KEY TAKEAWAYS
| 01 DEADLIEST CITIES |
One city records a fatal crash rate of 22.7 per 100,000, the highest of any tourist destination analyzed. Four of the top eight most dangerous cities are concentrated in a single state that dominates the overall rankings. |
| 02 REGIONAL PATTERN |
Southern tourist cities account for 13 of the top 20 destinations by fatal crash rate, with one region posting a study-high average of 16.2 per 100,000. The Northeast records the lowest regional average at 5.7 per 100,000, with no city placing in the top 20. |
| 03 SAFEST CITIES |
The nation’s safest tourist destination records just 2.7 fatal crashes per 100,000 residents, a rate more than eight times lower than the most dangerous city in the study. The safest destinations are concentrated along the Northeast corridor and the Pacific Coast. |
America’s most celebrated tourist destinations attract millions of visitors every year, promising rest, adventure, and a break from the ordinary. Yet for many travelers, the roads that run through these familiar places carry a risk that no itinerary accounts for. The streets of some of the country’s most visited cities have quietly earned a far darker reputation, one measured not in star ratings or foot traffic, but in fatal crashes. For drivers who arrive expecting a safe and unremarkable journey, the reality in certain destinations is strikingly different. This is the story of the tourist destinations where the roads themselves have become the hazard.
© Blakeley Law Firm
This study was conducted by Blakeley Law Firm. Fatal crash data for 50 of America’s most-visited tourist destinations was sourced from the NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) for the years 2020 through 2024. An average annual fatal crash rate per 100,000 population was calculated for each city and used to produce the final rankings.
America’s Most Dangerous Tourist Destinations for Fatal Crashes
| Rank | City | State | Avg. Annual Fatal Crashes (2020-2024) | Fatal Crashes per 100,000 Population |
| 1 | St. Louis | Missouri | 61.2 | 22.7 |
| 2 | Fort Lauderdale | Florida | 42.2 | 21.7 |
| 3 | Detroit | Michigan | 130.0 | 20.0 |
| 4 | Sarasota | Florida | 11.2 | 19.2 |
| 5 | Albuquerque | New Mexico | 106.8 | 19.1 |
| 6 | Myrtle Beach | South Carolina | 7.6 | 18.6 |
| 7 | Fort Myers | Florida | 19.0 | 17.9 |
| 8 | West Palm Beach | Florida | 23.4 | 17.6 |
| 9 | Cleveland | Ohio | 62.6 | 17.3 |
| 10 | New Orleans | Louisiana | 59.4 | 16.9 |
The highest-ranked city records 22.7 fatal crashes per 100,000 residents annually, a rate more than eight times higher than the safest destination in the study, which records just 2.7 per 100,000.
Florida Cities in Focus: All Eight Tourist Destinations Rank Above the National Average
| Rank in Florida | City | State | National Rank (of 50) | Avg. Annual Fatal Crashes | Fatal Crashes per 100,000 |
| 1 | Fort Lauderdale | Florida | 2 | 42.2 | 21.7 |
| 2 | Sarasota | Florida | 4 | 11.2 | 19.2 |
| 3 | Fort Myers | Florida | 7 | 19.0 | 17.9 |
| 4 | West Palm Beach | Florida | 8 | 23.4 | 17.6 |
| 5 | Jacksonville | Florida | 14 | 153.2 | 14.7 |
| 6 | Tampa | Florida | 17 | 60.0 | 14.0 |
| 7 | Miami | Florida | 19 | 64.2 | 12.6 |
| 8 | Orlando | Florida | 22 | 41.8 | 12.0 |
Florida places all eight of its analyzed cities at or above the national study average for fatal crash rates, with its top-ranked city, Fort Lauderdale, recording 21.7 fatal crashes per 100,000 residents. Even Florida’s lowest-ranked entry, Orlando, posts 12.0 per 100,000, confirming that elevated road fatality risk is a consistent statewide pattern rather than an isolated outlier.
Tourist Cities With the Highest Annual Fatal Crash Totals
| Rank | City | State | Avg. Annual Fatal Crashes (2020-2024) | Fatal Crashes per 100,000 | Rate Rank (of 50) |
| 1 | Houston | Texas | 299.6 | 12.3 | 20 |
| 2 | Phoenix | Arizona | 272.0 | 16.0 | 11 |
| 3 | New York | New York | 228.2 | 2.7 | 50 |
| 4 | Dallas | Texas | 205.0 | 15.3 | 13 |
| 5 | Chicago | Illinois | 176.2 | 6.5 | 39 |
| 6 | San Antonio | Texas | 173.6 | 11.1 | 24 |
| 7 | Jacksonville | Florida | 153.2 | 14.7 | 14 |
| 8 | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | 135.0 | 8.7 | 33 |
| 9 | Detroit | Michigan | 130.0 | 20.0 | 3 |
| 10 | Indianapolis | Indiana | 122.8 | 13.7 | 18 |
The city with the highest raw crash total averages nearly 300 fatal crashes per year, yet its per-capita rate ranks 20th nationally, showing that large populations can absorb high absolute numbers without signaling the greatest individual risk. The starkest example is the city that ranks 3rd in raw crash count at 228.2 per year but holds the safest per-capita rate in the entire study at just 2.7 per 100,000.
America’s Safest Tourist Destinations for Drivers: The Cities With the Lowest Fatal Crash Rates
| Rank (of 50) | City | State | Avg. Annual Fatal Crashes (2020-2024) | Fatal Crashes per 100,000 |
| 41 | San Jose | California | 63.0 | 6.4 |
| 42 | Las Vegas | Nevada | 41.4 | 6.0 |
| 43 | Washington | D.C. | 37.4 | 5.2 |
| 44 | Minneapolis | Minnesota | 22.0 | 5.1 |
| 45 | Providence | Rhode Island | 10.0 | 5.1 |
| 46 | Honolulu | Hawaii | 17.4 | 5.1 |
| 47 | Seattle | Washington | 36.6 | 4.6 |
| 48 | San Francisco | California | 35.6 | 4.4 |
| 49 | Boston | Massachusetts | 21.8 | 3.2 |
| 50 | New York | New York | 228.2 | 2.7 |
The ten safest tourist destinations in America are clustered along the Northeast corridor and the Pacific Coast, where urban density, transit availability, and pedestrian infrastructure correlate with lower per-capita fatal crash rates. The nation’s safest destination records just 2.7 fatal crashes per 100,000 residents, a figure that stands more than eight times lower than the most dangerous city in the study.
Methodology
This study, conducted by Blakeley Law Firm, examined fatal crash records for 50 major U.S. tourist destinations drawn from AAA’s list of top American travel destinations. All crash data was sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (NHTSA FARS), a federal database that captures every motor vehicle crash resulting in at least one death on a U.S. public road, for calendar years 2020 through 2024. Annual crash totals for each city were averaged across the five-year period to generate a single Average Annual Fatal Crashes figure, smoothing out any single-year anomalies. A per-capita fatal crash rate was then calculated using the formula: (Average Annual Fatal Crashes divided by city population) multiplied by 100,000, with population figures drawn from 2026 city-level estimates. Cities were ranked from highest to lowest per-capita rate, with Rank 1 assigned to the most dangerous destination.
Data Sources
AAA Tourist Destination Rankings
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IXV0WLMmkGunE5m5uZNCpPG00yT8hpTEk__zEp3VSGY/edit?gid=0#gid=0
NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS)
https://cdan.dot.gov/query
Research Dataset: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Iku53T42zlNJnaqH0paErS69uiIccJIBkhocs0i5NwE/edit?gid=0#gid=0
Study by: https://www.floridainjuryadvocate.com/
About Blakeley Law Firm
Blakeley Law Firm is a Florida-based personal injury law firm focused exclusively on representing victims of motor vehicle accidents and families who have lost loved ones due to negligence. The firm handles personal injury and wrongful death claims and is dedicated to fighting for justice on behalf of those harmed on America’s roads.
