Caldwell County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 24 deaths in 24 fatal crashes in Caldwell County in 2024.

FARS records 123 deaths in 118 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, Caldwell County was number 47 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Caldwell County rose by 0.8% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (122) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (123).

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

From 2015 to 2024, pedestrians were 8.9% of the deaths in Caldwell County and 14.9% 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 Caldwell 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.Caldwell County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	24	24	5
2023	10	9	1 or 2
2022	16	16	5
2021	11	11	1 or 2
2020	8	8	0
2019	12	12	0
2018	14	12	1 or 2
2017	6	5	1 or 2
2016	10	9	5
2015	12	12	7
2015 to 2024	123	118	29

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 24 (2024)2024: 24

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

Table 2.Caldwell County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	24	24
2023	10	9
2022	16	16
2021	11	11
2020	8	8
2019	12	12
2018	14	12
2017	6	5
2016	10	9
2015	12	12
2014	9	7
2013	8	8
2012	7	5
2011	15	14
2010	17	16
2009	17	15
2008	8	8
2007	13	11
2006	14	13
2005	14	14
2004	15	11
2003	13	12
2002	12	12
2001	14	12
2000	20	18
1999	14	12
1998	13	12
1997	13	12
1996	13	10
1995	14	12
1994	10	10
1993	10	7
1992	13	12
1991	10	10
1990	21	18
1989	15	14
1988	19	19
1987	10	10
1986	14	13
1985	13	13
1984	14	12
1983	6	6
1982	14	13
1981	19	17
1980	9	9
1979	21	20
1978	13	12
1977	19	18
1976	15	14
1975	9	8

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.Caldwell County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Caldwell County	North Carolina	United States
2024	29.7	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. Caldwell County had 80,854 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Caldwell County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 118 fatal crashes	29	118 fatal crashes	24.6%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 118 fatal crashes	35	118 fatal crashes	29.7%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 93 occupant deaths with restraint use known	39	93 occupant deathswith restraint use known	41.9%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 123 deaths	11	123 deaths	8.9%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 123 deaths	5	123 deaths	4.1%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 123 deaths	11	123 deaths	8.9%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 118 fatal crashes with the condition reported	67	118 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	56.8%	57.2%
In the darkof 117 fatal crashes with the condition reported	48	117 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	41.0%	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.Caldwell 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	4	1 or 2	5	3	14
Monday	1 or 2	3	5	4	13
Tuesday	1 or 2	4	8	1 or 2	15
Wednesday	5	3	1 or 2	7	17
Thursday	5	4	7	5	21
Friday	0	1 or 2	9	6	17
Saturday	1 or 2	1 or 2	10	9	21
All days	18	19	46	35	118

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.Caldwell County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in North Carolina
Interstate	0	0.0%	9.7%
Other freeways and expressways	5	4.2%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	47	39.8%	27.0%
Minor arterial	13	11.0%	16.1%
Major collector	13	11.0%	15.1%
Minor collector	1 or 2	0.8%	5.7%
Local	39	33.1%	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.Caldwell County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	64
Dark, not lighted	36
Dark, lighted	12
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	4
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Caldwell County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	96
Cloudy	7
Rain	15
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	0
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Caldwell County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Caldwell	In all of North Carolina
State Route 18	State highway	1 or 2	37
US Route 64	US highway	15	293
US Route 221	US highway	1 or 2	46
US Route 321	US highway	29	94

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.Caldwell 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
Caldwell 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 Caldwell County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Alexander County	North Carolina	6	57	15.5
Avery County	North Carolina	1 or 2	24	13.6
Burke County	North Carolina	18	142	16.0
Catawba County	North Carolina	22	237	14.8
Watauga County	North Carolina	4	58	10.5
Wilkes County	North Carolina	17	129	19.2

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 Caldwell 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. Caldwell County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/nc/caldwell/. 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.

Embed this card on your site

Copy this code into your page. The card shows the figures above with their source. A line under the card links to this page.

<iframe src="https://fatalroads.com/embed/county/nc/caldwell/" title="Fatal crashes in Caldwell County, North Carolina" width="100%" height="300" style="border:0;max-width:640px" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p style="margin:4px 0 0;font-size:13px"><a href="https://fatalroads.com/county/nc/caldwell/">Fatal crashes in Caldwell County, North Carolina</a>, from fatalroads.com</p>

How embedding works. It is free. Keep the link in the card and the link line under it.

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 Caldwell in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 122 deaths in Caldwell County from 2005 to 2014. It records 123 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Caldwell in 2024?

The rate of Caldwell County in 2024 was 29.7 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 Caldwell had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 29 of 118 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 Caldwell?

4 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 46 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.