Counties in North Carolina by traffic fatalities

Mecklenburg County had the highest traffic fatalities of 100 counties in 2020, at 108. Washington County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 10 and the figure for North Carolina was 1,538. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Median10100 counties
North Carolina1,538History

Top 40 counties, 2020

Mecklenburg County: 108 countMecklenburg County108Wake County: 65 countWake County65Guilford County: 64 countGuilford County64Cumberland County: 56 countCumberland County56Robeson County: 55 countRobeson County55Forsyth County: 42 countForsyth County42Pitt County: 40 countPitt County40Johnston County: 39 countJohnston County39Harnett County: 35 countHarnett County35Durham County: 33 countDurham County33Buncombe County: 32 countBuncombe County32Wayne County: 32 countWayne County32Davidson County: 31 countDavidson County31Alamance County: 30 countAlamance County30Gaston County: 28 countGaston County28Rowan County: 28 countRowan County28Nash County: 27 countNash County27Catawba County: 26 countCatawba County26Randolph County: 25 countRandolph County25Iredell County: 24 countIredell County24Rutherford County: 24 countRutherford County24Rockingham County: 23 countRockingham County23Brunswick County: 22 countBrunswick County22Cabarrus County: 21 countCabarrus County21Halifax County: 21 countHalifax County21Moore County: 21 countMoore County21Columbus County: 20 countColumbus County20Cleveland County: 19 countCleveland County19Hoke County: 19 countHoke County19Wilson County: 19 countWilson County19Onslow County: 18 countOnslow County18Duplin County: 17 countDuplin County17Granville County: 17 countGranville County17Union County: 17 countUnion County17Franklin County: 16 countFranklin County16Burke County: 14 countBurke County14Montgomery County: 14 countMontgomery County14Pender County: 14 countPender County14Surry County: 14 countSurry County14Bladen County: 13 countBladen County13
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

RankCounties2020
count
Change on 2019
1Mecklenburg County108+18.7%
2Wake County65-13.3%
3Guilford County64+4.9%
4Cumberland County560%
5Robeson County55+22.2%
6Forsyth County42+35.5%
7Pitt County40+150%
8Johnston County39+50%
9Harnett County35+52.2%
10Durham County33-2.9%
11Buncombe County32+6.7%
11Wayne County32+68.4%
13Davidson County31+34.8%
14Alamance County30+114.3%
15Gaston County28+55.6%
15Rowan County28+86.7%
17Nash County27-6.9%
18Catawba County26+30%
19Randolph County25-24.2%
20Iredell County240%
20Rutherford County24+140%
22Rockingham County23+53.3%
23Brunswick County22+4.8%
24Cabarrus County21-22.2%
24Halifax County21+50%
24Moore County21+61.5%
27Columbus County20+17.6%
28Cleveland County19+5.6%
28Hoke County19+72.7%
28Wilson County19+137.5%
31Onslow County18-18.2%
32Duplin County17-19%
32Granville County17-5.6%
32Union County17-26.1%
35Franklin County160%
36Burke County14-12.5%
36Montgomery County14+27.3%
36Pender County14-30%
36Surry County14-30%
40Bladen County13-7.1%
40Orange County13-13.3%
40Wilkes County130%
43Chatham County12-33.3%
43Henderson County12+20%
43New Hanover County12-67.6%
43Sampson County12-29.4%
47Lee County11+22.2%
47Yadkin County11-8.3%
49Carteret County10-16.7%
49Craven County10-9.1%
49Edgecombe County10-23.1%
49Hertford County10+100%
49Lenoir County10-37.5%
49Northampton County100%
49Scotland County100%
49Vance County10+66.7%
57Lincoln County9-35.7%
58Anson County8+100%
58Caldwell County8-33.3%
58Haywood County8-27.3%
58Person County8+166.7%
58Richmond County8+33.3%
58Warren County8+100%
64Jackson County7-46.2%
64Stanly County7-12.5%
66Madison County6+200%
66Martin County6-14.3%
66Pasquotank County60%
69Alexander County5+150%
69Beaufort County50%
69Caswell County5-44.4%
69Cherokee County5-28.6%
69McDowell County5-28.6%
69Polk County5+150%
75Avery County4+100%
75Currituck County4-42.9%
75Gates County4+33.3%
75Greene County4-20%
75Mitchell County4n/a
75Pamlico County4+100%
75Perquimans County4+300%
82Bertie County3-62.5%
82Davie County3-62.5%
82Jones County3+50%
82Watauga County3-70%
86Alleghany County2+100%
86Ashe County2-71.4%
86Camden County2n/a
86Chowan County2-66.7%
86Graham County2-60%
86Stokes County2-66.7%
86Yancey County2-33.3%
93Clay County10%
93Hyde County1n/a
93Macon County1-88.9%
93Swain County1-66.7%
93Transylvania County1-83.3%
93Tyrrell County1-50%
99Dare County0-100%
99Washington 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/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.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, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.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, 2020. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2020. 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, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2020.

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, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{national_counties_in_north_carolina_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2020. 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/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.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, 2020
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/24
PB  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/north-carolina-counties?period=2020.
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/2020/National/FARS2020NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest traffic fatalities?

Mecklenburg County, with 108 in 2020, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which county has the lowest traffic fatalities?

Washington County, with 0 in 2020.

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