Columbia County, Wisconsin: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Wisconsin by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 12 deaths in 8 fatal crashes in Columbia County in 2024.

FARS records 114 deaths in 92 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 19.8 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Wisconsin in the same years is 10.2.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Columbia County was number 13 of 72 counties of Wisconsin.

Deaths in Columbia County fell by 9.5% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (126) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (114).

In the counties of Wisconsin the deaths fell by 5.1% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 92.3% of the fatal crashes in Columbia County with a known setting were rural, against 62.5% in Wisconsin.

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 Columbia 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.Columbia County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	12	8	1 or 2
2023	6	6	1 or 2
2022	10	7	0
2021	14	13	3
2020	14	11	4
2019	9	7	1 or 2
2018	11	8	1 or 2
2017	7	6	1 or 2
2016	21	17	3
2015	10	9	3
2015 to 2024	114	92	22

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 23 (1981)2024: 12

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

Table 2.Columbia County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	12	8
2023	6	6
2022	10	7
2021	14	13
2020	14	11
2019	9	7
2018	11	8
2017	7	6
2016	21	17
2015	10	9
2014	5	4
2013	12	11
2012	12	10
2011	13	12
2010	7	7
2009	8	7
2008	10	10
2007	23	16
2006	14	13
2005	22	16
2004	14	13
2003	13	11
2002	17	14
2001	11	9
2000	16	13
1999	9	7
1998	6	6
1997	8	8
1996	7	5
1995	8	7
1994	9	7
1993	11	10
1992	17	15
1991	16	13
1990	16	14
1989	15	11
1988	13	11
1987	17	14
1986	9	8
1985	10	9
1984	7	7
1983	8	8
1982	12	12
1981	23	16
1980	13	12
1979	11	11
1978	10	8
1977	8	8
1976	17	17
1975	14	9

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.Columbia County beside Wisconsin and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Columbia County	Wisconsin	United States
2024	20.7	10.0	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	19.8	10.2	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. Columbia County had 58,005 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Columbia County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Wisconsin
A driver recorded as drinkingof 92 fatal crashes	22	92 fatal crashes	23.9%	33.4%
A speeding-related driverof 92 fatal crashes	19	92 fatal crashes	20.7%	31.0%
No restraint usedof 78 occupant deaths with restraint use known	30	78 occupant deathswith restraint use known	38.5%	49.1%
Pedestriansof 114 deaths	6	114 deaths	5.3%	9.5%
Bicyclistsof 114 deaths	1 or 2	114 deaths	0.9%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 114 deaths	17	114 deaths	14.9%	15.8%
On a rural roadof 91 fatal crashes with the condition reported	84	91 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	92.3%	62.5%
In the darkof 92 fatal crashes with the condition reported	20	92 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	21.7%	41.7%

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.Columbia 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	4	4	9	1 or 2	19
Monday	1 or 2	5	4	1 or 2	12
Tuesday	1 or 2	1 or 2	6	1 or 2	11
Wednesday	0	3	5	1 or 2	9
Thursday	1 or 2	3	5	5	14
Friday	1 or 2	4	6	1 or 2	13
Saturday	3	1 or 2	3	5	13
All days	13	23	38	17	91

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.Columbia County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Wisconsin
Interstate	14	15.4%	7.6%
Other freeways and expressways	1 or 2	1.1%	2.3%
Other principal arterial	5	5.5%	29.4%
Minor arterial	28	30.8%	22.7%
Major collector	13	14.3%	17.2%
Minor collector	15	16.5%	6.2%
Local	15	16.5%	14.6%
Not reported	1 or 2	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.Columbia County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	67
Dark, not lighted	17
Dark, lighted	1 or 2
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	4
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Columbia County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	57
Cloudy	23
Rain	4
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	6
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 Columbia County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Columbia	In all of Wisconsin
Interstate 39	Interstate	11	68
Interstate 90	Interstate	3	46
State Route 16	State highway	6	35
State Route 33	State highway	10	46
State Route 60	State highway	8	25
State Route 73	State highway	1 or 2	37
US Route 51	US highway	6	73
US Route 151	US highway	3	70

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 Wisconsin

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Columbia County on the county map of Wisconsin

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

Fewer than 1018 counties
10 to 14.922 counties
15 to 19.916 counties
20 to 29.914 counties
30 or more2 counties
Columbia County: 19.8

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 Wisconsin

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Columbia County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Adams County	Wisconsin	7	49	23.7
Dane County	Wisconsin	38	352	6.3
Dodge County	Wisconsin	18	127	14.4
Green Lake County	Wisconsin	1 or 2	16	8.4
Juneau County	Wisconsin	6	65	24.4
Marquette County	Wisconsin	0	28	18.0
Sauk County	Wisconsin	7	107	16.5

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Wisconsin have a population nearest to that of Columbia 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.
Governors Highway Safety Association: State Highway Safety OfficesThe list of the highway safety offices of the states.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Columbia County, Wisconsin: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/wi/columbia/. 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 Columbia in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 126 deaths in Columbia County from 2005 to 2014. It records 114 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Columbia in 2024?

The rate of Columbia County in 2024 was 20.7 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Wisconsin was 10.0. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 22 of 92 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 Columbia?

8 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 48 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.