Wyoming car accident statistics (2020-2024)

Car accident deaths in Wyoming by year

Car accident deaths fell from 97 in 2020 to 88 in 2021, rose to 101 in 2022 and reached 102 in 2023. The count then fell to 82 in 2024. Within this period, 2023 had the highest count and 2024 had the lowest. The 2024 count was 15 deaths lower than the 2020 count.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Wyoming's share of the national car accident death total was 0.3% in 2020, 0.2% in 2021, 0.3% in 2022, 0.3% in 2023 and 0.2% in 2024. Across 2020 through 2024, Wyoming accounted for 0.3% of the national total of 176,219 deaths. The annual national shares refer to deaths in the selected passenger-vehicle-involved crashes.^{[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 Wyoming car accidents

People in cars, SUVs, pickups or vans accounted for 408 deaths, or 86.8% of Wyoming's car accident deaths from 2020 through 2024. This was the largest person category. People in other vehicles accounted for 37 deaths, or 7.9%. Nonoccupants (FARS person-type grouping) accounted for 25 deaths, or 5.3%, the smallest category.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

These categories describe the people killed in the selected crashes, each of which involved a passenger vehicle. They do not limit the death count to people in that passenger vehicle. Each category uses crash location rather than the person's place of residence.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Collision types and setting

Car accident deaths by manner of collision were Angle (side impact), 74; Head-on, 91; Rear-end, 24; Sideswipe, 21; and Other, 2. Not a collision with a motor vehicle in transport accounted for 258 deaths. That label describes a first harmful event other than a collision between motor vehicles in transport, such as a rollover or impact with a fixed object or parked vehicle. A vehicle in transport can be stopped in traffic.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Daytime accounted for 282 deaths (60.0%), nighttime for 187 (39.8%) and unknown time for 1 (0.2%). The land-use categories recorded 86 urban deaths (18.3%) and 384 rural deaths (81.7%).^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Counties with the most car accident deaths

Fremont County had the most car accident deaths in the county table, with 51, followed by Laramie County with 50, Sweetwater County with 40 and Natrona County with 35. Albany County and Campbell County each recorded 34 deaths. Carbon County recorded 29, Converse County 27, Lincoln County 26 and Park County 21. Goshen County and Johnson County each had 15 deaths; Platte County and Uinta County each had 14. Teton County recorded 12.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Death counts and population-based rates give different comparisons. Among the listed counties, Carbon County had the highest average annual death rate per 100,000 residents, at 40.2, and Natrona County had the lowest, at 8.8. Fremont County's rate was 25.8. These rate rankings apply only to the listed counties.^{[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 Wyoming compares with the national rate

Wyoming's car accident death rate was 16.1, compared with the national rate of 10.5. Both figures measure average annual deaths per 100,000 residents for 2020 through 2024. Wyoming's rate was higher than the national rate. The corresponding death counts were 470 for Wyoming and 176,219 for the United States.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

The calculation divides deaths during the period by the sum of annual Census Bureau population estimates for those years, then multiplies by 100,000. It does not adjust for miles driven or visitors. Wyoming's separately reported 2024 population estimate of 586,722 is not the denominator used for this rate. When reading these figures with a car accident lawyer in mind, keep the crash-location counts distinct from the population-based rates.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

About these figures

NHTSA maintains FARS as a census of fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes. 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, rather than residence, determines state and county counts.^[8][6][7]

Records for 2020 through 2023 are FARS Final Files; 2024 uses the Annual Report File and remains subject to revision. Rates divide period deaths by summed annual Census Bureau population estimates, Vintage 2025, and multiply by 100,000. They measure average annual deaths per 100,000 residents without adjustments for miles driven or visitors. The separate July 1, 2024 population estimate is not the rate denominator.^[8][6][7]

See also

• FARS Annual Report File and Final File