Catawba County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 22 deaths in 22 fatal crashes in Catawba County in 2024.

FARS records 237 deaths in 224 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 14.8 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, Catawba County was number 16 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Catawba County fell by 0.4% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (238) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (237).

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

From 2015 to 2024, a speeding-related driver was recorded in 24.1% of fatal crashes in Catawba County and 31.8% 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 Catawba 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.Catawba County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	22	22	5
2023	25	23	1 or 2
2022	31	31	6
2021	37	33	12
2020	26	22	6
2019	20	19	3
2018	14	14	1 or 2
2017	19	19	4
2016	15	15	4
2015	28	26	8
2015 to 2024	237	224	51

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 41 (1978)2024: 22

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

Table 2.Catawba County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	22	22
2023	25	23
2022	31	31
2021	37	33
2020	26	22
2019	20	19
2018	14	14
2017	19	19
2016	15	15
2015	28	26
2014	24	23
2013	21	19
2012	20	18
2011	17	16
2010	33	30
2009	29	24
2008	26	26
2007	25	21
2006	23	22
2005	20	19
2004	26	25
2003	23	23
2002	25	23
2001	23	14
2000	37	34
1999	22	20
1998	32	28
1997	30	28
1996	34	31
1995	37	35
1994	21	21
1993	25	22
1992	23	22
1991	38	33
1990	32	29
1989	29	28
1988	28	27
1987	27	24
1986	26	25
1985	27	24
1984	31	28
1983	30	24
1982	25	23
1981	26	26
1980	26	24
1979	25	22
1978	41	35
1977	19	17
1976	27	24
1975	24	20

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.Catawba County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Catawba County	North Carolina	United States
2024	13.2	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	14.8	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. Catawba County had 167,189 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Catawba County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 224 fatal crashes	51	224 fatal crashes	22.8%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 224 fatal crashes	54	224 fatal crashes	24.1%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 147 occupant deaths with restraint use known	63	147 occupant deathswith restraint use known	42.9%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 237 deaths	33	237 deaths	13.9%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 237 deaths	4	237 deaths	1.7%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 237 deaths	45	237 deaths	19.0%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 224 fatal crashes with the condition reported	119	224 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	53.1%	57.2%
In the darkof 224 fatal crashes with the condition reported	108	224 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	48.2%	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.Catawba 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	9	5	4	10	28
Monday	7	5	7	7	26
Tuesday	1 or 2	9	15	8	34
Wednesday	9	6	5	11	31
Thursday	3	8	7	12	30
Friday	4	12	11	12	39
Saturday	6	4	5	21	36
All days	40	49	54	81	224

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.Catawba County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in North Carolina
Interstate	14	6.3%	9.7%
Other freeways and expressways	5	2.2%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	71	31.7%	27.0%
Minor arterial	41	18.3%	16.1%
Major collector	18	8.0%	15.1%
Minor collector	22	9.8%	5.7%
Local	53	23.7%	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.Catawba County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	110
Dark, not lighted	78
Dark, lighted	30
Dawn	3
Dusk	3
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Catawba County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	175
Cloudy	26
Rain	20
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 Catawba County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Catawba	In all of North Carolina
Interstate 40	Interstate	14	363
State Route 10	State highway	15	22
State Route 16	State highway	17	77
State Route 18	State highway	1 or 2	37
State Route 150	State highway	5	90
US Route 70	US highway	14	318
US Route 321	US highway	13	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.Catawba 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
Catawba County: 14.8

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 Catawba 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
Burke County	North Carolina	18	142	16.0
Caldwell County	North Carolina	24	123	15.1
Iredell County	North Carolina	27	238	12.8
Lincoln County	North Carolina	7	127	14.5

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

FARS records 238 deaths in Catawba County from 2005 to 2014. It records 237 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Catawba in 2024?

The rate of Catawba County in 2024 was 13.2 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 Catawba had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 51 of 224 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 Catawba?

7 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 79 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.