Counties in North Carolina by traffic fatalities, 2024
Mecklenburg County had the highest traffic fatalities of 100 counties in 2024, at 121. Chowan County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 12 and the figure for North Carolina was 1,619. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Top 40 counties, 2024
Full ranking
| Rank | Counties | 2024 | Change on 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mecklenburg County Provisional | 121 | +24.7% |
| 2 | Wake County Provisional | 83 | -17.8% |
| 3 | Guilford County Provisional | 74 | +37% |
| 4 | Cumberland County Provisional | 59 | +13.5% |
| 5 | Robeson County Provisional | 46 | -29.2% |
| 6 | Buncombe County Provisional | 44 | -6.4% |
| 7 | Johnston County Provisional | 40 | +25% |
| 8 | Forsyth County Provisional | 39 | -23.5% |
| 9 | Gaston County Provisional | 37 | +42.3% |
| 10 | Harnett County Provisional | 35 | +16.7% |
| 11 | Davidson County Provisional | 33 | 0% |
| 12 | Rowan County Provisional | 32 | +28% |
| 13 | Durham County Provisional | 31 | -18.4% |
| 14 | New Hanover County Provisional | 29 | +52.6% |
| 14 | Randolph County Provisional | 29 | -12.1% |
| 16 | Iredell County Provisional | 27 | +22.7% |
| 17 | Pitt County Provisional | 26 | -21.2% |
| 18 | Alamance County Provisional | 25 | +38.9% |
| 19 | Brunswick County Provisional | 24 | +33.3% |
| 19 | Caldwell County Provisional | 24 | +140% |
| 19 | Union County Provisional | 24 | +14.3% |
| 22 | Cabarrus County Provisional | 23 | -11.5% |
| 23 | Catawba County Provisional | 22 | -12% |
| 23 | Orange County Provisional | 22 | +29.4% |
| 25 | Sampson County Provisional | 21 | -16% |
| 25 | Wayne County Provisional | 21 | -8.7% |
| 25 | Wilson County Provisional | 21 | +16.7% |
| 28 | Duplin County Provisional | 19 | 0% |
| 28 | Onslow County Provisional | 19 | -24% |
| 30 | Burke County Provisional | 18 | +63.6% |
| 30 | Columbus County Provisional | 18 | +12.5% |
| 32 | Chatham County Provisional | 17 | 0% |
| 32 | Franklin County Provisional | 17 | +6.3% |
| 32 | Moore County Provisional | 17 | -37% |
| 32 | Wilkes County Provisional | 17 | +112.5% |
| 36 | Cleveland County Provisional | 16 | -33.3% |
| 36 | Henderson County Provisional | 16 | +33.3% |
| 36 | Rutherford County Provisional | 16 | +45.5% |
| 39 | Edgecombe County Provisional | 15 | 0% |
| 39 | Hoke County Provisional | 15 | +15.4% |
| 39 | Lenoir County Provisional | 15 | 0% |
| 42 | Richmond County Provisional | 14 | +75% |
| 43 | Anson County Provisional | 13 | +62.5% |
| 43 | Carteret County Provisional | 13 | +30% |
| 43 | Halifax County Provisional | 13 | -38.1% |
| 43 | Rockingham County Provisional | 13 | -18.8% |
| 47 | Craven County Provisional | 12 | +50% |
| 47 | Lee County Provisional | 12 | -7.7% |
| 47 | Nash County Provisional | 12 | -45.5% |
| 47 | Surry County Provisional | 12 | +20% |
| 51 | Beaufort County Provisional | 11 | +120% |
| 51 | Stanly County Provisional | 11 | +10% |
| 51 | Yadkin County Provisional | 11 | +10% |
| 54 | Davie County Provisional | 10 | +100% |
| 54 | Haywood County Provisional | 10 | -23.1% |
| 56 | Granville County Provisional | 9 | +12.5% |
| 56 | Madison County Provisional | 9 | +350% |
| 58 | Macon County Provisional | 8 | +100% |
| 58 | Montgomery County Provisional | 8 | -38.5% |
| 58 | Scotland County Provisional | 8 | -55.6% |
| 58 | Warren County Provisional | 8 | +14.3% |
| 62 | Caswell County Provisional | 7 | +250% |
| 62 | Dare County Provisional | 7 | +16.7% |
| 62 | Hertford County Provisional | 7 | +133.3% |
| 62 | Lincoln County Provisional | 7 | -50% |
| 62 | Northampton County Provisional | 7 | +75% |
| 62 | Pender County Provisional | 7 | -53.3% |
| 68 | Alexander County Provisional | 6 | -50% |
| 68 | Bladen County Provisional | 6 | -33.3% |
| 68 | McDowell County Provisional | 6 | -25% |
| 68 | Person County Provisional | 6 | -40% |
| 68 | Stokes County Provisional | 6 | +20% |
| 73 | Clay County Provisional | 5 | +400% |
| 73 | Gates County Provisional | 5 | +66.7% |
| 73 | Jackson County Provisional | 5 | 0% |
| 73 | Martin County Provisional | 5 | +25% |
| 73 | Mitchell County Provisional | 5 | +150% |
| 73 | Polk County Provisional | 5 | 0% |
| 79 | Cherokee County Provisional | 4 | -20% |
| 79 | Greene County Provisional | 4 | +33.3% |
| 79 | Pasquotank County Provisional | 4 | -20% |
| 79 | Transylvania County Provisional | 4 | +33.3% |
| 79 | Tyrrell County Provisional | 4 | +300% |
| 79 | Vance County Provisional | 4 | -20% |
| 79 | Watauga County Provisional | 4 | -20% |
| 86 | Ashe County Provisional | 3 | -57.1% |
| 86 | Pamlico County Provisional | 3 | +50% |
| 86 | Perquimans County Provisional | 3 | +200% |
| 86 | Washington County Provisional | 3 | |
| 90 | Avery County Provisional | 2 | -50% |
| 90 | Currituck County Provisional | 2 | +100% |
| 90 | Graham County Provisional | 2 | -60% |
| 90 | Swain County Provisional | 2 | -60% |
| 90 | Yancey County Provisional | 2 | 0% |
| 95 | Bertie County Provisional | 1 | -87.5% |
| 95 | Hyde County Provisional | 1 | |
| 95 | Jones County Provisional | 1 | -50% |
| 98 | Alleghany County Provisional | 0 | -100% |
| 98 | Camden County Provisional | 0 | -100% |
| 98 | Chowan County Provisional | 0 | -100% |
Other periods
About this ranking
People killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes during the year. FARS counts people who die within 30 days of a crash involving a motor vehicle travelling on a public road, by the place of the crash, not of residence.
A police-based count of deaths. It differs from death certificate counts (CDC) and from the WHO road traffic death rate (road_traffic_death_rate), which is modelled for international comparison.
Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.
How to cite
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2024/National/FARS2024NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.Citation styles
APA 7
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2026). Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash (Counties in North Carolina by traffic fatalities, 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2024/National/FARS2024NationalCSV.zip
MLA 9
Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash, Counties in North Carolina by traffic fatalities, 2024. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2024/National/FARS2024NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 2026. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. Counties in North Carolina by traffic fatalities, 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2024/National/FARS2024NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties.
Harvard
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2026) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash, Counties in North Carolina by traffic fatalities, 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2024/National/FARS2024NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{national_counties_in_north_carolina_2024,
author = {{National Highway Traffic Safety Administration}},
title = {{Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash: Counties in North Carolina by traffic fatalities, 2024}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2024/National/FARS2024NationalCSV.zip},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties. Publisher attribution: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2024/National/FARS2024NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY - DATA
AU - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
TI - Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash: Counties in North Carolina by traffic fatalities, 2024
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/24
PB - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB - Invokely
UR - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2024/National/FARS2024NationalCSV.zip
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties.
N1 - Publisher attribution: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2024/National/FARS2024NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
Rank Counties in North Carolina by traffic fatalities using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"traffic_fatalities","level":"province","within":"North Carolina","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=traffic_fatalities&level=province&within=North%20Carolina&limit=10Questions
Which county has the highest traffic fatalities?
Mecklenburg County, with 121 in 2024, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Which county has the lowest traffic fatalities?
Chowan County, with 0 in 2024.
Where does this ranking come from?
Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. Retrieved 2026-10-12.