Cabarrus County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 23 deaths in 22 fatal crashes in Cabarrus County in 2024.

FARS records 235 deaths in 218 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 10.6 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, Cabarrus County was number 17 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Cabarrus County rose by 27.7% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (184) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (235).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 36.7% of the fatal crashes in Cabarrus 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 Cabarrus 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.Cabarrus County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	23	22	7
2023	26	24	4
2022	32	29	10
2021	24	22	4
2020	21	20	5
2019	27	25	7
2018	18	17	1 or 2
2017	17	15	1 or 2
2016	23	22	9
2015	24	22	8
2015 to 2024	235	218	58

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 32 (2022)2024: 23

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

Table 2.Cabarrus County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	23	22
2023	26	24
2022	32	29
2021	24	22
2020	21	20
2019	27	25
2018	18	17
2017	17	15
2016	23	22
2015	24	22
2014	17	17
2013	19	18
2012	12	11
2011	13	13
2010	26	23
2009	22	21
2008	19	19
2007	18	17
2006	18	15
2005	20	18
2004	26	22
2003	20	18
2002	22	21
2001	29	24
2000	17	16
1999	23	19
1998	20	20
1997	18	18
1996	18	17
1995	19	18
1994	13	11
1993	10	9
1992	13	11
1991	19	16
1990	13	12
1989	17	16
1988	19	17
1987	18	18
1986	22	17
1985	16	15
1984	22	18
1983	18	18
1982	15	12
1981	19	17
1980	16	14
1979	15	15
1978	24	23
1977	5	5
1976	11	10
1975	12	12

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.Cabarrus County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Cabarrus County	North Carolina	United States
2024	9.4	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	10.6	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. Cabarrus County had 245,673 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Cabarrus County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 218 fatal crashes	58	218 fatal crashes	26.6%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 218 fatal crashes	62	218 fatal crashes	28.4%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 157 occupant deaths with restraint use known	67	157 occupant deathswith restraint use known	42.7%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 235 deaths	38	235 deaths	16.2%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 235 deaths	1 or 2	235 deaths	0.9%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 235 deaths	33	235 deaths	14.0%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 215 fatal crashes with the condition reported	79	215 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	36.7%	57.2%
In the darkof 217 fatal crashes with the condition reported	94	217 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	43.3%	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.Cabarrus 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	14	7	14	9	44
Monday	5	7	5	7	24
Tuesday	1 or 2	8	14	14	38
Wednesday	1 or 2	6	9	11	28
Thursday	4	5	8	11	28
Friday	4	1 or 2	8	8	22
Saturday	7	5	11	11	34
All days	38	40	69	71	218

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.Cabarrus County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in North Carolina
Interstate	25	11.6%	9.7%
Other freeways and expressways	0	0.0%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	52	24.2%	27.0%
Minor arterial	39	18.1%	16.1%
Major collector	35	16.3%	15.1%
Minor collector	18	8.4%	5.7%
Local	46	21.4%	22.3%
Not reported	3	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.Cabarrus County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	113
Dark, not lighted	65
Dark, lighted	28
Dawn	4
Dusk	6
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Cabarrus County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	163
Cloudy	34
Rain	19
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
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 Cabarrus County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Cabarrus	In all of North Carolina
Interstate 85	Interstate	25	324
State Route 24	State highway	6	151
State Route 49	State highway	12	70
State Route 73	State highway	11	37
US Route 29	US highway	7	165
US Route 601	US highway	10	57

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.Cabarrus 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
Cabarrus County: 10.6

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 Cabarrus County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Iredell County	North Carolina	27	238	12.8
Mecklenburg County	North Carolina	121	1,059	9.5
Rowan County	North Carolina	32	233	16.1
Stanly County	North Carolina	11	95	15.1
Union County	North Carolina	24	232	9.6

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

FARS records 184 deaths in Cabarrus County from 2005 to 2014. It records 235 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Cabarrus in 2024?

The rate of Cabarrus County in 2024 was 9.4 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 Cabarrus had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 58 of 218 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 Cabarrus?

6 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 71 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.