Middlesex County, Massachusetts: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Massachusetts by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 55 deaths in 54 fatal crashes in Middlesex County in 2024.

FARS records 513 deaths in 499 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 3.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Massachusetts in the same years is 5.3.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Middlesex County was number 2 of 14 counties of Massachusetts.

Deaths in Middlesex County fell by 6.9% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (551) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (513).

In the counties of Massachusetts the deaths fell by 4.0% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 51.9% of the occupants killed in Middlesex County with restraint use known had no restraint, against 61.7% in Massachusetts.

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 Middlesex 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.Middlesex County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	55	54	13
2023	43	40	13
2022	75	74	16
2021	57	57	21
2020	46	44	10
2019	43	43	6
2018	48	46	17
2017	34	33	10
2016	64	62	14
2015	48	46	11
2015 to 2024	513	499	131

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 183 (1979)2024: 55

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

Table 2.Middlesex County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	55	54
2023	43	40
2022	75	74
2021	57	57
2020	46	44
2019	43	43
2018	48	46
2017	34	33
2016	64	62
2015	48	46
2014	45	43
2013	41	41
2012	50	48
2011	56	54
2010	46	46
2009	64	57
2008	56	53
2007	61	57
2006	63	58
2005	69	66
2004	55	54
2003	74	71
2002	65	61
2001	84	83
2000	70	66
1999	62	61
1998	55	53
1997	73	67
1996	66	63
1995	69	65
1994	86	76
1993	78	75
1992	73	70
1991	89	84
1990	109	96
1989	111	105
1988	110	99
1987	127	122
1986	130	120
1985	135	129
1984	130	115
1983	107	98
1982	125	120
1981	152	146
1980	180	170
1979	183	173
1978	167	159
1977	140	134
1976	148	135
1975	146	135

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.Middlesex County beside Massachusetts and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Middlesex County	Massachusetts	United States
2024	3.3	5.1	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	3.2	5.3	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. Middlesex County had 1,663,929 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Middlesex County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Massachusetts
A driver recorded as drinkingof 499 fatal crashes	131	499 fatal crashes	26.3%	29.7%
A speeding-related driverof 499 fatal crashes	125	499 fatal crashes	25.1%	29.2%
No restraint usedof 235 occupant deaths with restraint use known	122	235 occupant deathswith restraint use known	51.9%	61.7%
Pedestriansof 513 deaths	125	513 deaths	24.4%	20.4%
Bicyclistsof 513 deaths	17	513 deaths	3.3%	2.3%
Motorcyclistsof 513 deaths	76	513 deaths	14.8%	15.6%
On a rural roadof 499 fatal crashes with the condition reported	5	499 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	1.0%	6.6%
In the darkof 491 fatal crashes with the condition reported	217	491 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	44.2%	48.5%

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.Middlesex 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	25	15	21	24	85
Monday	11	10	22	15	58
Tuesday	8	17	24	22	71
Wednesday	4	13	25	20	62
Thursday	9	13	25	26	73
Friday	13	15	13	24	65
Saturday	13	12	23	30	78
All days	83	95	153	161	492

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.Middlesex County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Massachusetts
Interstate	102	20.4%	15.9%
Other freeways and expressways	15	3.0%	4.3%
Other principal arterial	158	31.7%	30.6%
Minor arterial	114	22.8%	26.7%
Major collector	57	11.4%	10.0%
Minor collector	1 or 2	0.4%	0.9%
Local	51	10.2%	11.5%
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.Middlesex County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	246
Dark, not lighted	69
Dark, lighted	142
Dawn	11
Dusk	17
Dark, lighting unknown	6
Other or unknown	8

Table 8.Middlesex County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	346
Cloudy	73
Rain	49
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	11
Fog, smog or smoke	3
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	17

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Middlesex County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Middlesex	In all of Massachusetts
Interstate 90	Interstate	11	83
Interstate 93	Interstate	27	77
Interstate 95	Interstate	18	88
Interstate 290	Interstate	5	25
Interstate 495	Interstate	41	148
State Route 2	State highway	7	40
State Route 2A	State highway	13	29
State Route 3	State highway	1 or 2	35
State Route 9	State highway	4	48
State Route 16	State highway	13	21
State Route 28	State highway	11	73
State Route 110	State highway	7	27
US Route 1	US highway	1 or 2	45
US Route 20	US highway	7	74

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 Massachusetts

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Middlesex County on the county map of Massachusetts

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

Fewer than 1013 counties
10 to 14.91 county
15 to 19.90 counties
20 to 29.90 counties
30 or more0 counties
Middlesex County: 3.2

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 Massachusetts

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Middlesex County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Essex County	Massachusetts	29	332	4.2
Norfolk County	Massachusetts	37	368	5.1
Suffolk County	Massachusetts	33	271	3.4
Worcester County	Massachusetts	49	533	6.3
Hillsborough County	New Hampshire	32	262	6.2

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Massachusetts have a population nearest to that of Middlesex 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.
Governors Highway Safety Association: State Highway Safety OfficesThe list of the highway safety offices of the states.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Middlesex County, Massachusetts: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/ma/middlesex/. 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 Middlesex in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 551 deaths in Middlesex County from 2005 to 2014. It records 513 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Middlesex in 2024?

The rate of Middlesex County in 2024 was 3.3 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Massachusetts was 5.1. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 131 of 499 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 Middlesex?

14 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 167 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.