Colorado car accident statistics (2020-2024)

Car accident deaths in Colorado by year

Annual car accident deaths rose from 519 in 2020 to 603 in 2021 and reached 659 in 2022. The count then fell to 608 in 2023 and 574 in 2024. The highest count was in 2022, while 2020 had the lowest. Despite the declines after 2022, the 2024 count was 55 deaths higher than the 2020 count.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Colorado's share of the national car accident death total was 1.6% in 2020, 1.6% in 2021, 1.8% in 2022, 1.7% in 2023 and 1.7% in 2024. For 2020 through 2024, the state's 2,963 deaths represented 1.7% of the national total of 176,219. The 2024 figures remain subject to revision.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

2024 figures come from the FARS Annual Report File and can be revised when NHTSA publishes the final file.

Who died in Colorado car accidents

People in cars, SUVs, pickups or vans accounted for 2,008 deaths, or 67.8%, in Colorado's qualifying crashes from 2020 through 2024. This was the largest person category. People in other vehicles accounted for 399 deaths, or 13.5%, the smallest category. Nonoccupants (FARS person-type grouping) accounted for 556 deaths, or 18.8%.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Each category counts deaths in fatal crashes involving a passenger vehicle, rather than limiting the count to people in that passenger vehicle. When reading with a car accident lawyer in mind, keep these person categories and the crash-location grouping distinct.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Collision types and setting

Angle (side impact) recorded 665 deaths; Head-on, 393; Rear-end, 192; Sideswipe, 110; and Other, 7. Not a collision with a motor vehicle in transport accounted for 1,596 deaths, or 53.9%. That label means the first harmful event was not a collision between motor vehicles in transport, such as a rollover or impact with a fixed object. A vehicle in transport can be stopped in traffic.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Daytime accounted for 1,384 car accident deaths, or 46.7%, and nighttime for 1,578, or 53.3%. Urban deaths numbered 1,874, or 63.2%; rural deaths numbered 1,085, or 36.6%. Unknown time accounted for 1 death; unknown land use accounted for 4 deaths.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Counties with the most car accident deaths

El Paso County had the most car accident deaths at 349, followed by Adams County at 297, Denver County at 289, Arapahoe County at 266 and Weld County at 249. The listed counts also include Jefferson County, 197; Larimer County, 150; Pueblo County, 137; Boulder County, 115; and Douglas County, 105.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Mesa County recorded 75 deaths, La Plata County 46, Garfield County 37, Morgan County 37 and Delta County 31. These are deaths grouped by crash county for 2020 through 2024. Rates measure a different quantity: average annual deaths per 100,000 residents. Among the listed counties, Morgan County had the highest rate at 25.0, and Douglas County had the lowest at 5.6. El Paso County's rate was 9.4.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Up to 15 counties with the most deaths in the period, largest first. Rates for counties with few deaths change sharply with each death.

How Colorado compares with the national rate

Colorado's car accident death rate was 10.1 average annual deaths per 100,000 residents for 2020 through 2024, compared with the national rate of 10.5. The state rate was lower than the national rate. The corresponding death counts were 2,963 for Colorado and 176,219 for the United States.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

These rates divide deaths during the period by the sum of annual Census Bureau population estimates for the same years, then multiply by 100,000. They do not adjust for miles driven or visitors. Colorado's separately reported July 1, 2024 population estimate of 5,988,502 is not the denominator used for this rate. The calculation uses population estimates for each year of the period, rather than that single estimate.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

About these figures

NHTSA's census of fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes is FARS. For inclusion, a crash must involve a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public, with an occupant or nonoccupant death occurring within 30 days. The census excludes nonfatal crashes and injuries. Crash location determines state and county counts, rather than the deceased person's residence.^[8][6][7]

Records for 2020 through 2023 come from FARS Final Files. The 2024 Annual Report File can change when replaced by the Final File. Rates use deaths divided by summed annual Census Bureau population estimates, Vintage 2025, multiplied by 100,000. This gives average annual deaths per 100,000 residents without adjustments for miles driven or visitors. The separate July 1, 2024 estimate is not the rate denominator.^[8][6][7]

See also

• FARS Annual Report File and Final File
• Car accident statistics for El Paso County, Colorado (2020-2024)
• Car accident statistics for Adams County, Colorado (2020-2024)
• Car accident statistics for Denver County, Colorado (2020-2024)
• Car accident statistics for Arapahoe County, Colorado (2020-2024)
• Car accident statistics for Weld County, Colorado (2020-2024)