Suffolk County, Massachusetts: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Massachusetts by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 33 deaths in 31 fatal crashes in Suffolk County in 2024.

FARS records 271 deaths in 256 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 3.4 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, Suffolk County was number 8 of 14 counties of Massachusetts.

Deaths in Suffolk County fell by 1.1% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (274) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (271).

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

From 2015 to 2024, pedestrians were 40.6% of the deaths in Suffolk County and 20.4% 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 Suffolk 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.Suffolk County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	33	31	6
2023	22	21	6
2022	28	26	10
2021	36	34	11
2020	19	19	6
2019	24	22	6
2018	20	19	4
2017	25	24	7
2016	34	32	7
2015	30	28	7
2015 to 2024	271	256	70

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 82 (1975)2024: 33

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

Table 2.Suffolk County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	33	31
2023	22	21
2022	28	26
2021	36	34
2020	19	19
2019	24	22
2018	20	19
2017	25	24
2016	34	32
2015	30	28
2014	26	24
2013	23	22
2012	29	26
2011	24	24
2010	26	25
2009	21	19
2008	29	29
2007	39	38
2006	31	30
2005	26	24
2004	31	29
2003	32	30
2002	38	36
2001	37	36
2000	31	31
1999	30	29
1998	37	34
1997	28	27
1996	26	26
1995	42	39
1994	27	26
1993	44	43
1992	35	35
1991	49	46
1990	49	46
1989	62	57
1988	67	66
1987	43	40
1986	47	45
1985	53	49
1984	41	40
1983	37	37
1982	54	46
1981	50	46
1980	64	59
1979	72	69
1978	49	48
1977	75	74
1976	68	67
1975	82	74

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.Suffolk County beside Massachusetts and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Suffolk County	Massachusetts	United States
2024	4.2	5.1	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	3.4	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. Suffolk County had 793,535 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Suffolk County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Massachusetts
A driver recorded as drinkingof 256 fatal crashes	70	256 fatal crashes	27.3%	29.7%
A speeding-related driverof 256 fatal crashes	67	256 fatal crashes	26.2%	29.2%
No restraint usedof 83 occupant deaths with restraint use known	59	83 occupant deathswith restraint use known	71.1%	61.7%
Pedestriansof 271 deaths	110	271 deaths	40.6%	20.4%
Bicyclistsof 271 deaths	11	271 deaths	4.1%	2.3%
Motorcyclistsof 271 deaths	46	271 deaths	17.0%	15.6%
On a rural roadof 256 fatal crashes with the condition reported	1 or 2	256 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	0.4%	6.6%
In the darkof 247 fatal crashes with the condition reported	141	247 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	57.1%	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.Suffolk 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	16	6	8	12	42
Monday	3	1 or 2	5	10	20
Tuesday	4	9	8	10	31
Wednesday	11	6	17	12	46
Thursday	6	5	4	12	27
Friday	6	5	7	16	34
Saturday	18	8	9	17	52
All days	64	41	58	89	252

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.Suffolk County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Massachusetts
Interstate	34	13.3%	15.9%
Other freeways and expressways	9	3.5%	4.3%
Other principal arterial	113	44.1%	30.6%
Minor arterial	59	23.0%	26.7%
Major collector	16	6.3%	10.0%
Minor collector	0	0.0%	0.9%
Local	25	9.8%	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.Suffolk County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	96
Dark, not lighted	9
Dark, lighted	126
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	9
Dark, lighting unknown	6
Other or unknown	9

Table 8.Suffolk County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	181
Cloudy	29
Rain	18
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	7
Fog, smog or smoke	0
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	19

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Suffolk County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Suffolk	In all of Massachusetts
Interstate 90	Interstate	15	83
Interstate 93	Interstate	20	77
State Route 1A	State highway	10	28
State Route 2	State highway	1 or 2	40
State Route 2A	State highway	1 or 2	29
State Route 9	State highway	1 or 2	48
State Route 16	State highway	1 or 2	21
State Route 28	State highway	5	73
US Route 1	US highway	3	45
US Route 20	US highway	3	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.Suffolk 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
Suffolk County: 3.4

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 Suffolk County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Essex County	Massachusetts	29	332	4.2
Middlesex County	Massachusetts	55	513	3.2
Norfolk County	Massachusetts	37	368	5.1
Plymouth County	Massachusetts	40	370	7.0

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 Suffolk 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. Suffolk County, Massachusetts: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/ma/suffolk/. 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 Suffolk in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 274 deaths in Suffolk County from 2005 to 2014. It records 271 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Suffolk in 2024?

The rate of Suffolk County in 2024 was 4.2 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 Suffolk had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 70 of 256 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 Suffolk?

10 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 60 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.