counties
20 to 29.915 counties
30 or more4 counties
Polk County: 6.9

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 Iowa

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
Boone County	Iowa	3	32	12.1
Dallas County	Iowa	1 or 2	60	6.2
Jasper County	Iowa	4	45	12.0
Marion County	Iowa	4	37	11.1
Story County	Iowa	4	46	4.7
Warren County	Iowa	4	56	10.7

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Iowa 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.
Iowa Governor's Traffic Safety BureauThe highway safety office of Iowa.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Polk County, Iowa: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/ia/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 291 deaths in Polk County from 2005 to 2014. It records 337 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Polk in 2024?

The rate of Polk County in 2024 was 9.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Iowa was 11.0. 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 83 of 309 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?

6 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 103 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.