Gaston County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 37 deaths in 37 fatal crashes in Gaston County in 2024.

FARS records 277 deaths in 267 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 12.2 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, Gaston County was number 12 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Gaston County rose by 22.0% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (227) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (277).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 33.0% of the fatal crashes in Gaston 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 Gaston 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.Gaston County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	37	37	12
2023	26	26	5
2022	22	22	8
2021	22	20	1 or 2
2020	28	26	6
2019	18	17	6
2018	32	31	5
2017	23	23	6
2016	29	29	7
2015	40	36	10
2015 to 2024	277	267	66

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 44 (1990)2024: 37

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

Table 2.Gaston County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	37	37
2023	26	26
2022	22	22
2021	22	20
2020	28	26
2019	18	17
2018	32	31
2017	23	23
2016	29	29
2015	40	36
2014	31	29
2013	23	23
2012	21	18
2011	17	16
2010	18	18
2009	17	16
2008	28	24
2007	34	30
2006	18	18
2005	20	19
2004	25	22
2003	27	26
2002	20	19
2001	33	29
2000	21	20
1999	22	22
1998	28	25
1997	30	25
1996	32	30
1995	30	30
1994	27	23
1993	29	28
1992	22	22
1991	21	18
1990	44	39
1989	31	25
1988	35	32
1987	29	28
1986	34	33
1985	33	30
1984	33	31
1983	28	23
1982	21	20
1981	34	32
1980	37	35
1979	38	33
1978	30	26
1977	33	28
1976	25	21
1975	24	23

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.Gaston County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Gaston County	North Carolina	United States
2024	15.2	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	12.2	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. Gaston County had 243,020 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Gaston County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 267 fatal crashes	66	267 fatal crashes	24.7%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 267 fatal crashes	111	267 fatal crashes	41.6%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 176 occupant deaths with restraint use known	81	176 occupant deathswith restraint use known	46.0%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 277 deaths	42	277 deaths	15.2%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 277 deaths	5	277 deaths	1.8%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 277 deaths	48	277 deaths	17.3%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 267 fatal crashes with the condition reported	88	267 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	33.0%	57.2%
In the darkof 267 fatal crashes with the condition reported	121	267 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	45.3%	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.Gaston 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	14	7	10	5	36
Monday	1 or 2	8	11	15	35
Tuesday	7	11	11	6	35
Wednesday	4	6	10	14	34
Thursday	9	12	12	8	41
Friday	5	5	6	18	34
Saturday	11	6	18	17	52
All days	51	55	78	83	267

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.Gaston County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in North Carolina
Interstate	34	12.8%	9.7%
Other freeways and expressways	17	6.4%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	73	27.4%	27.0%
Minor arterial	47	17.7%	16.1%
Major collector	18	6.8%	15.1%
Minor collector	13	4.9%	5.7%
Local	64	24.1%	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.Gaston County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	135
Dark, not lighted	70
Dark, lighted	51
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	10
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Gaston County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	200
Cloudy	34
Rain	32
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Gaston County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Gaston	In all of North Carolina
Interstate 85	Interstate	34	324
Interstate 95	Interstate	1 or 2	196
State Route 16	State highway	1 or 2	77
State Route 27	State highway	1 or 2	56
State Route 150	State highway	3	90
US Route 29	US highway	13	165
US Route 74	US highway	10	256
US Route 321	US highway	26	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.Gaston 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
Gaston County: 12.2

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 Gaston County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Cleveland County	North Carolina	16	208	21.0
Lincoln County	North Carolina	7	127	14.5
Mecklenburg County	North Carolina	121	1,059	9.5
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 Gaston 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. Gaston County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/nc/gaston/. 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 Gaston in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 227 deaths in Gaston County from 2005 to 2014. It records 277 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Gaston in 2024?

The rate of Gaston County in 2024 was 15.2 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 Gaston had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 66 of 267 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 Gaston?

8 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 90 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.