Henderson County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 16 deaths in 16 fatal crashes in Henderson County in 2024.

FARS records 123 deaths in 118 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 10.5 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, Henderson County was number 47 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Henderson County fell by 10.9% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (138) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (123).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 32.2% of the fatal crashes in Henderson County with known light were in the dark, against 46.3% 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 Henderson 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.Henderson County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	16	16	0
2023	12	12	4
2022	10	10	1 or 2
2021	16	15	6
2020	12	11	4
2019	10	8	1 or 2
2018	12	11	6
2017	12	12	3
2016	14	14	1 or 2
2015	9	9	1 or 2
2015 to 2024	123	118	30

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 24 (1976)2024: 16

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

Table 2.Henderson County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	16	16
2023	12	12
2022	10	10
2021	16	15
2020	12	11
2019	10	8
2018	12	11
2017	12	12
2016	14	14
2015	9	9
2014	16	15
2013	9	9
2012	8	8
2011	18	13
2010	14	10
2009	16	14
2008	11	9
2007	12	12
2006	13	11
2005	21	19
2004	17	17
2003	16	16
2002	6	6
2001	14	12
2000	14	13
1999	12	11
1998	18	15
1997	15	11
1996	6	4
1995	12	12
1994	16	13
1993	15	15
1992	11	11
1991	10	9
1990	9	9
1989	18	17
1988	14	14
1987	20	15
1986	14	13
1985	14	14
1984	15	14
1983	11	11
1982	18	13
1981	15	15
1980	8	7
1979	9	9
1978	6	6
1977	14	10
1976	24	19
1975	16	14

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.Henderson County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Henderson County	North Carolina	United States
2024	13.2	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	10.5	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. Henderson County had 121,286 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Henderson County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 118 fatal crashes	30	118 fatal crashes	25.4%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 118 fatal crashes	27	118 fatal crashes	22.9%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 77 occupant deaths with restraint use known	35	77 occupant deathswith restraint use known	45.5%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 123 deaths	19	123 deaths	15.4%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 123 deaths	4	123 deaths	3.3%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 123 deaths	21	123 deaths	17.1%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 118 fatal crashes with the condition reported	64	118 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	54.2%	57.2%
In the darkof 118 fatal crashes with the condition reported	38	118 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	32.2%	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.Henderson 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	1 or 2	6	1 or 2	6	15
Monday	0	5	1 or 2	1 or 2	8
Tuesday	1 or 2	5	5	4	16
Wednesday	1 or 2	6	6	9	22
Thursday	1 or 2	3	6	5	15
Friday	1 or 2	6	8	9	25
Saturday	1 or 2	1 or 2	7	7	17
All days	9	32	36	41	118

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.Henderson County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in North Carolina
Interstate	11	9.3%	9.7%
Other freeways and expressways	0	0.0%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	34	28.8%	27.0%
Minor arterial	28	23.7%	16.1%
Major collector	17	14.4%	15.1%
Minor collector	5	4.2%	5.7%
Local	23	19.5%	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.Henderson County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	75
Dark, not lighted	35
Dark, lighted	3
Dawn	3
Dusk	1 or 2
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Henderson County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	87
Cloudy	13
Rain	14
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 Henderson County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Henderson	In all of North Carolina
Interstate 26	Interstate	11	38
US Route 25	US highway	18	63
US Route 64	US highway	17	293

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.Henderson 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
Henderson County: 10.5

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 Henderson County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Buncombe County	North Carolina	44	347	13.1
Polk County	North Carolina	5	35	17.3
Rutherford County	North Carolina	16	118	17.9
Transylvania County	North Carolina	4	35	10.4
Greenville County	South Carolina	94	831	15.7

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

FARS records 138 deaths in Henderson County from 2005 to 2014. It records 123 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Henderson in 2024?

The rate of Henderson 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 Henderson had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 30 of 118 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 Henderson?

FARS records 11 fatal crashes on Interstate 26 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 18 fatal crashes on US Route 25 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 17 fatal crashes on US Route 64 in the county from 2015 to 2024.