Cleveland County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 16 deaths in 15 fatal crashes in Cleveland County in 2024.

FARS records 208 deaths in 193 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 21.0 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, Cleveland County was number 26 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Cleveland County rose by 30.8% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (159) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (208).

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 23.8% of fatal crashes in Cleveland 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 Cleveland 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.Cleveland County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	16	15	0
2023	24	24	1 or 2
2022	22	21	1 or 2
2021	14	14	5
2020	19	18	4
2019	18	17	1 or 2
2018	32	30	5
2017	10	10	3
2016	33	25	8
2015	20	19	7
2015 to 2024	208	193	37

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 33 (2016)2024: 16

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

Table 2.Cleveland County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	16	15
2023	24	24
2022	22	21
2021	14	14
2020	19	18
2019	18	17
2018	32	30
2017	10	10
2016	33	25
2015	20	19
2014	16	14
2013	9	8
2012	12	12
2011	9	9
2010	13	13
2009	20	18
2008	15	14
2007	27	25
2006	20	19
2005	18	17
2004	22	20
2003	14	10
2002	18	16
2001	19	19
2000	20	18
1999	16	16
1998	26	24
1997	23	22
1996	22	22
1995	19	18
1994	23	19
1993	16	16
1992	26	25
1991	22	20
1990	15	14
1989	8	8
1988	14	11
1987	14	12
1986	23	22
1985	18	15
1984	23	20
1983	16	16
1982	21	19
1981	28	25
1980	14	14
1979	16	16
1978	10	10
1977	28	20
1976	24	22
1975	17	13

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.Cleveland County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Cleveland County	North Carolina	United States
2024	15.6	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	21.0	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. Cleveland County had 102,506 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Cleveland County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 193 fatal crashes	37	193 fatal crashes	19.2%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 193 fatal crashes	46	193 fatal crashes	23.8%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 145 occupant deaths with restraint use known	63	145 occupant deathswith restraint use known	43.4%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 208 deaths	28	208 deaths	13.5%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 208 deaths	1 or 2	208 deaths	0.5%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 208 deaths	20	208 deaths	9.6%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 192 fatal crashes with the condition reported	117	192 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	60.9%	57.2%
In the darkof 190 fatal crashes with the condition reported	83	190 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	43.7%	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.Cleveland 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	9	8	9	30
Monday	3	5	6	7	21
Tuesday	5	7	11	3	26
Wednesday	4	5	7	6	22
Thursday	4	8	6	10	28
Friday	1 or 2	5	12	14	33
Saturday	4	1 or 2	10	16	32
All days	26	41	60	65	192

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.Cleveland County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in North Carolina
Interstate	10	5.2%	9.7%
Other freeways and expressways	9	4.7%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	51	26.7%	27.0%
Minor arterial	29	15.2%	16.1%
Major collector	40	20.9%	15.1%
Minor collector	12	6.3%	5.7%
Local	40	20.9%	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.Cleveland County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	101
Dark, not lighted	71
Dark, lighted	10
Dawn	4
Dusk	1 or 2
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	3

Table 8.Cleveland County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	159
Cloudy	15
Rain	13
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	3
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 Cleveland County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Cleveland	In all of North Carolina
Interstate 85	Interstate	9	324
State Route 10	State highway	4	22
State Route 18	State highway	10	37
State Route 27	State highway	1 or 2	56
State Route 87	State highway	1 or 2	122
State Route 150	State highway	11	90
State Route 226	State highway	9	29
US Route 29	US highway	3	165
US Route 74	US highway	27	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.Cleveland 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
Cleveland County: 21.0

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 Cleveland County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Burke County	North Carolina	18	142	16.0
Gaston County	North Carolina	37	277	12.2
Lincoln County	North Carolina	7	127	14.5
Rutherford County	North Carolina	16	118	17.9
Cherokee County	South Carolina	20	160	28.2
York County	South Carolina	34	338	12.1

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

FARS records 159 deaths in Cleveland County from 2005 to 2014. It records 208 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Cleveland in 2024?

The rate of Cleveland County in 2024 was 15.6 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 Cleveland had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 37 of 193 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 Cleveland?

9 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 75 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.