STATE FATALITY DATA - 2023

North Carolina: larger FARS fatality book

North Carolina holds a larger FARS book (13,557 across 2015-2023, #5/51 by volume) with 1,561 deaths in 2023.

1,561
Deaths (2023)
14.4
Per 100k residents
Above average
1.3
Per 100M VMT
-70
2022–2023 deaths

Larger fatality book

North Carolina ranks #5 of 51 by total FARS fatalities (13,557 across 2015-2023) - top-third book size.

North Carolina in the larger-book third

According to NHTSA FARS, North Carolina carries a top-third fatality book (13,557 across 2015-2023, volume rank #5/51) at 14.4/100k.

#18 of 51
among US states by rate
14.4/100k
2023 fatality rate
#5/51
by total FARS fatalities
Nighttime
leading contributing factor

Highway fatality milepost

Milepost NC · North Carolina #18 of 51 · 14.4/100k

North Carolina · 14.4/100k · 1,561 in 2023 · #18 of 51

  • BOOK 14.4/100k
  • ALC #18 of 51
  • SPD 1.3/100M
  • PED 13,557 book
  • RUR near Georgia
  • VS-US 30.2% spd
  • PHOTO 14.7% ped
  • YOY +17.9% vs US

Stamps derive from this state's NHTSA FARS row (per-100k rate, corpus rank, VMT rate, fatality book, nearest-rate peer, alcohol/speeding/pedestrian shares, vs-national gap), not a trip-risk forecast. PlainRoadSafety is informational only. See our disclaimer. Verify with NHTSA FARS → · Read with methodology → · Understanding road fatality data → · States ranked →

F
Road Safety Index
39/100
North Carolina

Benchmarked against all 51 states (50 states + DC) on fatality rate, exposure-adjusted rate, pedestrian and impaired-driving fatality share, and safety trend from NHTSA FARS, US Census Bureau, and FHWA sources, not enforcement, infrastructure spend, or road-condition ratings.

Fatality Rate F
14.4/100k
Fatalities per 100,000 residents (NHTSA FARS + Census PEP population)
Exposure-Adjusted Rate D
1.28/100M VMT
Fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (NHTSA FARS + FHWA Highway Statistics)
Pedestrian Safety D
14.7%
Share of fatalities that were pedestrians (NHTSA FARS)
Impaired-Driving Control C
24.5%
Share of fatalities that were alcohol-impaired (NHTSA FARS)
Safety Trend F
+13.2%
Change in fatalities over the reporting period; negative is declining (NHTSA FARS)

Pedestrian-led roadside pattern in North Carolina

After vehicle-to-vehicle crashes, North Carolina's 2023 FARS first-harm leader is Pedestrian at 13.8%, a pedestrian-forward pattern relative to fixed-object states. Counts come from the NHTSA FARS accident microdata for 2023 (first harmful event, weather, light, route, and rural/urban setting), not from the seeded state rollup alone.

First harmful event

  • Motor Vehicle In-Transport 44.5% · 701
  • Pedestrian 13.8% · 218
  • Tree (Standing Only) 9.3% · 147
  • Ditch 7.6% · 120
  • Rollover/Overturn 4.0% · 63

Light condition

  • Daylight 47.5% · 749
  • Dark - Not Lighted 35.6% · 561
  • Dark - Lighted 11.4% · 180
  • Dusk 2.8% · 44
  • Dawn 2.1% · 33

Roadway class

  • Secondary Route 33.9% · 535
  • U.S. Highway 23.4% · 369
  • State Highway 22.3% · 352
  • Interstate 10.6% · 167
  • Not Signed 5.4% · 85

Weather at crash

  • Clear 82.4% · 1,299
  • Cloudy 9.1% · 144
  • Rain 7.5% · 119
  • Fog, Smog, Smoke 0.6% · 10

North Carolina rate neighbourhood

Deaths per 100,000 residents vs nearest-rate peer states (NHTSA FARS).

per 100k

What this shows North Carolina sits among the five nearest fatality-rate peers on the per-100k scale.

Source NHTSA FARS As of 2023

Leading Causes of Fatalities

Contributing factors in North Carolina road deaths (2015-2023). Categories overlap.

% of fatalities

What this shows Nighttime is the top contributing cause in North Carolina, involved in 45.8% of all road deaths. Note: categories overlap as a single crash may involve multiple factors.

Source NHTSA FARS As of 2023

North Carolina vs all states by fatality rate

Where this state's deaths-per-100k sits among every state and D.C. on PlainRoadSafety

14 Around the middle a lower per-capita rate than 33% of 51 states

States and D.C., banded by fatality rate per 100,000 residents

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source NHTSA FARS over Census population · 2026-09-03

North Carolina plotted against a representative sample of 27 of 51 states and D.C. by deaths per 100,000 residents (x) and deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (y). Dashed lines mark the national median across all 51, computed from the full corpus. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 27 entities by Deaths per 100,000 residents (X) and Deaths per 100M vehicle miles (Y), with a crosshair dividing the plot into four quadrants. High both waysRiskier per mile drivenRiskier per residentSafer, both measures 051015202530 00.511.52 Deaths per 100,000 residents Deaths per 100M vehicle miles North Carolina: per capita vs. per mile driven
North Carolina plotted against a representative sample of 27 of 51 states and D.C. by deaths per 100,000 residents (x) and deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (y). Dashed lines mark the national median across all 51, computed from the full corpus.

North Carolina can rank differently on each axis: population density pushes the per-capita rate one way, and rural-highway commute length pushes the per-mile rate another. Hover or tap any point (including North Carolina's own, highlighted) for its exact figures.

Fatality Trend Analysis (2015–2023)

On a larger fatality book (#5/51), North Carolina went from 1,379 in 2015 to 1,561 in 2023.

Year Fatalities Rate Alcohol Speeding Pedestrian
2015 1,379 12.7 442 534 182
2016 1,450 13.4 428 545 200
2017 1,412 13.0 400 401 198
2018 1,436 13.3 400 304 224
2019 1,457 13.4 320 302 221
2020 1,538 14.2 378 451 230
2021 1,693 15.6 393 447 254
2022 1,631 15.1 292 485 256
2023 1,561 14.4 273 628 229

Per-capita county spikes in North Carolina: Robeson and Scotland

Fatalities are spread across 100 North Carolina counties (no single county exceeds 12% of the book). Per-capita leaders are Robeson (55.4/100k) and Scotland (52.4/100k), while volume still ranks Mecklenburg first.

#CountyTotal FatalitiesTrend
1MECKLENBURG (119)858↑ increasing
2WAKE (183)625↑ increasing
3GUILFORD (81)518↑ increasing
4ROBESON (155)432↑ increasing
5CUMBERLAND (51)399↑ increasing
6FORSYTH (67)340↑ increasing
7JOHNSTON (101)274↑ increasing
8BUNCOMBE (21)267↑ increasing
9DAVIDSON (57)245↑ increasing
10DURHAM (63)240↑ increasing
11HARNETT (85)235↑ increasing
12RANDOLPH (151)206↑ increasing
13PITT (147)203↑ increasing
14GASTON (71)200↑ increasing
15NASH (127)195↑ increasing
16IREDELL (97)193↑ increasing
17UNION (179)192↑ increasing
18CABARRUS (25)188↑ increasing
19CATAWBA (35)187↑ increasing
20ONSLOW (133)187↑ increasing

Showing top 20 of 100 counties by total fatalities.

States With Similar Fatality Rates

Georgia and West Virginia are the nearest fatality-rate neighbours to North Carolina at 14.4 per 100k.

6 of 50 other states are shown here, ranked by closeness to North Carolina's fatality rate.

Georgia

14.6 per 100K

1,615 fatalities (2023)

West Virginia

14.7 per 100K

260 fatalities (2023)

Texas

14.1 per 100K

4,291 fatalities (2023)

Idaho

14.0 per 100K

275 fatalities (2023)

Oregon

13.9 per 100K

587 fatalities (2023)

Florida

15.0 per 100K

3,396 fatalities (2023)

Robeson-rate peers and North Carolina road data

Contextual links from this profile to rankings, tools, research, and peer geographies on PlainRoadSafety.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from official public datasets for North Carolina (#18 of 51; volume #5/51). See our methodology. Retrieved and formatted by PlainRoadSafety · vintage 2026-09-03

Verify with NHTSA FARS → · Verify with Census →