Franklin County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 17 deaths in 14 fatal crashes in Franklin County in 2024.

FARS records 154 deaths in 139 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 21.9 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, Franklin County was number 34 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Franklin County rose by 36.3% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (113) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (154).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 89.2% of the fatal crashes in Franklin 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 Franklin 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.Franklin County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	17	14	4
2023	16	13	5
2022	27	22	4
2021	12	12	6
2020	16	14	6
2019	16	15	5
2018	10	9	1 or 2
2017	14	14	5
2016	19	19	5
2015	7	7	3
2015 to 2024	154	139	45

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 27 (2022)2024: 17

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

Table 2.Franklin County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	17	14
2023	16	13
2022	27	22
2021	12	12
2020	16	14
2019	16	15
2018	10	9
2017	14	14
2016	19	19
2015	7	7
2014	4	4
2013	12	11
2012	5	5
2011	11	9
2010	6	6
2009	12	12
2008	12	11
2007	20	20
2006	13	13
2005	18	18
2004	14	14
2003	20	17
2002	15	12
2001	12	11
2000	17	15
1999	13	11
1998	12	12
1997	17	14
1996	5	5
1995	11	10
1994	12	9
1993	13	13
1992	13	11
1991	12	10
1990	8	8
1989	12	12
1988	19	17
1987	8	8
1986	9	8
1985	7	7
1984	13	13
1983	7	7
1982	11	9
1981	16	11
1980	9	7
1979	18	14
1978	14	13
1977	12	11
1976	7	7
1975	10	9

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.Franklin County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Franklin County	North Carolina	United States
2024	21.3	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	21.9	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. Franklin County had 79,930 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Franklin County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 139 fatal crashes	45	139 fatal crashes	32.4%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 139 fatal crashes	48	139 fatal crashes	34.5%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 120 occupant deaths with restraint use known	59	120 occupant deathswith restraint use known	49.2%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 154 deaths	14	154 deaths	9.1%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 154 deaths	0	154 deaths	0.0%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 154 deaths	13	154 deaths	8.4%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 139 fatal crashes with the condition reported	124	139 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	89.2%	57.2%
In the darkof 139 fatal crashes with the condition reported	69	139 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	49.6%	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.Franklin 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	1 or 2	6	6	19
Monday	0	5	4	6	15
Tuesday	1 or 2	7	7	8	23
Wednesday	1 or 2	1 or 2	4	6	13
Thursday	0	5	6	10	21
Friday	1 or 2	3	1 or 2	10	16
Saturday	6	4	9	13	32
All days	15	27	38	59	139

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.Franklin 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	1 or 2	1.4%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	41	29.7%	27.0%
Minor arterial	21	15.2%	16.1%
Major collector	25	18.1%	15.1%
Minor collector	16	11.6%	5.7%
Local	33	23.9%	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.Franklin County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	63
Dark, not lighted	62
Dark, lighted	6
Dawn	3
Dusk	4
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Franklin County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	108
Cloudy	17
Rain	11
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Franklin County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Franklin	In all of North Carolina
State Route 39	State highway	11	35
State Route 96	State highway	4	27
State Route 97	State highway	1 or 2	30
State Route 98	State highway	4	26
US Route 1	US highway	10	120
US Route 64	US highway	1 or 2	293
US Route 401	US highway	17	177

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.Franklin 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
Franklin County: 21.9

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 Franklin County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Granville County	North Carolina	9	138	22.9
Nash County	North Carolina	12	232	24.3
Vance County	North Carolina	4	95	21.9
Wake County	North Carolina	83	772	6.9
Warren County	North Carolina	8	71	36.7

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 Franklin 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. Franklin County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/nc/franklin/. 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/franklin/" title="Fatal crashes in Franklin 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/franklin/">Fatal crashes in Franklin 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 Franklin in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 113 deaths in Franklin County from 2005 to 2014. It records 154 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Franklin in 2024?

The rate of Franklin County in 2024 was 21.3 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 Franklin had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 45 of 139 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 Franklin?

7 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 48 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.