Chaves County, New Mexico: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 14 deaths in 14 fatal crashes in Chaves County in 2024.

FARS records 113 deaths in 105 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 17.5 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, Chaves County was number 11 of 33 counties of New Mexico.

Deaths in Chaves County fell by 3.4% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (117) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (113).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 65.7% of the fatal crashes in Chaves 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 Chaves 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.Chaves County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	14	14	3
2023	8	8	1 or 2
2022	15	12	4
2021	7	6	0
2020	12	12	1 or 2
2019	10	9	3
2018	15	13	3
2017	6	6	1 or 2
2016	14	13	4
2015	12	12	3
2015 to 2024	113	105	26

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 24 (1978)2024: 14

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

Table 2.Chaves County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	14	14
2023	8	8
2022	15	12
2021	7	6
2020	12	12
2019	10	9
2018	15	13
2017	6	6
2016	14	13
2015	12	12
2014	7	7
2013	9	9
2012	8	6
2011	13	12
2010	15	12
2009	15	12
2008	11	10
2007	9	9
2006	20	14
2005	10	9
2004	13	11
2003	5	4
2002	5	5
2001	12	10
2000	11	10
1999	16	7
1998	12	12
1997	18	14
1996	8	8
1995	10	10
1994	12	11
1993	10	10
1992	10	9
1991	8	8
1990	16	12
1989	7	7
1988	10	10
1987	23	19
1986	11	10
1985	16	12
1984	13	13
1983	23	18
1982	21	15
1981	17	15
1980	20	16
1979	16	15
1978	24	21
1977	20	17
1976	17	16
1975	16	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.Chaves County beside New Mexico and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Chaves County	New Mexico	United States
2024	22.0	19.2	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	17.5	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. Chaves County had 63,746 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Chaves County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in New Mexico
A driver recorded as drinkingof 105 fatal crashes	26	105 fatal crashes	24.8%	26.4%
A speeding-related driverof 105 fatal crashes	43	105 fatal crashes	41.0%	35.9%
No restraint usedof 83 occupant deaths with restraint use known	44	83 occupant deathswith restraint use known	53.0%	54.3%
Pedestriansof 113 deaths	16	113 deaths	14.2%	20.5%
Bicyclistsof 113 deaths	1 or 2	113 deaths	1.8%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 113 deaths	8	113 deaths	7.1%	12.2%
On a rural roadof 105 fatal crashes with the condition reported	69	105 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	65.7%	54.5%
In the darkof 105 fatal crashes with the condition reported	53	105 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	50.5%	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.Chaves 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	4	1 or 2	4	11
Monday	4	4	7	5	20
Tuesday	3	4	7	1 or 2	16
Wednesday	3	1 or 2	4	5	13
Thursday	4	1 or 2	5	5	15
Friday	3	3	4	8	18
Saturday	3	0	5	4	12
All days	22	17	33	33	105

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.Chaves County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in New Mexico
Interstate	1 or 2	1.9%	21.6%
Other freeways and expressways	6	5.7%	0.8%
Other principal arterial	64	61.0%	37.4%
Minor arterial	11	10.5%	14.8%
Major collector	10	9.5%	12.4%
Minor collector	3	2.9%	3.2%
Local	9	8.6%	9.7%
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.Chaves County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	49
Dark, not lighted	37
Dark, lighted	16
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	1 or 2
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Chaves County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	96
Cloudy	1 or 2
Rain	4
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Chaves County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Chaves	In all of New Mexico
US Route 70	US highway	18	74
US Route 82	US highway	1 or 2	24
US Route 285	US highway	34	97
US Route 380	US highway	10	26

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.Chaves 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
Chaves County: 17.5

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 Chaves County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
De Baca County	New Mexico	1 or 2	14	80.3
Eddy County	New Mexico	21	148	24.9
Lea County	New Mexico	31	194	27.0
Lincoln County	New Mexico	6	50	25.2
Otero County	New Mexico	11	95	14.0
Roosevelt County	New Mexico	3	45	23.8

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 Chaves 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. Chaves County, New Mexico: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/nm/chaves/. 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 Chaves in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 117 deaths in Chaves County from 2005 to 2014. It records 113 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Chaves in 2024?

The rate of Chaves County in 2024 was 22.0 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 Chaves had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 26 of 105 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 Chaves?

4 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 63 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.