Dakota County, Minnesota: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Minnesota by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 23 deaths in 19 fatal crashes in Dakota County in 2024.

FARS records 185 deaths in 167 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 4.3 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Minnesota in the same years is 7.3.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Dakota County was number 4 of 87 counties of Minnesota.

Deaths in Dakota County fell by 4.6% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (194) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (185).

In the counties of Minnesota the deaths fell by 5.7% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 27.1% of the fatal crashes in Dakota County with a known setting were rural, against 57.8% in Minnesota.

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 Dakota 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.Dakota County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	23	19	1 or 2
2023	16	16	3
2022	24	24	6
2021	18	16	1 or 2
2020	17	15	5
2019	20	17	4
2018	17	15	6
2017	11	11	1 or 2
2016	28	24	5
2015	11	10	3
2015 to 2024	185	167	37

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 44 (1980)2024: 23

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

Table 2.Dakota County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	23	19
2023	16	16
2022	24	24
2021	18	16
2020	17	15
2019	20	17
2018	17	15
2017	11	11
2016	28	24
2015	11	10
2014	10	7
2013	19	18
2012	19	14
2011	16	14
2010	21	18
2009	13	10
2008	20	17
2007	26	25
2006	22	21
2005	28	24
2004	33	29
2003	14	14
2002	22	21
2001	30	27
2000	35	29
1999	22	21
1998	26	24
1997	24	24
1996	24	23
1995	26	24
1994	19	17
1993	16	15
1992	16	15
1991	18	14
1990	24	22
1989	28	27
1988	23	21
1987	13	10
1986	18	17
1985	28	27
1984	19	17
1983	15	13
1982	24	24
1981	36	31
1980	44	37
1979	42	40
1978	30	26
1977	33	30
1976	28	22
1975	21	22

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.Dakota County beside Minnesota and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Dakota County	Minnesota	United States
2024	5.1	8.2	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	4.3	7.3	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. Dakota County had 453,755 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Dakota County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Minnesota
A driver recorded as drinkingof 167 fatal crashes	37	167 fatal crashes	22.2%	30.3%
A speeding-related driverof 167 fatal crashes	52	167 fatal crashes	31.1%	27.1%
No restraint usedof 93 occupant deaths with restraint use known	29	93 occupant deathswith restraint use known	31.2%	39.8%
Pedestriansof 185 deaths	30	185 deaths	16.2%	11.1%
Bicyclistsof 185 deaths	4	185 deaths	2.2%	1.9%
Motorcyclistsof 185 deaths	29	185 deaths	15.7%	15.5%
On a rural roadof 166 fatal crashes with the condition reported	45	166 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	27.1%	57.8%
In the darkof 166 fatal crashes with the condition reported	68	166 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	41.0%	38.5%

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.Dakota 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	7	1 or 2	8	4	21
Monday	4	7	11	5	27
Tuesday	1 or 2	3	5	3	13
Wednesday	1 or 2	7	6	3	18
Thursday	1 or 2	6	8	13	29
Friday	3	6	7	10	26
Saturday	8	5	10	10	33
All days	28	36	55	48	167

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.Dakota County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Minnesota
Interstate	18	10.8%	8.5%
Other freeways and expressways	8	4.8%	2.6%
Other principal arterial	39	23.5%	22.0%
Minor arterial	69	41.6%	32.2%
Major collector	17	10.2%	18.9%
Minor collector	3	1.8%	5.1%
Local	12	7.2%	10.7%
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.Dakota County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	94
Dark, not lighted	25
Dark, lighted	42
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	1 or 2
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Dakota County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	120
Cloudy	30
Rain	7
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	7
Fog, smog or smoke	0
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Dakota County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Dakota	In all of Minnesota
Interstate 35	Interstate	7	84
Interstate 35W	Interstate	4	28
Interstate 494	Interstate	5	20
State Route 13	State highway	10	28
State Route 19	State highway	1 or 2	22
State Route 55	State highway	13	57
US Route 52	US highway	8	32
US Route 61	US highway	1 or 2	55

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 Minnesota

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Dakota County on the county map of Minnesota

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

Fewer than 1028 counties
10 to 14.934 counties
15 to 19.916 counties
20 to 29.99 counties
30 or more0 counties
Dakota County: 4.3

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 Minnesota

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Dakota County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Goodhue County	Minnesota	4	53	11.2
Hennepin County	Minnesota	55	509	4.0
Ramsey County	Minnesota	28	225	4.1
Rice County	Minnesota	4	52	7.7
Scott County	Minnesota	8	79	5.3
Washington County	Minnesota	8	105	3.9
Pierce County	Wisconsin	1 or 2	48	11.4

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Minnesota have a population nearest to that of Dakota 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. Dakota County, Minnesota: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/mn/dakota/. 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 Dakota in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 194 deaths in Dakota County from 2005 to 2014. It records 185 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Dakota in 2024?

The rate of Dakota County in 2024 was 5.1 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Minnesota was 8.2. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 37 of 167 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 Dakota?

8 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 51 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.