Bernalillo County, New Mexico: fatal crash statistics

Counties of New Mexico by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 117 deaths in 112 fatal crashes in Bernalillo County in 2024.

FARS records 1,043 deaths in 988 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 15.4 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of New Mexico in the same years is 19.4.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Bernalillo County was number 1 of 33 counties of New Mexico.

Deaths in Bernalillo County rose by 68.5% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (619) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (1,043).

In the counties of New Mexico the deaths rose by 5.8% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 8.8% of the fatal crashes in Bernalillo County with a known setting were rural, against 54.5% in New Mexico.

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 Bernalillo County by year, 2015 to 2024

100

104

109

142

109

115

117

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.Bernalillo County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	117	112	15
2023	115	112	17
2022	109	102	31
2021	142	134	31
2020	109	104	21
2019	104	100	22
2018	92	87	17
2017	91	83	21
2016	100	95	32
2015	64	59	22
2015 to 2024	1,043	988	229

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 142 (2021)2024: 117

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

Table 2.Bernalillo County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	117	112
2023	115	112
2022	109	102
2021	142	134
2020	109	104
2019	104	100
2018	92	87
2017	91	83
2016	100	95
2015	64	59
2014	69	65
2013	52	49
2012	68	67
2011	44	40
2010	49	43
2009	58	56
2008	57	54
2007	67	65
2006	73	69
2005	82	69
2004	79	77
2003	61	54
2002	72	68
2001	78	74
2000	61	58
1999	69	60
1998	66	64
1997	86	71
1996	90	80
1995	91	78
1994	75	70
1993	76	74
1992	82	72
1991	66	60
1990	82	79
1989	76	74
1988	76	72
1987	109	96
1986	100	92
1985	86	79
1984	89	74
1983	73	66
1982	79	66
1981	68	65
1980	87	78
1979	99	91
1978	123	114
1977	95	85
1976	74	66
1975	75	69

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.Bernalillo County beside New Mexico and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Bernalillo County	New Mexico	United States
2024	17.5	19.2	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	15.4	19.4	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. Bernalillo County had 670,181 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Bernalillo County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in New Mexico
A driver recorded as drinkingof 988 fatal crashes	229	988 fatal crashes	23.2%	26.4%
A speeding-related driverof 988 fatal crashes	325	988 fatal crashes	32.9%	35.9%
No restraint usedof 388 occupant deaths with restraint use known	205	388 occupant deathswith restraint use known	52.8%	54.3%
Pedestriansof 1,043 deaths	374	1,043 deaths	35.9%	20.5%
Bicyclistsof 1,043 deaths	32	1,043 deaths	3.1%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 1,043 deaths	171	1,043 deaths	16.4%	12.2%
On a rural roadof 984 fatal crashes with the condition reported	87	984 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	8.8%	54.5%
In the darkof 985 fatal crashes with the condition reported	588	985 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	59.7%	49.6%

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.Bernalillo 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	46	15	32	72	165
Monday	23	16	31	52	122
Tuesday	16	17	29	65	127
Wednesday	33	19	35	52	139
Thursday	26	16	30	49	121
Friday	27	23	35	80	165
Saturday	39	24	25	61	149
All days	210	130	217	431	988

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.Bernalillo County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in New Mexico
Interstate	187	19.0%	21.6%
Other freeways and expressways	1 or 2	0.2%	0.8%
Other principal arterial	534	54.3%	37.4%
Minor arterial	107	10.9%	14.8%
Major collector	89	9.0%	12.4%
Minor collector	18	1.8%	3.2%
Local	47	4.8%	9.7%
Not reported	4	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.Bernalillo County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	330
Dark, not lighted	236
Dark, lighted	343
Dawn	32
Dusk	35
Dark, lighting unknown	9
Other or unknown	3

Table 8.Bernalillo County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	915
Cloudy	14
Rain	25
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	8
Fog, smog or smoke	0
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	12
Other or not reported	14

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Bernalillo County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Bernalillo	In all of New Mexico
Interstate 25	Interstate	73	314
Interstate 40	Interstate	111	374
State Route 14	State highway	1 or 2	35
State Route 45	State highway	89	89
State Route 47	State highway	13	32
State Route 500	State highway	23	25
State Route 528	State highway	7	20
State Route 556	State highway	25	25

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 New Mexico

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Bernalillo County on the county map of New Mexico

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

Fewer than 101 county
10 to 14.96 counties
15 to 19.92 counties
20 to 29.910 counties
30 or more14 counties
Bernalillo County: 15.4

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 New Mexico

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Bernalillo County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Cibola County	New Mexico	6	141	52.5
Sandoval County	New Mexico	13	157	10.6
Santa Fe County	New Mexico	18	201	13.2
Torrance County	New Mexico	14	103	66.5
Valencia County	New Mexico	11	99	12.8

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of New Mexico have a population nearest to that of Bernalillo 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.
New Mexico Traffic Safety DivisionThe highway safety office of New Mexico.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Bernalillo County, New Mexico: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/nm/bernalillo/. 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.

Embed this card on your site

Copy this code into your page. The card shows the figures above with their source. A line under the card links to this page.

<iframe src="https://fatalroads.com/embed/county/nm/bernalillo/" title="Fatal crashes in Bernalillo County, New Mexico" width="100%" height="300" style="border:0;max-width:640px" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p style="margin:4px 0 0;font-size:13px"><a href="https://fatalroads.com/county/nm/bernalillo/">Fatal crashes in Bernalillo County, New Mexico</a>, from fatalroads.com</p>

How embedding works. It is free. Keep the link in the card and the link line under it.

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 Bernalillo in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 619 deaths in Bernalillo County from 2005 to 2014. It records 1,043 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Bernalillo in 2024?

The rate of Bernalillo County in 2024 was 17.5 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of New Mexico was 19.2. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 229 of 988 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 Bernalillo?

8 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 343 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.