Seat belt use by state

Hawaii has the highest share: 65% of its occupants killed with belt use known in 2024. Across the United States, 9,768 occupants killed who were not wearing a seat belt (of those whose belt use is known) made up 49%.

All 50 states and the District of Columbia, ranked by the share. Click a state for its roads, counties and the rest of its figures.

Unbelted: every state, 2024

Shares range from 36% in Nevada to 65% in Hawaii; the median state is at 51%. 1 state has too few crashes for a share.

	State	Unbelted deaths	Share, 2024	Share, 2015 to 2024	All road deaths
1	Hawaii	17	65%	52%	102
2	Wyoming	41	65%	61%	107
3	Nebraska	97	64%	64%	251
4	Missouri	346	63%	63%	955
5	Massachusetts	102	63%	62%	363
6	Montana	81	61%	64%	206
7	Alabama	344	61%	58%	962
8	Delaware	36	60%	47%	126
9	Louisiana	236	59%	57%	752
10	South Dakota	48	59%	66%	146
11	Ohio	375	59%	55%	1,157
12	New Hampshire	39	59%	69%	133
13	Vermont	21	58%	56%	59
14	Oklahoma	209	56%	53%	645
14	Pennsylvania	306	56%	58%	1,127
16	Idaho	75	55%	58%	238
17	Rhode Island	13	54%	54%	52
18	Arkansas	194	54%	54%	603
19	Virginia	320	54%	55%	917
20	South Carolina	330	54%	53%	1,038
20	West Virginia	69	54%	52%	256
22	North Dakota	27	53%	62%	90
23	Colorado	170	52%	54%	689
24	New Mexico	95	52%	54%	409
25	Connecticut	57	51%	50%	310
26	Wisconsin	163	51%	48%	595
27	Arizona	262	51%	54%	1,229
28	New Jersey	135	50%	45%	670
29	Georgia	371	50%	49%	1,403
30	Illinois	252	48%	46%	1,177
30	Maine	56	48%	52%	177
32	Kentucky	201	46%	52%	707
33	Indiana	195	46%	46%	832
34	Texas	1,016	46%	45%	4,160
35	Kansas	95	46%	51%	339
36	North Carolina	430	45%	47%	1,619
37	Utah	53	44%	45%	277
38	Florida	632	44%	45%	3,138
39	Mississippi	197	44%	53%	753
40	Tennessee	304	43%	49%	1,197
41	California	755	43%	38%	3,876
42	Iowa	85	42%	45%	356
43	Minnesota	99	41%	38%	477
44	Washington	139	40%	40%	730
45	Maryland	102	40%	43%	578
46	Alaska	11	39%	49%	70
47	Michigan	222	39%	38%	1,098
48	New York	175	38%	37%	1,101
49	Oregon	103	37%	34%	538
50	Nevada	58	36%	45%	417
	District of Columbia	9	Not enough data	56%	47

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count

Questions about fatal crashes in the United States

Which state has the highest share of occupants killed who were not wearing a seat belt (of those whose belt use is known)?: Hawaii has the highest share: 65% of its occupants killed with belt use known in 2024. Across the United States, 9,768 occupants killed who were not wearing a seat belt (of those whose belt use is known) made up 49%.
How does NHTSA count occupants killed who were not wearing a seat belt (of those whose belt use is known)?: The share of passenger-vehicle occupants killed (drivers and passengers of cars, SUVs, vans and pickups) who were coded as using no restraint, among those whose belt use NHTSA recorded. Belt use is unknown for about one in nine, so the base is smaller than the death count.
How many occupants killed who were not wearing a seat belt (of those whose belt use is known) were there in the United States in 2024?: 9,768, 49% of passenger-vehicle occupants killed with belt use known.

How NHTSA records occupants killed who were not wearing a seat belt (of those whose belt use is known)

The share of passenger-vehicle occupants killed (drivers and passengers of cars, SUVs, vans and pickups) who were coded as using no restraint, among those whose belt use NHTSA recorded. Belt use is unknown for about one in nine, so the base is smaller than the death count.

A share is only given over 20 crashes (or deaths); otherwise the row says "Not enough data" and has no rank. Shares are of fatal crashes or deaths, never rates per driver or per mile: FARS records crashes, not how much people drive. The full method.