Counties in North Carolina by traffic fatalities

Mecklenburg County had the highest traffic fatalities of 100 counties in 2015, at 80. Tyrrell County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 9 and the figure for North Carolina was 1,379. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Median9100 counties
North Carolina1,379History

Top 40 counties, 2015

Mecklenburg County: 80 countMecklenburg County80Wake County: 65 countWake County65Guilford County: 57 countGuilford County57Robeson County: 53 countRobeson County53Cumberland County: 43 countCumberland County43Forsyth County: 40 countForsyth County40Gaston County: 40 countGaston County40Buncombe County: 36 countBuncombe County36Pitt County: 32 countPitt County32Catawba County: 28 countCatawba County28Davidson County: 28 countDavidson County28Johnston County: 27 countJohnston County27Randolph County: 26 countRandolph County26Durham County: 25 countDurham County25Sampson County: 25 countSampson County25Alamance County: 24 countAlamance County24Cabarrus County: 24 countCabarrus County24Nash County: 24 countNash County24Onslow County: 24 countOnslow County24Harnett County: 23 countHarnett County23Rowan County: 23 countRowan County23New Hanover County: 22 countNew Hanover County22Lee County: 21 countLee County21Cleveland County: 20 countCleveland County20Duplin County: 20 countDuplin County20Lincoln County: 19 countLincoln County19Iredell County: 18 countIredell County18Wayne County: 17 countWayne County17Craven County: 16 countCraven County16Moore County: 16 countMoore County16Surry County: 16 countSurry County16Union County: 16 countUnion County16Hoke County: 15 countHoke County15Rockingham County: 15 countRockingham County15Wilson County: 15 countWilson County15Columbus County: 14 countColumbus County14Pender County: 14 countPender County14Brunswick County: 12 countBrunswick County12Caldwell County: 12 countCaldwell County12Chatham County: 12 countChatham 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

RankCounties2015
count
Change on 2014
1Mecklenburg County80+15.9%
2Wake County65+3.2%
3Guilford County570%
4Robeson County53+65.6%
5Cumberland County43+7.5%
6Forsyth County40+17.6%
6Gaston County40+29%
8Buncombe County36+24.1%
9Pitt County32+100%
10Catawba County28+16.7%
10Davidson County28+16.7%
12Johnston County27-25%
13Randolph County26+13%
14Durham County25-3.8%
14Sampson County25+150%
16Alamance County24+166.7%
16Cabarrus County24+41.2%
16Nash County240%
16Onslow County24+4.3%
20Harnett County230%
20Rowan County23-14.8%
22New Hanover County22+22.2%
23Lee County21+200%
24Cleveland County20+25%
24Duplin County20+17.6%
26Lincoln County19+171.4%
27Iredell County18-33.3%
28Wayne County17-22.7%
29Craven County16+60%
29Moore County16-38.5%
29Surry County16-11.1%
29Union County16-11.1%
33Hoke County15+36.4%
33Rockingham County15+36.4%
33Wilson County15+7.1%
36Columbus County14-22.2%
36Pender County14-26.3%
38Brunswick County12-7.7%
38Caldwell County12+33.3%
38Chatham County120%
38Granville County12-33.3%
38Halifax County12+33.3%
38Orange County12+20%
38Watauga County12+300%
38Wilkes County12-7.7%
46Edgecombe County11+22.2%
46Stanly County11+37.5%
48Vance County10+11.1%
49Henderson County9-43.8%
49Lenoir County9-18.2%
49Scotland County9+12.5%
49Stokes County9+12.5%
53Burke County8-50%
53Haywood County8+33.3%
53Yadkin County8+33.3%
56Franklin County7+75%
57Alexander County60%
57Ashe County6+200%
57Bertie County6-45.5%
57Caswell County6+50%
57Davie County6-14.3%
57Jackson County6-14.3%
57Person County6-14.3%
57Rutherford County6-57.1%
57Warren County6+100%
66Beaufort County5-28.6%
66Cherokee County50%
66Greene County5+66.7%
66Macon County5-44.4%
66McDowell County5-44.4%
66Northampton County5-44.4%
66Pamlico County5+66.7%
66Richmond County5-44.4%
66Transylvania County5-28.6%
75Bladen County4-55.6%
75Carteret County40%
75Currituck County40%
75Gates County4-20%
75Hertford County4+300%
75Pasquotank County4+33.3%
75Polk County4-33.3%
82Avery County3n/a
82Graham County30%
82Madison County3-25%
82Montgomery County3-70%
82Washington County3n/a
82Yancey County30%
88Alleghany County2n/a
88Anson County2-75%
88Clay County2+100%
88Dare County20%
88Martin County2-33.3%
88Mitchell County2n/a
88Perquimans County2n/a
95Chowan County1-66.7%
95Hyde County10%
95Jones County1-50%
95Swain County1-50%
99Camden County0-100%
99Tyrrell County0n/a

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/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.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, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.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, 2015. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2015. 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, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2015.

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, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{national_counties_in_north_carolina_2015,
  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, 2015}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2015. 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/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.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, 2015
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/24
PB  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2015.
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/2015/National/FARS2015NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest traffic fatalities?

Mecklenburg County, with 80 in 2015, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which county has the lowest traffic fatalities?

Tyrrell County, with 0 in 2015.

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