Counties in North Carolina by traffic fatalities

Wake County had the highest traffic fatalities of 100 counties in 2013, at 73. Washington County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 9 and the figure for North Carolina was 1,290. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Highest73Wake County
Median9100 counties
North Carolina1,290History

Top 40 counties, 2013

Wake County: 73 countWake County73Mecklenburg County: 67 countMecklenburg County67Cumberland County: 53 countCumberland County53Guilford County: 44 countGuilford County44Robeson County: 42 countRobeson County42Buncombe County: 35 countBuncombe County35Davidson County: 31 countDavidson County31Johnston County: 28 countJohnston County28Forsyth County: 27 countForsyth County27Harnett County: 27 countHarnett County27Rowan County: 27 countRowan County27Wayne County: 26 countWayne County26Durham County: 25 countDurham County25Onslow County: 25 countOnslow County25Alamance County: 23 countAlamance County23Gaston County: 23 countGaston County23Columbus County: 22 countColumbus County22Iredell County: 22 countIredell County22Randolph County: 22 countRandolph County22Catawba County: 21 countCatawba County21Nash County: 21 countNash County21Pitt County: 21 countPitt County21Union County: 21 countUnion County21Cabarrus County: 19 countCabarrus County19New Hanover County: 18 countNew Hanover County18Craven County: 17 countCraven County17Bladen County: 16 countBladen County16Lee County: 15 countLee County15Orange County: 15 countOrange County15Pender County: 15 countPender County15Beaufort County: 13 countBeaufort County13Brunswick County: 13 countBrunswick County13Rockingham County: 13 countRockingham County13Sampson County: 13 countSampson County13Vance County: 13 countVance County13Wilson County: 13 countWilson County13Chatham County: 12 countChatham County12Franklin County: 12 countFranklin County12Halifax County: 12 countHalifax County12Lincoln County: 12 countLincoln County12
count. Source: NHTSA, 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.

Full ranking

RankCounties2013
count
Change on 2012
1Wake County73+2.8%
2Mecklenburg County67-9.5%
3Cumberland County53-13.1%
4Guilford County44-2.2%
5Robeson County42-17.6%
6Buncombe County35+40%
7Davidson County31-3.1%
8Johnston County28-9.7%
9Forsyth County27-22.9%
9Harnett County27+28.6%
9Rowan County27-3.6%
12Wayne County26+23.8%
13Durham County25+13.6%
13Onslow County25+8.7%
15Alamance County23+76.9%
15Gaston County23+9.5%
17Columbus County220%
17Iredell County22+15.8%
17Randolph County22+15.8%
20Catawba County21+5%
20Nash County21-4.5%
20Pitt County210%
20Union County21-16%
24Cabarrus County19+58.3%
25New Hanover County18-33.3%
26Craven County17+30.8%
27Bladen County16+100%
28Lee County15+275%
28Orange County15+15.4%
28Pender County15+50%
31Beaufort County13-13.3%
31Brunswick County13-53.6%
31Rockingham County13-31.6%
31Sampson County13-18.8%
31Vance County13+62.5%
31Wilson County13+62.5%
37Chatham County12+100%
37Franklin County12+140%
37Halifax County12-14.3%
37Lincoln County12+33.3%
37Richmond County12+20%
42Rutherford County11+37.5%
42Surry County11-42.1%
44McDowell County10+42.9%
44Stanly County10+100%
44Wilkes County10+11.1%
47Burke County9+28.6%
47Cleveland County9-25%
47Duplin County9-40%
47Henderson County9+12.5%
47Moore County9+80%
47Scotland County9+80%
47Stokes County9+28.6%
54Alexander County8+14.3%
54Caldwell County8+14.3%
54Carteret County8-27.3%
54Edgecombe County8-11.1%
54Granville County8-42.9%
59Anson County7-12.5%
59Dare County7+75%
59Haywood County7+250%
59Lenoir County7-36.4%
59Northampton County7-12.5%
64Cherokee County60%
64Hoke County6-64.7%
64Person County6-14.3%
64Yadkin County6-25%
68Ashe County5+25%
68Bertie County50%
68Graham County5+400%
68Jackson County5-44.4%
68Martin County5-28.6%
68Perquimans County5n/a
68Polk County5-16.7%
68Swain County5+150%
76Alleghany County4+100%
76Currituck County4+33.3%
76Davie County40%
76Macon County4-42.9%
76Mitchell County4+100%
76Montgomery County4-20%
76Watauga County4-33.3%
83Gates County3-25%
83Greene County3-40%
83Hertford County30%
83Madison County30%
83Transylvania County3-50%
83Yancey County3-57.1%
89Avery County2-50%
89Caswell County2-33.3%
89Clay County20%
89Jones County20%
89Pamlico County20%
94Camden County1-66.7%
95Chowan County0-100%
95Hyde County0n/a
95Pasquotank County0-100%
95Tyrrell County0-100%
95Warren County0-100%
95Washington County0-100%

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/2013/National/FARS2013NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

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, 2013) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2013/National/FARS2013NationalCSV.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, 2013. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2013/National/FARS2013NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2013. 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, 2013. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2013/National/FARS2013NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2013.

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, 2013 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2013/National/FARS2013NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2013 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{national_counties_in_north_carolina_2013,
  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, 2013}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2013/National/FARS2013NationalCSV.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2013. 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/2013/National/FARS2013NationalCSV.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, 2013
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/24
PB  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2013/National/FARS2013NationalCSV.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2013
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2013.
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/2013/National/FARS2013NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest traffic fatalities?

Wake County, with 73 in 2013, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which county has the lowest traffic fatalities?

Washington County, with 0 in 2013.

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.

Traffic fatalities: other rankings

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings