Counties in North Carolina by traffic fatalities

Mecklenburg County had the highest traffic fatalities of 100 counties in 2019, at 91. Washington County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 11 and the figure for North Carolina was 1,457. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Median11100 counties
North Carolina1,457History

Top 40 counties, 2019

Mecklenburg County: 91 countMecklenburg County91Wake County: 75 countWake County75Guilford County: 61 countGuilford County61Cumberland County: 56 countCumberland County56Robeson County: 45 countRobeson County45New Hanover County: 37 countNew Hanover County37Durham County: 34 countDurham County34Randolph County: 33 countRandolph County33Forsyth County: 31 countForsyth County31Buncombe County: 30 countBuncombe County30Nash County: 29 countNash County29Cabarrus County: 27 countCabarrus County27Johnston County: 26 countJohnston County26Iredell County: 24 countIredell County24Davidson County: 23 countDavidson County23Harnett County: 23 countHarnett County23Union County: 23 countUnion County23Onslow County: 22 countOnslow County22Brunswick County: 21 countBrunswick County21Duplin County: 21 countDuplin County21Catawba County: 20 countCatawba County20Pender County: 20 countPender County20Surry County: 20 countSurry County20Wayne County: 19 countWayne County19Chatham County: 18 countChatham County18Cleveland County: 18 countCleveland County18Gaston County: 18 countGaston County18Granville County: 18 countGranville County18Columbus County: 17 countColumbus County17Sampson County: 17 countSampson County17Burke County: 16 countBurke County16Franklin County: 16 countFranklin County16Lenoir County: 16 countLenoir County16Pitt County: 16 countPitt County16Orange County: 15 countOrange County15Rockingham County: 15 countRockingham County15Rowan County: 15 countRowan County15Alamance County: 14 countAlamance County14Bladen County: 14 countBladen County14Halifax County: 14 countHalifax County14
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

RankCounties2019
count
Change on 2018
1Mecklenburg County91-20.9%
2Wake County75+13.6%
3Guilford County61+1.7%
4Cumberland County56+21.7%
5Robeson County45-8.2%
6New Hanover County37+208.3%
7Durham County34+9.7%
8Randolph County33+106.3%
9Forsyth County31-29.5%
10Buncombe County30-11.8%
11Nash County29-3.3%
12Cabarrus County27+50%
13Johnston County26-23.5%
14Iredell County240%
15Davidson County23-32.4%
15Harnett County23-37.8%
15Union County23-4.2%
18Onslow County22+10%
19Brunswick County21-12.5%
19Duplin County21+16.7%
21Catawba County20+42.9%
21Pender County20-31%
21Surry County20+81.8%
24Wayne County19+5.6%
25Chatham County18+80%
25Cleveland County18-43.8%
25Gaston County18-43.8%
25Granville County18+5.9%
29Columbus County170%
29Sampson County170%
31Burke County16-20%
31Franklin County16+60%
31Lenoir County16-15.8%
31Pitt County16-20%
35Orange County15+87.5%
35Rockingham County15+25%
35Rowan County15-34.8%
38Alamance County14-6.7%
38Bladen County14+40%
38Halifax County14-6.7%
38Lincoln County14+27.3%
42Edgecombe County13+18.2%
42Jackson County13+62.5%
42Moore County13-13.3%
42Wilkes County13+62.5%
46Caldwell County12-14.3%
46Carteret County12+20%
46Yadkin County12+200%
49Craven County11+10%
49Haywood County11-8.3%
49Hoke County11+120%
49Montgomery County11+120%
53Henderson County10-16.7%
53Northampton County100%
53Rutherford County100%
53Scotland County10+100%
53Watauga County10+233.3%
58Caswell County9+80%
58Lee County9-30.8%
58Macon County9+50%
61Bertie County8+14.3%
61Davie County8+33.3%
61Stanly County8+33.3%
61Wilson County8-33.3%
65Ashe County7+600%
65Cherokee County7+16.7%
65Currituck County7n/a
65Martin County7+133.3%
65McDowell County7-12.5%
70Chowan County6+500%
70Dare County6+20%
70Pasquotank County6-25%
70Richmond County6-50%
70Stokes County60%
70Transylvania County6+50%
70Vance County6-25%
77Beaufort County5-28.6%
77Graham County50%
77Greene County5+150%
77Hertford County5+66.7%
81Anson County4-20%
81Warren County4-50%
83Gates County3+50%
83Person County3-25%
83Swain County3+50%
83Yancey County30%
87Alexander County2-75%
87Avery County20%
87Jones County2-50%
87Madison County2-71.4%
87Pamlico County2n/a
87Polk County2-50%
87Tyrrell County2n/a
94Alleghany County1-50%
94Clay County1-66.7%
94Perquimans County1-66.7%
97Camden County0-100%
97Hyde County0-100%
97Mitchell County0-100%
97Washington 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/2019/National/FARS2019NationalCSV.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, 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2019/National/FARS2019NationalCSV.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, 2019. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2019/National/FARS2019NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2019. 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, 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2019/National/FARS2019NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2019.

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, 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2019/National/FARS2019NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{national_counties_in_north_carolina_2019,
  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, 2019}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2019/National/FARS2019NationalCSV.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2019. 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/2019/National/FARS2019NationalCSV.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, 2019
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/24
PB  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2019/National/FARS2019NationalCSV.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2019.
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/2019/National/FARS2019NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest traffic fatalities?

Mecklenburg County, with 91 in 2019, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which county has the lowest traffic fatalities?

Washington County, with 0 in 2019.

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