States With the Most Fatal Accidents

Abruptly losing a loved one in an accident is one of life’s greatest tragedies. While often regarded as rare, approximately one American dies in an accident every four minutes. In fact, fatalities from car crashes, drug overdoses, and other accidents are the most common types of death in the first half of an American’s life.

Nationwide, 43.2 Americans died as a result of some form of accident for every 100,000 people in 2015, but not all states report the same rate of deadly accidents. In Maryland, 29.7 people died of accidents per 100,000 state residents — the state where deadly accidents are most rare. West Virginia has the highest rate of deaths from accidents with 77.9 deaths per 100,000 residents.

With data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the accidental death rate in every state.

Click here to see the states with the most fatal accidents.

Poisoning is the leading cause of accidental death nationwide, and the vast majority of these deaths are from accidental drug overdoses. Opioid overdoses have quadrupled since 1999 and are the most common form of drug overdose.

Accidental drug overdose rates vary more between states than any other leading cause of accidental death and explain much of the variances between states. In West Virginia, for example, the unintentional overdose rate of 37.2 per 100,000 residents is over six times higher than in Maryland, the state with the lowest rate of accidental drug overdoses.

After poisoning, motor vehicle accidents and falls are the next leading causes of accidental death. Combined with poisoning, these three causes account for 79% of all accidental deaths nationwide.

Many steps have been taken to reduce the likelihood of a deadly accident. Between 1975 and 2008, seat belts saved an estimated 255,000 lives. Exercise programs for older adults have helped reduce falls in some areas by as much as 50%. However, the explosion of opioid use has overshadowed these and other improvements as the accidental death rate has risen for the sixth year in a row.

To determine the states with the most and least deadly accidents, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2015 accidental death rate in each state with data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of accidental deaths, the leading cause of accidental deaths, as well as the number of accidental deaths from falls, drug overdoses, and motor vehicle accidents were also obtained from the CDC.

These are the states with the most fatal accidents.

50. Maryland
> Accidental death rate: 29.7 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 1,903
> Leading cause of accidental death: Falls
> Accidental deaths from falls: 620

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49. New York
> Accidental death rate: 30.2 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 6,515
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 2,326

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48. California
> Accidental death rate: 30.6 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 12,544
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 4,002

47. Hawaii
> Accidental death rate: 32.2 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 536
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 139

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46. New Jersey
> Accidental death rate: 33.7 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 3,218
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 1,326

45. Illinois
> Accidental death rate: 35.8 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 4,850
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 1,587

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44. Texas
> Accidental death rate: 37.4 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 9,976
> Leading cause of accidental death: Motor Vehicle Accidents
> Motor vehicle accident deaths: 3,722

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43. Nebraska
> Accidental death rate: 38.9 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 799
> Leading cause of accidental death: Motor Vehicle Accidents
> Motor vehicle accident deaths: 268

42. Virginia
> Accidental death rate: 39.6 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 3,429
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 881

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41. Washington
> Accidental death rate: 41.9 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 3,192
> Leading cause of accidental death: Falls
> Accidental deaths from falls: 953

40. Minnesota
> Accidental death rate: 42.0 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 2,574
> Leading cause of accidental death: Falls
> Accidental deaths from falls: 1,089

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39. Iowa
> Accidental death rate: 42.1 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 1,537
> Leading cause of accidental death: Falls
> Accidental deaths from falls: 555

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38. Georgia
> Accidental death rate: 43.2 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 4,344
> Leading cause of accidental death: Motor Vehicle Accidents
> Motor vehicle accident deaths: 1,471

37. Michigan
> Accidental death rate: 43.9 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 4,647
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 1,556

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36. Massachusetts
> Accidental death rate: 44.0 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 3,229
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 1,606

35. North Dakota
> Accidental death rate: 44.1 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 368
> Leading cause of accidental death: Motor Vehicle Accidents
> Motor vehicle accident deaths: 137

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34. Oregon
> Accidental death rate: 44.5 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 1,999
> Leading cause of accidental death: Falls
> Accidental deaths from falls: 730

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33. Idaho
> Accidental death rate: 44.7 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 746
> Leading cause of accidental death: Motor Vehicle Accidents
> Motor vehicle accident deaths: 243

32. Connecticut
> Accidental death rate: 44.8 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 1,799
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 720

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31. Nevada
> Accidental death rate: 45.4 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 1,340
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 517

30. Utah
> Accidental death rate: 45.6 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 1,223
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 427

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29. Delaware
> Accidental death rate: 46.0 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 449
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 169

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28. Florida
> Accidental death rate: 46.2 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 10,578
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 2,772

27. Kansas
> Accidental death rate: 47.2 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 1,475
> Leading cause of accidental death: Motor Vehicle Accidents
> Motor vehicle accident deaths: 398

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26. Indiana
> Accidental death rate: 47.7 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 3,258
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 1,060

25. North Carolina
> Accidental death rate: 47.9 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 4,991
> Leading cause of accidental death: Motor Vehicle Accidents
> Motor vehicle accident deaths: 1,518

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24. Vermont
> Accidental death rate: 48.4 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 346
> Leading cause of accidental death: Falls
> Accidental deaths from falls: 145

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23. Arizona
> Accidental death rate: 49.2 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 3,539
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 998

22. Wisconsin
> Accidental death rate: 49.3 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 3,206
> Leading cause of accidental death: Falls
> Accidental deaths from falls: 1,341

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21. South Dakota
> Accidental death rate: 49.5 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 469
> Leading cause of accidental death: Motor Vehicle Accidents
> Motor vehicle accident deaths: 143

20. Arkansas
> Accidental death rate: 49.6 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 1,538
> Leading cause of accidental death: Motor Vehicle Accidents
> Motor vehicle accident deaths: 593

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19. Colorado
> Accidental death rate: 49.7 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 2,725
> Leading cause of accidental death: Falls
> Accidental deaths from falls: 850

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18. Missouri
> Accidental death rate: 50.9 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 3,309
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 888

17. Alabama
> Accidental death rate: 50.9 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 2,552
> Leading cause of accidental death: Motor Vehicle Accidents
> Motor vehicle accident deaths: 962

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16. Pennsylvania
> Accidental death rate: 52.0 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 7,324
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 2,951

15. Rhode Island
> Accidental death rate: 53.1 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 649
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 281

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14. Maine
> Accidental death rate: 53.8 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 802
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 239

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13. South Carolina
> Accidental death rate: 54.0 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 2,737
> Leading cause of accidental death: Motor Vehicle Accidents
> Motor vehicle accident deaths: 985

12. Louisiana
> Accidental death rate: 54.7 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 2,578
> Leading cause of accidental death: Motor Vehicle Accidents
> Motor vehicle accident deaths: 805

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11. Ohio
> Accidental death rate: 55.9 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 6,756
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 3,053

10. Montana
> Accidental death rate: 56.3 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 637
> Leading cause of accidental death: Motor Vehicle Accidents
> Motor vehicle accident deaths: 220

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9. Tennessee
> Accidental death rate: 56.4 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 3,873
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 1,269

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8. Alaska
> Accidental death rate: 57.9 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 388
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 105

7. New Hampshire
> Accidental death rate: 59.0 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 815
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 369

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6. Mississippi
> Accidental death rate: 59.8 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 1,814
> Leading cause of accidental death: Motor Vehicle Accidents
> Motor vehicle accident deaths: 769

5. Oklahoma
> Accidental death rate: 60.1 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 2,422
> Leading cause of accidental death: Motor Vehicle Accidents
> Motor vehicle accident deaths: 673

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4. Wyoming
> Accidental death rate: 65.8 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 400
> Leading cause of accidental death: Motor Vehicle Accidents
> Motor vehicle accident deaths: 134

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3. Kentucky
> Accidental death rate: 66.0 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 2,962
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 1,144

2. New Mexico
> Accidental death rate: 67.3 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 1,430
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 417

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1. West Virginia
> Accidental death rate: 77.9 (per 100,000)
> Accidental deaths: 1,516
> Leading cause of accidental death: Poison
> Accidental deaths from drug overdoses: 647