Chatham County, Georgia: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Georgia by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 29 deaths in 28 fatal crashes in Chatham County in 2024.

FARS records 376 deaths in 345 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 12.7 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Georgia in the same years is 14.8.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Chatham County was number 6 of 159 counties of Georgia.

Deaths in Chatham County rose by 5.6% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (356) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (376).

In the counties of Georgia the deaths rose by 14.0% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 3.5% of the fatal crashes in Chatham County with a known setting were rural, against 36.0% in Georgia.

To qualify as a FARS case, the crash had to involve a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and must have resulted in the death of a motorist or a non-motorist within 30 days of the crash.
The set of first files, known as the Annual Report File (ARF), is released following the crash year. The ARF is replaced about a year later with a final file, which contains additional cases or updates to cases that had become available after the ARF was released.
NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

This page rests on the FARS 2024 annual file. NHTSA released it on 1 Apr 2026. NHTSA can revise the counts in the final file. Release dates

Figure 1.Deaths in Chatham County by year, 2015 to 2024

Table 1 has the numbers. Go to the table

Since the last update: no figure of this county has a change on record.

Deaths and fatal crashes by year

Table 1.Chatham County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	29	28	7
2023	39	38	6
2022	40	38	5
2021	40	35	8
2020	34	32	12
2019	30	29	5
2018	37	33	5
2017	29	26	5
2016	44	38	12
2015	54	48	10
2015 to 2024	376	345	75

Each year from 1975

Figure 2.Deaths in Chatham County by year, 1975 to 2024

Tallest column: 54 (2015)2024: 29

The columns with a stronger shade are the years 2015 to 2024.

Table 2.Chatham County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	29	28
2023	39	38
2022	40	38
2021	40	35
2020	34	32
2019	30	29
2018	37	33
2017	29	26
2016	44	38
2015	54	48
2014	26	26
2013	44	40
2012	20	20
2011	21	21
2010	43	40
2009	37	34
2008	41	39
2007	39	37
2006	46	45
2005	39	36
2004	35	30
2003	35	33
2002	40	36
2001	36	33
2000	47	37
1999	26	25
1998	32	32
1997	39	35
1996	21	19
1995	29	25
1994	24	23
1993	25	24
1992	26	23
1991	33	33
1990	31	31
1989	28	26
1988	41	38
1987	32	31
1986	41	40
1985	31	29
1984	35	32
1983	25	21
1982	40	36
1981	32	29
1980	43	42
1979	37	33
1978	41	35
1977	51	41
1976	31	29
1975	37	34

Note: a count of 1 or 2 is written "1 or 2". A death is in FARS when it occurs in 30 days or less after the crash.

Rate for each 100,000 residents

Table 3.Chatham County beside Georgia and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Chatham County	Georgia	United States
2024	9.4	12.5	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	12.7	14.8	11.8

Note: the rate divides the deaths in the county by its residents. Persons who do not live in the county are in the deaths, not in the residents.

Population: Census Bureau estimates, vintage 2025. Chatham County had 309,605 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Chatham County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Georgia
A driver recorded as drinkingof 345 fatal crashes	75	345 fatal crashes	21.7%	19.6%
A speeding-related driverof 345 fatal crashes	79	345 fatal crashes	22.9%	19.4%
No restraint usedof 164 occupant deaths with restraint use known	82	164 occupant deathswith restraint use known	50.0%	49.9%
Pedestriansof 376 deaths	97	376 deaths	25.8%	17.1%
Bicyclistsof 376 deaths	19	376 deaths	5.1%	1.5%
Motorcyclistsof 376 deaths	55	376 deaths	14.6%	11.2%
On a rural roadof 343 fatal crashes with the condition reported	12	343 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	3.5%	36.0%
In the darkof 344 fatal crashes with the condition reported	207	344 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	60.2%	49.5%

Note: FARS records a driver as drinking when police reported alcohol involvement or a test of the driver was positive for alcohol. It is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure, which uses a blood alcohol concentration of .08 g/dL or higher. One crash can be in two or more rows. NHTSA's definitions

Note that alcohol data is often missing. For that reason, this data element may under-count the actual number of drinking drivers.

NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

Weekday, time and road class

Table 5.Chatham County: fatal crashes by weekday and time of day, 2015 to 2024
Weekday	Midnight to 6 a.m.	6 a.m. to noon	Noon to 6 p.m.	6 p.m. to midnight	All
Sunday	28	8	12	27	75
Monday	9	14	7	19	49
Tuesday	7	8	6	17	38
Wednesday	5	8	13	15	41
Thursday	7	7	14	18	46
Friday	12	4	8	19	43
Saturday	8	5	14	26	53
All days	76	54	74	141	345

Note: a cell with a stronger shade has a larger count. The table has the fatal crashes with a known hour and weekday.

Table 6.Chatham County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Georgia
Interstate	75	21.8%	13.3%
Other freeways and expressways	13	3.8%	2.2%
Other principal arterial	133	38.7%	25.9%
Minor arterial	61	17.7%	27.3%
Major collector	23	6.7%	13.3%
Minor collector	6	1.7%	4.8%
Local	33	9.6%	13.2%
Not reported	1 or 2	n/a	n/a

Note: the classes are those of the Federal Highway Administration. The shares are of the crashes with a reported class. Road function classes

Light condition and weather

Table 7.Chatham County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	125
Dark, not lighted	136
Dark, lighted	71
Dawn	8
Dusk	4
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Chatham County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	265
Cloudy	49
Rain	25
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	3
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	3

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Chatham County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Chatham	In all of Georgia
Interstate 16	Interstate	31	123
Interstate 85	Interstate	1 or 2	339
Interstate 95	Interstate	31	124
State Route 21	State highway	9	35
State Route 25	State highway	18	56
State Route 26	State highway	7	51
State Route 204	State highway	38	41
US Route 17	US highway	15	36
US Route 80	US highway	15	51

Note: the table has each route with a page that has a fatal crash in the county, in name order. Local streets and county roads have no page. Their crashes are in the county totals. All routes in Georgia

Adjacent counties

These lists are for navigation. They are in name order.

Figure 3.Chatham County on the county map of Georgia

Deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year, 2015 to 2024

Fewer than 107 counties
10 to 14.924 counties
15 to 19.934 counties
20 to 29.955 counties
30 or more38 counties
Count of 1 or 2, no rate shown1 county
Chatham County: 12.7

The limits of the classes are the same for every state. A county with few residents can show a high rate from few deaths. A class is not a judgement of a county. The full map and the table of counties of Georgia

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Chatham County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Bryan County	Georgia	8	71	16.6
Effingham County	Georgia	13	88	13.6
Liberty County	Georgia	4	113	17.5
Jasper County	South Carolina	17	178	58.2

Source of the list: Census Bureau county adjacency file, 2026 edition.

Counties of similar population

These counties of Georgia have a population nearest to that of Chatham County. The list is for navigation and is in name order. The number is the deaths from 2015 to 2024.

Official channels

NHTSA Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST)NHTSA's query tool for FARS counts.
NHTSA FARS EncyclopediaNHTSA's tables of FARS data.
Georgia Governor's Office of Highway SafetyThe highway safety office of Georgia.

These links go to the sites of the agencies. They were checked on 2 Oct 2026.

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Chatham County, Georgia: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/ga/chatham/. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, FARS 2024 annual file. Data to 31 Dec 2024.

The address of this page does not change.

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Source of the figures

Counts: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, national files of 1975 to 2024. The factors use the vehicle and person files from 2015. Residents: Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, vintage 2025. Map: Census Bureau cartographic boundary file, 2021 edition. Data to 31 Dec 2024. The figures are totals. No page of this site is about one crash or one person.

How the figures are made. Data sources and licences. Corrections.

Questions

How many deaths did FARS record in Chatham in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 356 deaths in Chatham County from 2005 to 2014. It records 376 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Chatham in 2024?

The rate of Chatham County in 2024 was 9.4 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Georgia was 12.5. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

How many fatal crashes in Chatham had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 75 of 345 fatal crashes from 2015 to 2024. This count is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure. NHTSA says that alcohol data is often missing, so the count may be too low.

How many fatal crashes did FARS record on signed routes in Chatham?

9 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 165 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.