Santa Fe County, New Mexico: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 18 deaths in 17 fatal crashes in Santa Fe County in 2024.

FARS records 201 deaths in 188 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 13.2 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, Santa Fe County was number 5 of 33 counties of New Mexico.

Deaths in Santa Fe County fell by 3.8% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (209) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (201).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 47.3% of the fatal crashes in Santa Fe 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 Santa Fe 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.Santa Fe County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	18	17	1 or 2
2023	15	15	4
2022	25	24	7
2021	22	19	4
2020	33	30	11
2019	17	16	6
2018	18	18	3
2017	16	16	6
2016	23	20	7
2015	14	13	1 or 2
2015 to 2024	201	188	51

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 43 (1988)2024: 18

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

Table 2.Santa Fe County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	18	17
2023	15	15
2022	25	24
2021	22	19
2020	33	30
2019	17	16
2018	18	18
2017	16	16
2016	23	20
2015	14	13
2014	19	18
2013	9	8
2012	18	18
2011	19	19
2010	21	18
2009	26	23
2008	14	14
2007	19	19
2006	31	22
2005	33	29
2004	24	21
2003	19	17
2002	27	27
2001	22	19
2000	25	23
1999	33	19
1998	24	24
1997	29	24
1996	29	26
1995	22	22
1994	21	18
1993	36	32
1992	30	28
1991	37	35
1990	26	23
1989	26	23
1988	43	39
1987	22	22
1986	37	30
1985	31	24
1984	30	29
1983	36	35
1982	38	35
1981	27	26
1980	28	25
1979	39	37
1978	38	36
1977	41	35
1976	27	21
1975	28	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.Santa Fe County beside New Mexico and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Santa Fe County	New Mexico	United States
2024	11.4	19.2	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	13.2	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. Santa Fe County had 157,320 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Santa Fe County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in New Mexico
A driver recorded as drinkingof 188 fatal crashes	51	188 fatal crashes	27.1%	26.4%
A speeding-related driverof 188 fatal crashes	56	188 fatal crashes	29.8%	35.9%
No restraint usedof 112 occupant deaths with restraint use known	56	112 occupant deathswith restraint use known	50.0%	54.3%
Pedestriansof 201 deaths	49	201 deaths	24.4%	20.5%
Bicyclistsof 201 deaths	5	201 deaths	2.5%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 201 deaths	29	201 deaths	14.4%	12.2%
On a rural roadof 188 fatal crashes with the condition reported	89	188 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	47.3%	54.5%
In the darkof 187 fatal crashes with the condition reported	86	187 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	46.0%	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.Santa Fe 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	5	3	9	13	30
Monday	3	6	6	8	23
Tuesday	1 or 2	4	4	4	14
Wednesday	5	7	5	7	24
Thursday	3	8	6	16	33
Friday	6	5	12	11	34
Saturday	4	1 or 2	9	15	30
All days	28	35	51	74	188

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.Santa Fe County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in New Mexico
Interstate	54	28.7%	21.6%
Other freeways and expressways	1 or 2	1.1%	0.8%
Other principal arterial	72	38.3%	37.4%
Minor arterial	28	14.9%	14.8%
Major collector	17	9.0%	12.4%
Minor collector	4	2.1%	3.2%
Local	11	5.9%	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.Santa Fe County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	90
Dark, not lighted	55
Dark, lighted	27
Dawn	4
Dusk	7
Dark, lighting unknown	4
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Santa Fe County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	172
Cloudy	5
Rain	6
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	3

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Santa Fe County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Santa Fe	In all of New Mexico
Interstate 25	Interstate	44	314
Interstate 40	Interstate	8	374
State Route 14	State highway	31	35
State Route 68	State highway	3	38
US Route 84	US highway	17	53
US Route 285	US highway	9	97

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.Santa Fe 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
Santa Fe County: 13.2

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 Santa Fe County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Bernalillo County	New Mexico	117	1,043	15.4
Los Alamos County	New Mexico	1 or 2	8	4.2
Mora County	New Mexico	1 or 2	37	85.3
Rio Arriba County	New Mexico	9	116	29.3
San Miguel County	New Mexico	8	58	21.2
Sandoval County	New Mexico	13	157	10.6
Torrance County	New Mexico	14	103	66.5

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 Santa Fe 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. Santa Fe County, New Mexico: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/nm/santa-fe/. 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 Santa Fe in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 209 deaths in Santa Fe County from 2005 to 2014. It records 201 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Santa Fe in 2024?

The rate of Santa Fe County in 2024 was 11.4 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 Santa Fe had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 51 of 188 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 Santa Fe?

6 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 112 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.