Howard County, Maryland: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Maryland by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 21 deaths in 20 fatal crashes in Howard County in 2024.

FARS records 236 deaths in 225 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 7.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Maryland in the same years is 9.1.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Howard County was number 7 of 24 counties of Maryland.

Deaths in Howard County rose by 22.9% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (192) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (236).

In the counties of Maryland the deaths rose by 2.4% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 15.2% of the fatal crashes in Howard County with a known setting were rural, against 18.6% in Maryland.

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 Howard 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.Howard County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	21	20	4
2023	23	23	10
2022	29	29	10
2021	33	31	9
2020	29	26	7
2019	23	21	4
2018	20	19	6
2017	17	17	5
2016	23	21	5
2015	18	18	6
2015 to 2024	236	225	66

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 33 (2004)2024: 21

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

Table 2.Howard County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	21	20
2023	23	23
2022	29	29
2021	33	31
2020	29	26
2019	23	21
2018	20	19
2017	17	17
2016	23	21
2015	18	18
2014	16	16
2013	16	15
2012	16	14
2011	17	16
2010	20	18
2009	24	21
2008	22	19
2007	20	17
2006	23	20
2005	18	18
2004	33	25
2003	20	19
2002	25	23
2001	21	19
2000	27	24
1999	25	25
1998	30	24
1997	24	23
1996	20	18
1995	14	13
1994	16	16
1993	19	18
1992	21	20
1991	26	23
1990	17	16
1989	20	20
1988	23	23
1987	26	22
1986	31	29
1985	25	21
1984	18	18
1983	21	20
1982	15	14
1981	25	20
1980	18	17
1979	25	21
1978	30	26
1977	19	18
1976	22	17
1975	19	15

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.Howard County beside Maryland and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Howard County	Maryland	United States
2024	6.2	9.3	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	7.2	9.1	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. Howard County had 337,795 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Howard County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Maryland
A driver recorded as drinkingof 225 fatal crashes	66	225 fatal crashes	29.3%	27.9%
A speeding-related driverof 225 fatal crashes	64	225 fatal crashes	28.4%	26.2%
No restraint usedof 138 occupant deaths with restraint use known	64	138 occupant deathswith restraint use known	46.4%	43.4%
Pedestriansof 236 deaths	55	236 deaths	23.3%	23.1%
Bicyclistsof 236 deaths	3	236 deaths	1.3%	2.0%
Motorcyclistsof 236 deaths	29	236 deaths	12.3%	14.5%
On a rural roadof 223 fatal crashes with the condition reported	34	223 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	15.2%	18.6%
In the darkof 225 fatal crashes with the condition reported	128	225 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	56.9%	54.2%

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.Howard 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	19	1 or 2	10	10	40
Monday	11	5	10	7	33
Tuesday	6	3	6	11	26
Wednesday	7	7	5	10	29
Thursday	8	9	8	9	34
Friday	6	4	7	8	25
Saturday	11	3	14	10	38
All days	68	32	60	65	225

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.Howard County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Maryland
Interstate	58	26.0%	12.9%
Other freeways and expressways	27	12.1%	6.8%
Other principal arterial	52	23.3%	34.3%
Minor arterial	37	16.6%	21.2%
Major collector	27	12.1%	13.2%
Minor collector	4	1.8%	2.4%
Local	18	8.1%	9.0%
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.Howard County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	89
Dark, not lighted	68
Dark, lighted	53
Dawn	3
Dusk	5
Dark, lighting unknown	7
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Howard County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	164
Cloudy	32
Rain	15
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	4
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	10

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Howard County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Howard	In all of Maryland
Interstate 70	Interstate	26	109
Interstate 95	Interstate	31	234
State Route 27	State highway	3	26
State Route 32	State highway	15	28
State Route 97	State highway	5	44
State Route 100	State highway	6	21
State Route 175	State highway	13	22
US Route 1	US highway	30	146
US Route 29	US highway	12	27
US Route 40	US highway	6	166

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 Maryland

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Howard County on the county map of Maryland

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

Fewer than 108 counties
10 to 14.910 counties
15 to 19.92 counties
20 to 29.94 counties
30 or more0 counties
Howard County: 7.2

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 Maryland

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Howard County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Anne Arundel County	Maryland	52	454	7.8
Baltimore County	Maryland	74	714	8.5
Carroll County	Maryland	16	147	8.6
Frederick County	Maryland	23	236	8.8
Montgomery County	Maryland	47	425	4.0
Prince George's County	Maryland	101	1,090	11.7

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Maryland have a population nearest to that of Howard 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.
Maryland Highway Safety OfficeThe highway safety office of Maryland.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Howard County, Maryland: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/md/howard/. 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 Howard in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 192 deaths in Howard County from 2005 to 2014. It records 236 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Howard in 2024?

The rate of Howard County in 2024 was 6.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Maryland was 9.3. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 66 of 225 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 Howard?

10 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 147 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.