Columbus County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 18 deaths in 17 fatal crashes in Columbus County in 2024.

FARS records 204 deaths in 180 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 38.4 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, Columbus County was number 27 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Columbus County fell by 6.8% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (219) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (204).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 83.3% of the fatal crashes in Columbus 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 Columbus 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.Columbus County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	18	17	1 or 2
2023	16	15	5
2022	23	17	4
2021	23	21	4
2020	20	17	4
2019	17	15	4
2018	17	14	1 or 2
2017	30	26	6
2016	26	24	7
2015	14	14	4
2015 to 2024	204	180	41

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 35 (1988)2024: 18

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

Table 2.Columbus County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	18	17
2023	16	15
2022	23	17
2021	23	21
2020	20	17
2019	17	15
2018	17	14
2017	30	26
2016	26	24
2015	14	14
2014	18	16
2013	22	21
2012	22	20
2011	17	17
2010	26	25
2009	28	20
2008	27	25
2007	12	11
2006	30	29
2005	17	16
2004	34	25
2003	16	16
2002	30	26
2001	26	25
2000	20	20
1999	30	26
1998	22	20
1997	28	22
1996	32	25
1995	16	14
1994	29	23
1993	17	16
1992	23	21
1991	17	16
1990	25	23
1989	15	15
1988	35	27
1987	19	15
1986	32	29
1985	16	15
1984	18	14
1983	20	18
1982	28	22
1981	16	15
1980	19	18
1979	13	11
1978	20	17
1977	23	20
1976	31	27
1975	14	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.Columbus County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Columbus County	North Carolina	United States
2024	35.8	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	38.4	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. Columbus County had 50,301 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Columbus County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 180 fatal crashes	41	180 fatal crashes	22.8%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 180 fatal crashes	43	180 fatal crashes	23.9%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 153 occupant deaths with restraint use known	76	153 occupant deathswith restraint use known	49.7%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 204 deaths	17	204 deaths	8.3%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 204 deaths	3	204 deaths	1.5%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 204 deaths	22	204 deaths	10.8%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 180 fatal crashes with the condition reported	150	180 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	83.3%	57.2%
In the darkof 180 fatal crashes with the condition reported	66	180 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	36.7%	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.Columbus 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	6	5	8	10	29
Monday	4	7	9	5	25
Tuesday	3	4	5	7	19
Wednesday	1 or 2	5	13	4	23
Thursday	5	8	7	3	23
Friday	3	9	15	9	36
Saturday	3	6	8	8	25
All days	25	44	65	46	180

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.Columbus 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	21	11.7%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	44	24.4%	27.0%
Minor arterial	28	15.6%	16.1%
Major collector	39	21.7%	15.1%
Minor collector	10	5.6%	5.7%
Local	38	21.1%	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.Columbus County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	108
Dark, not lighted	58
Dark, lighted	7
Dawn	4
Dusk	1 or 2
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Columbus County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	149
Cloudy	15
Rain	12
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	4
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Columbus County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Columbus	In all of North Carolina
State Route 11	State highway	1 or 2	85
State Route 87	State highway	12	122
State Route 130	State highway	8	46
State Route 211	State highway	4	66
US Route 74	US highway	30	256
US Route 701	US highway	16	54

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.Columbus 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
Columbus County: 38.4

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 Columbus County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Bladen County	North Carolina	6	108	34.3
Brunswick County	North Carolina	24	214	15.1
Pender County	North Carolina	7	159	25.2
Robeson County	North Carolina	46	531	42.5
Horry County	South Carolina	58	714	19.9

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

FARS records 219 deaths in Columbus County from 2005 to 2014. It records 204 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Columbus in 2024?

The rate of Columbus County in 2024 was 35.8 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 Columbus had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 41 of 180 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 Columbus?

6 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 72 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.