Counties in North Carolina by traffic fatalities

Mecklenburg County had the highest traffic fatalities of 100 counties in 2016, at 103. Tyrrell County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 10 and the figure for North Carolina was 1,450. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Median10100 counties
North Carolina1,450History

Top 40 counties, 2016

Mecklenburg County: 103 countMecklenburg County103Wake County: 81 countWake County81Guilford County: 59 countGuilford County59Cumberland County: 43 countCumberland County43Forsyth County: 42 countForsyth County42Robeson County: 38 countRobeson County38Davidson County: 34 countDavidson County34Johnston County: 34 countJohnston County34Cleveland County: 33 countCleveland County33Gaston County: 29 countGaston County29Nash County: 27 countNash County27Union County: 27 countUnion County27Columbus County: 26 countColumbus County26Buncombe County: 25 countBuncombe County25Sampson County: 24 countSampson County24Wayne County: 24 countWayne County24Cabarrus County: 23 countCabarrus County23Iredell County: 23 countIredell County23Durham County: 22 countDurham County22Harnett County: 22 countHarnett County22Pitt County: 22 countPitt County22New Hanover County: 20 countNew Hanover County20Onslow County: 20 countOnslow County20Rockingham County: 20 countRockingham County20Rowan County: 20 countRowan County20Craven County: 19 countCraven County19Franklin County: 19 countFranklin County19Moore County: 19 countMoore County19Surry County: 18 countSurry County18Wilson County: 18 countWilson County18Randolph County: 17 countRandolph County17Richmond County: 17 countRichmond County17Bladen County: 16 countBladen County16Burke County: 16 countBurke County16Pender County: 16 countPender County16Alamance County: 15 countAlamance County15Brunswick County: 15 countBrunswick County15Catawba County: 15 countCatawba County15Chatham County: 15 countChatham County15Hoke County: 15 countHoke County15
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

RankCounties2016
count
Change on 2015
1Mecklenburg County103+28.7%
2Wake County81+24.6%
3Guilford County59+3.5%
4Cumberland County430%
5Forsyth County42+5%
6Robeson County38-28.3%
7Davidson County34+21.4%
7Johnston County34+25.9%
9Cleveland County33+65%
10Gaston County29-27.5%
11Nash County27+12.5%
11Union County27+68.8%
13Columbus County26+85.7%
14Buncombe County25-30.6%
15Sampson County24-4%
15Wayne County24+41.2%
17Cabarrus County23-4.2%
17Iredell County23+27.8%
19Durham County22-12%
19Harnett County22-4.3%
19Pitt County22-31.3%
22New Hanover County20-9.1%
22Onslow County20-16.7%
22Rockingham County20+33.3%
22Rowan County20-13%
26Craven County19+18.8%
26Franklin County19+171.4%
26Moore County19+18.8%
29Surry County18+12.5%
29Wilson County18+20%
31Randolph County17-34.6%
31Richmond County17+240%
33Bladen County16+300%
33Burke County16+100%
33Pender County16+14.3%
36Alamance County15-37.5%
36Brunswick County15+25%
36Catawba County15-46.4%
36Chatham County15+25%
36Hoke County150%
41Haywood County14+75%
41Henderson County14+55.6%
41Lincoln County14-26.3%
44Stanly County13+18.2%
45Granville County120%
45Orange County120%
47Wilkes County11-8.3%
48Caldwell County10-16.7%
48Halifax County10-16.7%
48Jackson County10+66.7%
48Warren County10+66.7%
52Carteret County9+125%
52Currituck County9+125%
52Lenoir County90%
52Stokes County90%
52Vance County9-10%
57Duplin County8-60%
57Lee County8-61.9%
57Macon County8+60%
57McDowell County8+60%
57Montgomery County8+166.7%
57Yadkin County80%
63Ashe County7+16.7%
63Bertie County7+16.7%
63Caswell County7+16.7%
63Davie County7+16.7%
63Edgecombe County7-36.4%
63Hertford County7+75%
63Martin County7+250%
70Beaufort County6+20%
70Cherokee County6+20%
70Rutherford County60%
73Graham County5+66.7%
73Scotland County5-44.4%
73Watauga County5-58.3%
73Yancey County5+66.7%
77Alexander County4-33.3%
77Dare County4+100%
77Pasquotank County40%
80Avery County30%
80Gates County3-25%
80Jones County3+200%
80Madison County30%
80Pamlico County3-40%
80Person County3-50%
86Chowan County2+100%
86Clay County20%
86Mitchell County20%
86Northampton County2-60%
86Polk County2-50%
86Swain County2+100%
86Washington County2-33.3%
93Alleghany County1-50%
93Anson County1-50%
93Greene County1-80%
93Perquimans County1-50%
93Transylvania County1-80%
98Camden County0n/a
98Hyde County0-100%
98Tyrrell 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/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.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, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.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, 2016. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2016. 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, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2016.

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, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{national_counties_in_north_carolina_2016,
  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, 2016}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2016. 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/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.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, 2016
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/24
PB  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2016.
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/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest traffic fatalities?

Mecklenburg County, with 103 in 2016, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which county has the lowest traffic fatalities?

Tyrrell County, with 0 in 2016.

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