What is South Carolina's road fatality rate?

South Carolina has a road fatality rate of 19.5 per 100,000 population and 1.7 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT). This is 59.7% above the national average.

How many road fatalities occurred in South Carolina in 2023?

In 2023, South Carolina recorded 1,047 road fatalities. The state's total fatalities across the 2015-2023 period are 9,435.

What is the leading cause of road fatalities in South Carolina?

The leading cause is nighttime, accounting for 51.5% of all fatalities (4,859 deaths over the reporting period).

Are road fatalities increasing or decreasing in South Carolina?

Road fatalities in South Carolina are increasing with a +6.9% change over the reporting period (2015-2023). Fatalities went from 979 in 2015 to 1,047 in 2023.

How does South Carolina compare to the national average for road safety?

South Carolina's fatality rate of 19.5 per 100K is 59.7% higher than the national average of 12.2 per 100K. According to NHTSA FARS, South Carolina ranks #4 of 51 states by fatality rate (highest first), the same sort as /rankings/deadliest-states. See /methodology#corpus-placement.

What percentage of South Carolina's road fatalities involve alcohol?

Alcohol-impaired driving accounts for 31.1% of road fatalities in South Carolina, representing 2,935 deaths over the reporting period. Speeding accounts for 41.1% and pedestrian incidents for 15.8%.

Are rural or urban roads more dangerous in South Carolina?

In South Carolina, rural roads account for more fatalities: 5,675 rural vs. 3,760 urban deaths. Rural roads account for 60.1% of all fatalities.

STATE FATALITY DATA - 2023

South Carolina: higher-rate fatality band

South Carolina is in the higher per-capita third: 1,047 traffic deaths in 2023 at 19.5 per 100,000 (#4 of 51).

Compiled by PlainRoadSafety · September 3, 2026

1,047
Deaths (2023): 19.5
Per 100k residents: Well above average; 1.7
Per 100M VMT: -47
2022–2023 deaths

Higher per-capita fatality band

South Carolina ranks #4 of 51 by deaths per 100,000 residents (19.5/100k) - top-third rate among 51 states and D.C.

South Carolina in the higher-rate third

According to NHTSA FARS, South Carolina sits in the higher-rate third at 19.5 per 100k (#4 of 51), 60% above the U.S. 12.2 benchmark, with nighttime the largest contributing factor.

#4 of 51
higher-rate third: 19.5/100k
2023 fatality rate: #13/51
by total FARS fatalities: Nighttime
leading contributing factor

1,047 2023 Fatalities, By Roadway Setting

53%

Rural 556 (53.1%)
Urban 491 (46.9%)

FARS state milepost

Milepost SC · South Carolina #4 of 51 · 19.5/100k

South Carolina · 19.5/100k · 1,047 in 2023 · #4 of 51

SPD 19.5/100k
PED #4 of 51
RUR 1.7/100M
VS-US 9,435 book
PHOTO near Arkansas
YOY 41.1% spd
FARS 15.8% ped
NHTSA +59.7% 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 →

Road Safety Index

14/100

South 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

19.5/100k

Fatalities per 100,000 residents (NHTSA FARS + Census PEP population)

Exposure-Adjusted Rate F

1.72/100M VMT

Fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (NHTSA FARS + FHWA Highway Statistics)

Pedestrian Safety F

15.8%

Share of fatalities that were pedestrians (NHTSA FARS)

Impaired-Driving Control F

31.1%

Share of fatalities that were alcohol-impaired (NHTSA FARS)

Safety Trend F

+6.9%

Change in fatalities over the reporting period; negative is declining (NHTSA FARS)

Pedestrian-led roadside pattern in South Carolina

After vehicle-to-vehicle crashes, South Carolina's 2023 FARS first-harm leader is Pedestrian at 16.6%, 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 39.9% · 418
Pedestrian 16.6% · 174
Tree (Standing Only) 9.4% · 98
Ditch 7.4% · 78
Rollover/Overturn 3.2% · 34

Light condition

Daylight 42.1% · 441
Dark - Not Lighted 37.8% · 396
Dark - Lighted 8.8% · 92
Dark - Unknown Lighting 5.8% · 61
Dusk 3.2% · 34

Roadway class

State Highway 56.3% · 589
U.S. Highway 27.6% · 289
Interstate 11.2% · 117
County 4.5% · 47
Secondary Route 0.5% · 5

Weather at crash

Clear 85.5% · 895
Rain 8.2% · 86
Cloudy 5.2% · 54
Fog, Smog, Smoke 1.1% · 11

Montana

18
Tennessee

19
Alabama

19
Arkansas

19
South Carolina

20
New Mexico

21

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

Nighttime

52
Unrestrained

42
Speeding

41
Alcohol-Impaired

31
Weather-Related

16
Pedestrian

16

What this shows Nighttime is the top contributing cause in South Carolina, involved in 51.5% of all road deaths. Note: categories overlap as a single crash may involve multiple factors.

South Carolina vs all states by fatality rate

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

20 Higher risk than most a lower per-capita rate than 6% 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

South 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.

South 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 South Carolina's own, highlighted) for its exact figures.

Fatality Trend Analysis (2015–2023)

In the higher-rate third, South Carolina moved from 979 deaths in 2015 to 1,047 in 2023 (+6.9%).

Year	Fatalities	Rate	Alcohol	Speeding	Pedestrian
2015	979	18.2	317	366	123
2016	1,020	19.0	355	393	144
2017	989	18.4	329	417	155
2018	1,036	19.3	286	450	165
2019	1,006	18.7	319	459	163
2020	1,066	19.8	377	496	188
2021	1,198	22.3	336	487	190
2022	1,094	20.4	334	401	172
2023	1,047	19.5	282	406	187

Per-capita county spikes in South Carolina: Fairfield and Jasper

Fatalities are spread across 46 South Carolina counties (no single county exceeds 12% of the book). Per-capita leaders are Fairfield (73.5/100k) and Jasper (56.6/100k), while volume still ranks Greenville first.

#	County	Total Fatalities	Latest Year	Avg Annual	Trend
1	GREENVILLE (45)	664	75	73.8	↑ increasing
2	HORRY (51)	575	66	63.9	↑ increasing
3	CHARLESTON (19)	557	75	61.9	↑ increasing
4	SPARTANBURG (83)	531	84	59.0	↑ increasing
5	RICHLAND (79)	477	60	53.0	↑ increasing
6	LEXINGTON (63)	401	47	44.6	↑ increasing
7	ANDERSON (7)	358	27	39.8	↑ increasing
8	BERKELEY (15)	337	61	37.4	↑ increasing
9	ORANGEBURG (75)	308	37	34.2	↑ increasing
10	YORK (91)	286	30	31.8	↑ increasing
11	FLORENCE (41)	283	30	31.4	↑ increasing
12	AIKEN (3)	266	38	29.6	↑ increasing
13	LAURENS (59)	199	26	22.1	↑ increasing
14	SUMTER (85)	191	30	21.2	↑ increasing
15	BEAUFORT (13)	181	21	20.1	↑ increasing
16	COLLETON (29)	177	16	19.7	↑ increasing
17	DORCHESTER (35)	175	15	19.4	↑ increasing
18	DARLINGTON (31)	166	27	18.4	↑ increasing
19	PICKENS (77)	166	18	18.4	↑ increasing
20	JASPER (53)	146	19	16.2	↑ increasing

Showing top 20 of 46 counties by total fatalities.

States With Similar Fatality Rates

Among higher-rate peers, Arkansas (19.4/100k) and Alabama (19.1/100k) sit closest to South Carolina's 19.5 per 100k.

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

Arkansas

19.4 per 100K

596 fatalities (2023)

Alabama

19.1 per 100K

974 fatalities (2023)

Tennessee

18.6 per 100K

1,323 fatalities (2023)

Montana

18.4 per 100K

208 fatalities (2023)

New Mexico

20.7 per 100K

437 fatalities (2023)

Kentucky

18.0 per 100K

814 fatalities (2023)

Fairfield-rate peers and South 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 South Carolina (#4 of 51; volume #13/51). See our methodology. Retrieved and formatted by PlainRoadSafety · vintage 2026-09-03

Verify with NHTSA FARS → · Verify with Census →