Cowlitz County, Washington: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Washington by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 23 deaths in 20 fatal crashes in Cowlitz County in 2024.

FARS records 125 deaths in 112 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 11.4 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Washington in the same years is 8.2.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Cowlitz County was number 13 of 39 counties of Washington.

Deaths in Cowlitz County rose by 23.8% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (101) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (125).

In the counties of Washington the deaths rose by 22.3% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, a driver was recorded as drinking in 40.2% of fatal crashes in Cowlitz County and 31.1% in Washington.

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 Cowlitz 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.Cowlitz County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	23	20	8
2023	16	14	8
2022	12	10	5
2021	15	13	4
2020	7	7	3
2019	17	16	6
2018	11	9	4
2017	12	11	1 or 2
2016	5	5	1 or 2
2015	7	7	4
2015 to 2024	125	112	45

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 23 (1979)2024: 23

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

Table 2.Cowlitz County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	23	20
2023	16	14
2022	12	10
2021	15	13
2020	7	7
2019	17	16
2018	11	9
2017	12	11
2016	5	5
2015	7	7
2014	9	7
2013	14	14
2012	6	6
2011	6	6
2010	8	8
2009	7	7
2008	12	11
2007	10	8
2006	19	14
2005	10	9
2004	10	9
2003	8	7
2002	6	5
2001	7	7
2000	13	12
1999	10	10
1998	6	6
1997	18	14
1996	21	18
1995	11	11
1994	11	11
1993	7	7
1992	8	8
1991	13	8
1990	23	20
1989	21	19
1988	15	14
1987	18	14
1986	13	10
1985	14	12
1984	14	11
1983	17	13
1982	11	10
1981	19	16
1980	20	14
1979	23	23
1978	16	14
1977	15	13
1976	14	13
1975	19	18

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.Cowlitz County beside Washington and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Cowlitz County	Washington	United States
2024	20.2	9.2	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	11.4	8.2	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. Cowlitz County had 113,764 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Cowlitz County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Washington
A driver recorded as drinkingof 112 fatal crashes	45	112 fatal crashes	40.2%	31.1%
A speeding-related driverof 112 fatal crashes	43	112 fatal crashes	38.4%	31.1%
No restraint usedof 66 occupant deaths with restraint use known	29	66 occupant deathswith restraint use known	43.9%	40.8%
Pedestriansof 125 deaths	16	125 deaths	12.8%	18.4%
Bicyclistsof 125 deaths	1 or 2	125 deaths	1.6%	2.2%
Motorcyclistsof 125 deaths	19	125 deaths	15.2%	15.7%
On a rural roadof 108 fatal crashes with the condition reported	52	108 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	48.1%	41.9%
In the darkof 110 fatal crashes with the condition reported	47	110 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	42.7%	47.7%

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.Cowlitz 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	7	1 or 2	5	5	19
Monday	1 or 2	3	4	1 or 2	10
Tuesday	0	1 or 2	7	6	14
Wednesday	3	4	0	3	10
Thursday	1 or 2	6	5	8	20
Friday	6	9	7	7	29
Saturday	1 or 2	3	3	3	10
All days	19	28	31	34	112

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.Cowlitz County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Washington
Interstate	27	25.0%	12.4%
Other freeways and expressways	1 or 2	0.9%	6.1%
Other principal arterial	28	25.9%	30.8%
Minor arterial	25	23.1%	19.2%
Major collector	15	13.9%	18.2%
Minor collector	4	3.7%	3.8%
Local	8	7.4%	9.5%
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.Cowlitz County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	62
Dark, not lighted	31
Dark, lighted	16
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	0
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Cowlitz County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	69
Cloudy	22
Rain	16
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	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Cowlitz County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Cowlitz	In all of Washington
Interstate 5	Interstate	27	390
State Route 503	State highway	9	29

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 Washington

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Cowlitz County on the county map of Washington

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

Fewer than 1018 counties
10 to 14.98 counties
15 to 19.94 counties
20 to 29.94 counties
30 or more5 counties
Cowlitz County: 11.4

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 Washington

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Cowlitz County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Columbia County	Oregon	6	67	12.8
Clark County	Washington	41	324	6.5
Lewis County	Washington	8	113	13.8
Skamania County	Washington	1 or 2	37	30.6
Wahkiakum County	Washington	1 or 2	6	13.5

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Washington have a population nearest to that of Cowlitz 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.
Washington Traffic Safety CommissionThe highway safety office of Washington.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Cowlitz County, Washington: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/wa/cowlitz/. 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 Cowlitz in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 101 deaths in Cowlitz County from 2005 to 2014. It records 125 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Cowlitz in 2024?

The rate of Cowlitz County in 2024 was 20.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Washington was 9.2. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 45 of 112 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 Cowlitz?

FARS records 27 fatal crashes on Interstate 5 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 9 fatal crashes on State Route 503 in the county from 2015 to 2024.