Brunswick County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

Counties of North Carolina by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 24 deaths in 23 fatal crashes in Brunswick County in 2024.

FARS records 214 deaths in 198 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 15.1 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of North Carolina in the same years is 14.5.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Brunswick County was number 22 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Brunswick County fell by 5.7% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (227) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (214).

In the counties of North Carolina the deaths rose by 9.0% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 76.8% of the fatal crashes in Brunswick County with a known setting were rural, against 57.2% in North Carolina.

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 Brunswick 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.Brunswick County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	24	23	1 or 2
2023	18	17	4
2022	25	22	6
2021	23	20	5
2020	22	22	8
2019	21	20	5
2018	24	22	7
2017	30	28	9
2016	15	14	3
2015	12	10	5
2015 to 2024	214	198	54

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 35 (2006)2024: 24

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

Table 2.Brunswick County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	24	23
2023	18	17
2022	25	22
2021	23	20
2020	22	22
2019	21	20
2018	24	22
2017	30	28
2016	15	14
2015	12	10
2014	13	12
2013	13	13
2012	28	28
2011	21	18
2010	24	20
2009	18	18
2008	22	19
2007	33	30
2006	35	32
2005	20	18
2004	21	21
2003	21	19
2002	22	16
2001	33	29
2000	23	21
1999	15	14
1998	16	14
1997	20	17
1996	22	19
1995	12	12
1994	21	17
1993	12	12
1992	22	16
1991	18	14
1990	15	15
1989	15	15
1988	16	15
1987	22	20
1986	26	21
1985	19	12
1984	12	11
1983	9	8
1982	13	13
1981	18	15
1980	18	14
1979	10	7
1978	26	19
1977	10	9
1976	12	11
1975	10	9

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.Brunswick County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Brunswick County	North Carolina	United States
2024	14.4	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	15.1	14.5	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. Brunswick County had 166,889 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Brunswick County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 198 fatal crashes	54	198 fatal crashes	27.3%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 198 fatal crashes	47	198 fatal crashes	23.7%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 147 occupant deaths with restraint use known	73	147 occupant deathswith restraint use known	49.7%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 214 deaths	25	214 deaths	11.7%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 214 deaths	6	214 deaths	2.8%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 214 deaths	31	214 deaths	14.5%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 198 fatal crashes with the condition reported	152	198 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	76.8%	57.2%
In the darkof 198 fatal crashes with the condition reported	83	198 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	41.9%	46.3%

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.Brunswick 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	8	1 or 2	7	12	29
Monday	1 or 2	10	8	6	25
Tuesday	3	10	8	10	31
Wednesday	3	3	11	4	21
Thursday	1 or 2	10	7	9	28
Friday	1 or 2	9	13	14	38
Saturday	5	5	5	11	26
All days	24	49	59	66	198

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.Brunswick County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in North Carolina
Interstate	1 or 2	1.0%	9.7%
Other freeways and expressways	11	5.6%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	61	30.8%	27.0%
Minor arterial	34	17.2%	16.1%
Major collector	30	15.2%	15.1%
Minor collector	4	2.0%	5.7%
Local	56	28.3%	22.3%
Not reported	0	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.Brunswick County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	108
Dark, not lighted	77
Dark, lighted	6
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	5
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Brunswick County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	166
Cloudy	16
Rain	14
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Brunswick County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Brunswick	In all of North Carolina
State Route 87	State highway	8	122
State Route 130	State highway	17	46
State Route 211	State highway	12	66
US Route 17	US highway	48	188
US Route 74	US highway	16	256

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 North Carolina

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Brunswick County on the county map of North Carolina

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

Fewer than 106 counties
10 to 14.925 counties
15 to 19.934 counties
20 to 29.922 counties
30 or more13 counties
Brunswick County: 15.1

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 North Carolina

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Brunswick County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Columbus County	North Carolina	18	204	38.4
New Hanover County	North Carolina	29	210	9.1
Pender County	North Carolina	7	159	25.2
Horry County	South Carolina	58	714	19.9

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of North Carolina have a population nearest to that of Brunswick 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.
North Carolina Governor's Highway Safety ProgramThe highway safety office of North Carolina.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Brunswick County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/nc/brunswick/. 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 Brunswick in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 227 deaths in Brunswick County from 2005 to 2014. It records 214 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Brunswick in 2024?

The rate of Brunswick County in 2024 was 14.4 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of North Carolina was 14.6. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 54 of 198 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 Brunswick?

5 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 101 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.