Quick answer
According to crimebycity.com's analysis of NHTSA data, the most dangerous city to drive in in New York is Hempstead Village, NY with 61.0 traffic deaths per 100,000 residents per year (Road Danger Score 100/100), vs a US average of 12.3.
Highest Traffic-Fatality Rates in New York
Cities ranked by Road Danger Score — 5-year traffic deaths per 100,000 residents from NHTSA FARS.
| # | City | Danger Score | Deaths per 100K/yr | Deaths (5-Yr) | Alcohol % | Speeding % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hempstead Village | 100/100 | 61.0 | 177 | 19% | 36% |
| 2 | Tarrytown Village | 100/100 | 41.2 | 24 | 17% | 13% |
| 3 | Canandaigua | 98/100 | 30.6 | 16 | 25% | 25% |
| 4 | Lockport | 98/100 | 28.7 | 29 | 4% | 29% |
| 5 | Fulton | 95/100 | 21.4 | 12 | 36% | 18% |
| 6 | Newburgh City | 95/100 | 21.4 | 30 | 13% | 17% |
| 7 | Fredonia Village | 93/100 | 19.6 | 10 | 20% | 20% |
| 8 | Tonawanda | 92/100 | 18.9 | 14 | 23% | 39% |
| 9 | Fishkill Town | 89/100 | 16.9 | 17 | 12% | 12% |
| 10 | Kingston | 89/100 | 16.9 | 20 | 6% | 22% |
| 11 | Geneva | 88/100 | 16.3 | 10 | 11% | 0% |
| 12 | Riverhead Town | 87/100 | 15.7 | 28 | 29% | 18% |
| 13 | Southold Town | 83/100 | 14.1 | 15 | 36% | 18% |
| 14 | Cortland | 83/100 | 14.0 | 12 | 42% | 58% |
| 15 | Southampton Town | 81/100 | 13.3 | 40 | 15% | 36% |
| 16 | Lloyd Town | 78/100 | 12.6 | 7 | 14% | 14% |
| 17 | Niskayuna Town | 78/100 | 12.6 | 15 | 36% | 29% |
| 18 | Poughkeepsie | 77/100 | 12.6 | 20 | 5% | 26% |
| 19 | Amsterdam | 76/100 | 12.2 | 11 | 9% | 64% |
| 20 | Batavia | 73/100 | 11.7 | 9 | 11% | 44% |
| 21 | Lewiston Town | 72/100 | 11.5 | 9 | 44% | 22% |
| 22 | Hyde Park Town | 71/100 | 11.3 | 12 | 33% | 33% |
| 23 | Stony Point Town | 69/100 | 10.9 | 8 | 25% | 13% |
| 24 | North Tonawanda | 68/100 | 10.7 | 16 | 14% | 29% |
| 25 | Saugerties Town | 66/100 | 10.3 | 10 | 11% | 22% |
| 26 | Massena Village | 65/100 | 10.0 | 5 | 20% | 40% |
| 27 | Rochester | 64/100 | 9.8 | 101 | 20% | 51% |
| 28 | Blooming Grove Town | 61/100 | 9.4 | 6 | 50% | 33% |
| 29 | Oswego | 60/100 | 9.4 | 8 | 25% | 25% |
| 30 | Elmira | 59/100 | 9.2 | 12 | 18% | 55% |
| 31 | Gates Town | 58/100 | 9.1 | 13 | 42% | 8% |
| 32 | Scarsdale Village | 58/100 | 9.1 | 8 | 0% | 0% |
| 33 | Olean | 57/100 | 8.8 | 6 | 0% | 40% |
| 34 | Bedford | 55/100 | 8.6 | 7 | 0% | 57% |
| 35 | Carmel Town | 53/100 | 8.3 | 14 | 23% | 54% |
| 36 | Mamaroneck Town | 52/100 | 8.2 | 5 | 25% | 25% |
| 37 | Syracuse | 52/100 | 8.1 | 59 | 25% | 40% |
| 38 | Plattsburgh | 51/100 | 8.0 | 8 | 38% | 25% |
| 39 | Colonie Town | 50/100 | 7.9 | 32 | 23% | 29% |
| 40 | Brighton Town | 49/100 | 7.8 | 14 | 36% | 43% |
| 41 | Endicott Village | 48/100 | 7.6 | 5 | 20% | 20% |
| 42 | Niagara Falls | 48/100 | 7.6 | 18 | 12% | 35% |
| 43 | Buffalo | 48/100 | 7.6 | 104 | 31% | 40% |
| 44 | Harrison Town | 48/100 | 7.6 | 12 | 30% | 60% |
| 45 | Schenectady | 46/100 | 7.3 | 25 | 14% | 27% |
| 46 | Cicero Town | 44/100 | 7.0 | 10 | 10% | 20% |
| 47 | Fallsburg Town | 43/100 | 7.0 | 5 | 20% | 20% |
| 48 | Cheektowaga Town | 43/100 | 6.8 | 27 | 41% | 48% |
| 49 | Hamburg Town | 42/100 | 6.7 | 16 | 31% | 31% |
| 50 | Lancaster Town | 41/100 | 6.6 | 13 | 60% | 20% |
| 51 | Utica | 39/100 | 6.3 | 20 | 37% | 37% |
| 52 | Albany | 39/100 | 6.3 | 32 | 32% | 36% |
| 53 | Lynbrook Village | 37/100 | 6.0 | 6 | 0% | 33% |
| 54 | Ithaca | 36/100 | 5.9 | 10 | 20% | 10% |
| 55 | Watertown | 35/100 | 5.8 | 7 | 14% | 14% |
| 56 | Webster Town | 34/100 | 5.8 | 13 | 25% | 50% |
| 57 | Spring Valley Village | 31/100 | 5.5 | 9 | 11% | 11% |
| 58 | Garden City Village | 29/100 | 5.3 | 6 | 0% | 33% |
| 59 | Rotterdam Town | 28/100 | 5.2 | 8 | 83% | 67% |
| 60 | Orchard Park Town | 24/100 | 4.7 | 7 | 0% | 17% |
| 61 | Rome | 22/100 | 4.4 | 7 | 14% | 43% |
| 62 | Troy | 21/100 | 4.4 | 11 | 9% | 36% |
| 63 | Jamestown | 21/100 | 4.3 | 6 | 33% | 50% |
| 64 | New Windsor Town | 21/100 | 4.3 | 6 | 17% | 17% |
| 65 | Yonkers | 21/100 | 4.3 | 44 | 22% | 49% |
| 66 | Haverstraw Town | 19/100 | 4.1 | 8 | 14% | 29% |
| 67 | Irondequoit Town | 19/100 | 4.1 | 10 | 20% | 40% |
| 68 | West Seneca Town | 19/100 | 4.0 | 9 | 11% | 22% |
| 69 | Manlius Town | 19/100 | 4.0 | 5 | 20% | 60% |
| 70 | Guilderland Town | 18/100 | 4.0 | 7 | 17% | 33% |
| 71 | Rockville Centre | 18/100 | 3.9 | 5 | 20% | 20% |
| 72 | East Hampton Town | 18/100 | 3.9 | 5 | 40% | 40% |
| 73 | Binghamton | 18/100 | 3.9 | 9 | 0% | 11% |
| 74 | White Plains | 18/100 | 3.9 | 12 | 18% | 18% |
| 75 | Vestal Town | 16/100 | 3.7 | 6 | 40% | 40% |
| 76 | Freeport Village | 16/100 | 3.7 | 8 | 13% | 13% |
| 77 | Amherst Town | 16/100 | 3.6 | 23 | 35% | 50% |
| 78 | Middletown | 14/100 | 3.3 | 5 | 20% | 60% |
| 79 | Greece Town | 13/100 | 3.2 | 15 | 14% | 43% |
| 80 | Auburn | 13/100 | 3.1 | 4 | 33% | 33% |
| 81 | Ramapo Town | 11/100 | 2.9 | 16 | 15% | 39% |
| 82 | New Rochelle | 9/100 | 2.6 | 11 | 20% | 10% |
| 83 | New York City | 7/100 | 2.0 | 822 | 14% | 27% |
| 84 | Mount Vernon | 6/100 | 1.7 | 6 | 0% | 50% |
| 85 | Peekskill | 5/100 | 1.6 | 2 | 50% | 0% |
| 86 | Glen Cove | 4/100 | 1.4 | 2 | 0% | 0% |
| 87 | Saratoga Springs | 4/100 | 1.4 | 2 | 0% | 0% |
| 88 | Wallkill Town | 4/100 | 1.3 | 2 | 0% | 50% |
| 89 | Ossining Village | 3/100 | 0.8 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| 90 | Long Beach | 2/100 | 0.6 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most dangerous city to drive in in New York?
Hempstead Village, NY has the highest traffic-fatality rate in New York: 61.0 deaths per 100,000 residents per year (most recent five-year period, NHTSA FARS), a Road Danger Score of 100/100.
What causes traffic deaths in these cities?
Across these 90 cities, an average of 21% of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver and 30% involved speeding (NHTSA FARS, most recent five-year period). These shares run higher than the safest-city list, alongside structural factors like road type and speed limits.
How is the Road Danger Score calculated?
The Road Danger Score is a percentile ranking from 1 to 100 based on each city's five-year traffic-fatality rate (deaths per 100,000 residents per year) from NHTSA FARS data: 100 = most dangerous to drive in, 1 = safest. See the methodology page for the full formula.