Otero County, New Mexico: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 11 deaths in 11 fatal crashes in Otero County in 2024.

FARS records 95 deaths in 86 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 14.0 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, Otero County was number 14 of 33 counties of New Mexico.

Deaths in Otero County fell by 12.0% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (108) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (95).

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

From 2015 to 2024, a speeding-related driver was recorded in 52.3% of fatal crashes in Otero County and 35.9% 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 Otero 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.Otero County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	11	11	1 or 2
2023	14	13	4
2022	11	9	3
2021	15	12	1 or 2
2020	6	6	1 or 2
2019	11	9	1 or 2
2018	8	7	1 or 2
2017	6	6	3
2016	3	3	0
2015	10	10	3
2015 to 2024	95	86	20

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 28 (1987)2024: 11

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

Table 2.Otero County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	11	11
2023	14	13
2022	11	9
2021	15	12
2020	6	6
2019	11	9
2018	8	7
2017	6	6
2016	3	3
2015	10	10
2014	13	11
2013	8	8
2012	16	14
2011	14	12
2010	11	11
2009	8	8
2008	9	9
2007	7	5
2006	15	15
2005	7	6
2004	16	13
2003	14	13
2002	8	7
2001	13	13
2000	11	11
1999	9	8
1998	9	9
1997	14	14
1996	12	12
1995	18	13
1994	16	15
1993	6	6
1992	5	5
1991	19	14
1990	12	11
1989	17	13
1988	14	13
1987	28	18
1986	14	14
1985	20	18
1984	20	16
1983	12	11
1982	15	13
1981	25	16
1980	24	18
1979	23	19
1978	27	22
1977	20	15
1976	18	16
1975	22	20

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.Otero County beside New Mexico and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Otero County	New Mexico	United States
2024	15.6	19.2	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	14.0	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. Otero County had 70,624 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Otero County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in New Mexico
A driver recorded as drinkingof 86 fatal crashes	20	86 fatal crashes	23.3%	26.4%
A speeding-related driverof 86 fatal crashes	45	86 fatal crashes	52.3%	35.9%
No restraint usedof 53 occupant deaths with restraint use known	31	53 occupant deathswith restraint use known	58.5%	54.3%
Pedestriansof 95 deaths	12	95 deaths	12.6%	20.5%
Bicyclistsof 95 deaths	1 or 2	95 deaths	1.1%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 95 deaths	17	95 deaths	17.9%	12.2%
On a rural roadof 84 fatal crashes with the condition reported	59	84 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	70.2%	54.5%
In the darkof 86 fatal crashes with the condition reported	35	86 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	40.7%	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.Otero 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	3	1 or 2	5	1 or 2	12
Monday	1 or 2	1 or 2	5	5	13
Tuesday	0	3	4	3	10
Wednesday	1 or 2	3	5	4	13
Thursday	0	5	1 or 2	1 or 2	9
Friday	4	3	1 or 2	6	14
Saturday	1 or 2	1 or 2	3	9	15
All days	11	19	25	31	86

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.Otero County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in New Mexico
Interstate	0	0.0%	21.6%
Other freeways and expressways	0	0.0%	0.8%
Other principal arterial	39	47.0%	37.4%
Minor arterial	13	15.7%	14.8%
Major collector	5	6.0%	12.4%
Minor collector	6	7.2%	3.2%
Local	20	24.1%	9.7%
Not reported	3	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.Otero County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	48
Dark, not lighted	28
Dark, lighted	5
Dawn	0
Dusk	3
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Otero County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	75
Cloudy	1 or 2
Rain	5
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	0
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	4

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Otero County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Otero	In all of New Mexico
US Route 54	US highway	19	49
US Route 70	US highway	15	74
US Route 82	US highway	9	24

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.Otero 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
Otero County: 14.0

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 Otero County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Chaves County	New Mexico	14	113	17.5
Doña Ana County	New Mexico	23	237	10.8
Eddy County	New Mexico	21	148	24.9
Lincoln County	New Mexico	6	50	25.2
Sierra County	New Mexico	4	37	32.8
Culberson County	Texas	0	57	258.8
El Paso County	Texas	81	816	9.6
Hudspeth County	Texas	18	97	250.2

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 Otero 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. Otero County, New Mexico: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/nm/otero/. 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.

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 Otero in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 108 deaths in Otero County from 2005 to 2014. It records 95 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Otero in 2024?

The rate of Otero County in 2024 was 15.6 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 Otero had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 20 of 86 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 Otero?

FARS records 19 fatal crashes on US Route 54 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 15 fatal crashes on US Route 70 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 9 fatal crashes on US Route 82 in the county from 2015 to 2024.