Carteret County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 13 deaths in 12 fatal crashes in Carteret County in 2024.

FARS records 93 deaths in 87 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 13.5 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, Carteret County was number 57 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Carteret County fell by 7.0% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (100) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (93).

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

From 2015 to 2024, motorcyclists were 20.4% of the deaths in Carteret County and 13.5% 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 Carteret 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.Carteret County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	13	12	4
2023	10	10	3
2022	14	12	3
2021	8	8	0
2020	10	9	1 or 2
2019	12	11	4
2018	10	10	1 or 2
2017	3	3	1 or 2
2016	9	8	1 or 2
2015	4	4	1 or 2
2015 to 2024	93	87	19

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 18 (1996)2024: 13

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

Table 2.Carteret County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	13	12
2023	10	10
2022	14	12
2021	8	8
2020	10	9
2019	12	11
2018	10	10
2017	3	3
2016	9	8
2015	4	4
2014	4	4
2013	8	8
2012	11	10
2011	8	7
2010	11	10
2009	10	10
2008	4	4
2007	15	12
2006	13	13
2005	16	14
2004	17	16
2003	12	12
2002	13	13
2001	8	7
2000	12	11
1999	12	10
1998	15	14
1997	12	9
1996	18	13
1995	13	12
1994	6	6
1993	6	6
1992	11	10
1991	10	8
1990	13	13
1989	12	12
1988	7	7
1987	15	12
1986	12	9
1985	11	9
1984	9	7
1983	8	6
1982	9	8
1981	15	15
1980	5	4
1979	13	12
1978	8	8
1977	7	7
1976	8	8
1975	8	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.Carteret County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Carteret County	North Carolina	United States
2024	18.5	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	13.5	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. Carteret County had 70,215 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Carteret County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 87 fatal crashes	19	87 fatal crashes	21.8%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 87 fatal crashes	24	87 fatal crashes	27.6%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 54 occupant deaths with restraint use known	26	54 occupant deathswith restraint use known	48.1%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 93 deaths	12	93 deaths	12.9%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 93 deaths	4	93 deaths	4.3%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 93 deaths	19	93 deaths	20.4%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 87 fatal crashes with the condition reported	51	87 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	58.6%	57.2%
In the darkof 87 fatal crashes with the condition reported	41	87 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	47.1%	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.Carteret 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	1 or 2	5	5	5	17
Monday	0	3	1 or 2	1 or 2	6
Tuesday	1 or 2	0	1 or 2	4	8
Wednesday	1 or 2	4	5	3	14
Thursday	1 or 2	3	1 or 2	4	11
Friday	3	3	5	5	16
Saturday	5	1 or 2	1 or 2	6	15
All days	16	20	23	28	87

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.Carteret 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	0	0.0%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	44	50.6%	27.0%
Minor arterial	14	16.1%	16.1%
Major collector	18	20.7%	15.1%
Minor collector	1 or 2	1.1%	5.7%
Local	10	11.5%	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.Carteret County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	42
Dark, not lighted	37
Dark, lighted	4
Dawn	4
Dusk	0
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Carteret County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	68
Cloudy	10
Rain	8
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
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 Carteret County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Carteret	In all of North Carolina
State Route 24	State highway	18	151
State Route 58	State highway	3	31
US Route 70	US highway	30	318

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.Carteret 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
Carteret County: 13.5

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 Carteret County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Craven County	North Carolina	12	131	12.8
Hyde County	North Carolina	1 or 2	6	12.2
Jones County	North Carolina	1 or 2	26	27.6
Onslow County	North Carolina	19	231	11.4
Pamlico County	North Carolina	3	23	18.3

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 Carteret 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. Carteret County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/nc/carteret/. 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.

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 Carteret in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 100 deaths in Carteret County from 2005 to 2014. It records 93 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Carteret in 2024?

The rate of Carteret County in 2024 was 18.5 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 Carteret had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 19 of 87 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 Carteret?

FARS records 18 fatal crashes on State Route 24 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 3 fatal crashes on State Route 58 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 30 fatal crashes on US Route 70 in the county from 2015 to 2024.