Buncombe County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 44 deaths in 40 fatal crashes in Buncombe County in 2024.

FARS records 347 deaths in 326 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 13.1 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, Buncombe County was number 7 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Buncombe County rose by 21.8% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (285) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (347).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 35.2% of the fatal crashes in Buncombe 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 Buncombe 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.Buncombe County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	44	40	7
2023	47	43	5
2022	36	34	5
2021	31	30	3
2020	32	31	12
2019	30	28	8
2018	34	32	8
2017	32	31	8
2016	25	24	9
2015	36	33	8
2015 to 2024	347	326	73

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 47 (2023)2024: 44

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

Table 2.Buncombe County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	44	40
2023	47	43
2022	36	34
2021	31	30
2020	32	31
2019	30	28
2018	34	32
2017	32	31
2016	25	24
2015	36	33
2014	29	29
2013	35	30
2012	25	25
2011	25	22
2010	28	27
2009	23	22
2008	20	19
2007	31	31
2006	27	25
2005	42	39
2004	29	28
2003	20	20
2002	27	23
2001	25	25
2000	25	24
1999	33	30
1998	25	23
1997	18	18
1996	25	24
1995	32	31
1994	27	24
1993	24	22
1992	26	25
1991	29	26
1990	20	20
1989	40	30
1988	32	27
1987	28	26
1986	29	27
1985	23	21
1984	18	17
1983	25	23
1982	28	23
1981	40	38
1980	42	37
1979	32	27
1978	22	21
1977	30	27
1976	34	28
1975	36	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.Buncombe County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Buncombe County	North Carolina	United States
2024	15.8	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	13.1	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. Buncombe County had 279,227 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Buncombe County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 326 fatal crashes	73	326 fatal crashes	22.4%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 326 fatal crashes	92	326 fatal crashes	28.2%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 209 occupant deaths with restraint use known	92	209 occupant deathswith restraint use known	44.0%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 347 deaths	63	347 deaths	18.2%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 347 deaths	8	347 deaths	2.3%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 347 deaths	60	347 deaths	17.3%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 324 fatal crashes with the condition reported	114	324 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	35.2%	57.2%
In the darkof 326 fatal crashes with the condition reported	151	326 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	46.3%	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.Buncombe 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	17	6	15	19	57
Monday	7	14	16	12	49
Tuesday	7	5	15	23	50
Wednesday	5	7	9	13	34
Thursday	3	7	12	20	42
Friday	8	13	15	13	49
Saturday	10	7	10	18	45
All days	57	59	92	118	326

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.Buncombe County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in North Carolina
Interstate	62	19.1%	9.7%
Other freeways and expressways	17	5.2%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	108	33.3%	27.0%
Minor arterial	49	15.1%	16.1%
Major collector	36	11.1%	15.1%
Minor collector	6	1.9%	5.7%
Local	46	14.2%	22.3%
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.Buncombe County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	157
Dark, not lighted	105
Dark, lighted	46
Dawn	5
Dusk	13
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Buncombe County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	251
Cloudy	43
Rain	29
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	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Buncombe County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Buncombe	In all of North Carolina
Interstate 26	Interstate	15	38
Interstate 40	Interstate	30	363
Interstate 240	Interstate	21	21
State Route 63	State highway	21	23
US Route 19	US highway	33	83
US Route 25	US highway	36	63
US Route 70	US highway	19	318
US Route 74	US highway	11	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.Buncombe 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
Buncombe County: 13.1

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 Buncombe County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Haywood County	North Carolina	10	108	17.4
Henderson County	North Carolina	16	123	10.5
Madison County	North Carolina	9	45	20.7
McDowell County	North Carolina	6	70	15.5
Rutherford County	North Carolina	16	118	17.9
Yancey County	North Carolina	1 or 2	28	15.3

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 Buncombe 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. Buncombe County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/nc/buncombe/. 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 Buncombe in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 285 deaths in Buncombe County from 2005 to 2014. It records 347 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Buncombe in 2024?

The rate of Buncombe County in 2024 was 15.8 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 Buncombe had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 73 of 326 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 Buncombe?

8 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 186 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.