Pierce County, Washington: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Washington by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 102 deaths in 94 fatal crashes in Pierce County in 2024.

FARS records 794 deaths in 733 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 8.8 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, Pierce County was number 2 of 39 counties of Washington.

Deaths in Pierce County rose by 56.6% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (507) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (794).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 16.0% of the fatal crashes in Pierce County with a known setting were rural, against 41.9% 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 Pierce County by year, 2015 to 2024

116

102

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.Pierce County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	102	94	27
2023	116	95	28
2022	87	86	23
2021	98	92	27
2020	73	67	18
2019	66	64	25
2018	57	51	12
2017	56	54	19
2016	73	67	20
2015	66	63	15
2015 to 2024	794	733	214

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 116 (2023)2024: 102

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

Table 2.Pierce County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	102	94
2023	116	95
2022	87	86
2021	98	92
2020	73	67
2019	66	64
2018	57	51
2017	56	54
2016	73	67
2015	66	63
2014	48	47
2013	42	39
2012	42	41
2011	40	39
2010	47	45
2009	46	44
2008	69	65
2007	59	55
2006	60	56
2005	54	49
2004	64	60
2003	67	61
2002	68	61
2001	75	68
2000	72	68
1999	62	56
1998	76	66
1997	67	62
1996	73	68
1995	66	60
1994	55	53
1993	61	55
1992	60	52
1991	61	55
1990	85	80
1989	68	64
1988	92	82
1987	75	69
1986	56	54
1985	75	67
1984	75	69
1983	79	74
1982	81	73
1981	102	87
1980	103	86
1979	90	81
1978	93	79
1977	96	85
1976	69	59
1975	91	80

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.Pierce County beside Washington and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Pierce County	Washington	United States
2024	10.9	9.2	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	8.8	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. Pierce County had 939,786 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Pierce County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Washington
A driver recorded as drinkingof 733 fatal crashes	214	733 fatal crashes	29.2%	31.1%
A speeding-related driverof 733 fatal crashes	236	733 fatal crashes	32.2%	31.1%
No restraint usedof 374 occupant deaths with restraint use known	142	374 occupant deathswith restraint use known	38.0%	40.8%
Pedestriansof 794 deaths	158	794 deaths	19.9%	18.4%
Bicyclistsof 794 deaths	13	794 deaths	1.6%	2.2%
Motorcyclistsof 794 deaths	136	794 deaths	17.1%	15.7%
On a rural roadof 731 fatal crashes with the condition reported	117	731 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	16.0%	41.9%
In the darkof 726 fatal crashes with the condition reported	366	726 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	50.4%	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.Pierce 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	39	15	26	30	110
Monday	12	20	26	29	87
Tuesday	13	18	21	23	75
Wednesday	17	14	34	34	99
Thursday	18	17	35	22	92
Friday	20	17	34	60	131
Saturday	40	19	37	43	139
All days	159	120	213	241	733

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.Pierce County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Washington
Interstate	71	9.7%	12.4%
Other freeways and expressways	27	3.7%	6.1%
Other principal arterial	281	38.5%	30.8%
Minor arterial	212	29.1%	19.2%
Major collector	75	10.3%	18.2%
Minor collector	6	0.8%	3.8%
Local	57	7.8%	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.Pierce County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	325
Dark, not lighted	134
Dark, lighted	226
Dawn	9
Dusk	26
Dark, lighting unknown	6
Other or unknown	7

Table 8.Pierce County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	470
Cloudy	121
Rain	116
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	3
Fog, smog or smoke	10
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	13

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Pierce County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Pierce	In all of Washington
Interstate 5	Interstate	69	390
State Route 7	State highway	75	79
State Route 16	State highway	17	29
State Route 99	State highway	5	138
State Route 161	State highway	19	22
State Route 167	State highway	21	48
State Route 509	State highway	18	36

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.Pierce 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
Pierce County: 8.8

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 Pierce County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
King County	Washington	152	1,260	5.6
Kitsap County	Washington	18	177	6.5
Lewis County	Washington	8	113	13.8
Mason County	Washington	15	115	17.4
Thurston County	Washington	26	219	7.6
Yakima County	Washington	35	405	16.0

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 Pierce 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. Pierce County, Washington: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/wa/pierce/. 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 Pierce in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 507 deaths in Pierce County from 2005 to 2014. It records 794 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Pierce in 2024?

The rate of Pierce County in 2024 was 10.9 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 Pierce had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 214 of 733 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 Pierce?

7 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 224 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.