Butler County, Missouri: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Missouri by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 14 deaths in 11 fatal crashes in Butler County in 2024.

FARS records 102 deaths in 93 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 24.1 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Missouri in the same years is 15.5.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Butler County was number 22 of 115 counties of Missouri.

Deaths in Butler County fell by 15.0% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (120) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (102).

In the counties of Missouri the deaths rose by 4.6% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 78.3% of the fatal crashes in Butler County with a known setting were rural, against 52.2% in Missouri.

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 Butler 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.Butler County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	14	11	3
2023	9	7	1 or 2
2022	9	8	0
2021	12	12	1 or 2
2020	14	13	3
2019	8	8	1 or 2
2018	5	5	1 or 2
2017	13	11	3
2016	11	11	1 or 2
2015	7	7	1 or 2
2015 to 2024	102	93	18

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 21 (1979)2024: 14

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

Table 2.Butler County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	14	11
2023	9	7
2022	9	8
2021	12	12
2020	14	13
2019	8	8
2018	5	5
2017	13	11
2016	11	11
2015	7	7
2014	4	4
2013	10	9
2012	7	5
2011	8	7
2010	6	6
2009	14	11
2008	14	13
2007	20	18
2006	20	15
2005	17	13
2004	14	11
2003	15	14
2002	12	11
2001	17	13
2000	11	11
1999	9	8
1998	15	14
1997	19	14
1996	10	10
1995	16	14
1994	13	13
1993	15	14
1992	13	12
1991	10	10
1990	10	10
1989	20	18
1988	12	8
1987	12	12
1986	11	7
1985	11	7
1984	11	11
1983	12	11
1982	10	6
1981	11	8
1980	11	8
1979	21	16
1978	6	6
1977	11	9
1976	13	11
1975	16	12

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.Butler County beside Missouri and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Butler County	Missouri	United States
2024	33.4	15.3	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	24.1	15.5	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. Butler County had 41,899 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Butler County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Missouri
A driver recorded as drinkingof 93 fatal crashes	18	93 fatal crashes	19.4%	27.5%
A speeding-related driverof 93 fatal crashes	30	93 fatal crashes	32.3%	36.5%
No restraint usedof 69 occupant deaths with restraint use known	44	69 occupant deathswith restraint use known	63.8%	63.5%
Pedestriansof 102 deaths	18	102 deaths	17.6%	11.9%
Bicyclistsof 102 deaths	1 or 2	102 deaths	1.0%	1.0%
Motorcyclistsof 102 deaths	12	102 deaths	11.8%	14.1%
On a rural roadof 92 fatal crashes with the condition reported	72	92 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	78.3%	52.2%
In the darkof 92 fatal crashes with the condition reported	43	92 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	46.7%	45.3%

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.Butler 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	1 or 2	3	5	6	16
Monday	1 or 2	1 or 2	3	3	9
Tuesday	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	6	11
Wednesday	1 or 2	4	3	3	11
Thursday	1 or 2	5	4	3	14
Friday	1 or 2	6	3	4	14
Saturday	6	1 or 2	6	4	17
All days	16	22	25	29	92

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.Butler County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Missouri
Interstate	0	0.0%	15.3%
Other freeways and expressways	12	13.2%	7.0%
Other principal arterial	22	24.2%	23.2%
Minor arterial	15	16.5%	20.9%
Major collector	24	26.4%	19.3%
Minor collector	5	5.5%	2.5%
Local	13	14.3%	11.9%
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.Butler County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	49
Dark, not lighted	38
Dark, lighted	5
Dawn	0
Dusk	0
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Butler County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	64
Cloudy	19
Rain	5
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	3
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Butler County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Butler	In all of Missouri
State Route 51	State highway	7	30
State Route B	State highway	1 or 2	76
State Route C	State highway	1 or 2	57
State Route CC	State highway	1 or 2	29
State Route M	State highway	3	53
State Route O	State highway	3	47
State Route T	State highway	1 or 2	36
State Route W	State highway	4	42
US Route 60	US highway	8	156
US Route 67	US highway	16	136
US Route 160	US highway	5	75

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 Missouri

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Butler County on the county map of Missouri

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

Fewer than 104 counties
10 to 14.917 counties
15 to 19.926 counties
20 to 29.950 counties
30 or more18 counties
Butler County: 24.1

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 Missouri

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Butler County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Clay County	Arkansas	14	54	37.1
Carter County	Missouri	0	24	42.0
Dunklin County	Missouri	6	73	25.4
Ripley County	Missouri	1 or 2	37	30.5
Stoddard County	Missouri	5	60	20.7
Wayne County	Missouri	5	27	22.4

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Missouri have a population nearest to that of Butler 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. Butler County, Missouri: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/mo/butler/. 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 Butler in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 120 deaths in Butler County from 2005 to 2014. It records 102 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Butler in 2024?

The rate of Butler County in 2024 was 33.4 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Missouri was 15.3. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 18 of 93 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 Butler?

11 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 53 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.