Mecklenburg County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 121 deaths in 115 fatal crashes in Mecklenburg County in 2024.

FARS records 1,059 deaths in 992 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 9.5 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, Mecklenburg County was number 1 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Mecklenburg County rose by 46.3% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (724) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (1,059).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 2.4% of the fatal crashes in Mecklenburg 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 Mecklenburg County by year, 2015 to 2024

103

114

115

108

118

112

121

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.Mecklenburg County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	121	115	27
2023	97	92	33
2022	112	102	34
2021	118	109	47
2020	108	103	38
2019	91	87	20
2018	115	106	34
2017	114	109	44
2016	103	95	32
2015	80	74	27
2015 to 2024	1,059	992	336

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 121 (2024)2024: 121

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

Table 2.Mecklenburg County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	121	115
2023	97	92
2022	112	102
2021	118	109
2020	108	103
2019	91	87
2018	115	106
2017	114	109
2016	103	95
2015	80	74
2014	69	67
2013	67	59
2012	74	71
2011	68	65
2010	48	48
2009	67	64
2008	70	67
2007	88	79
2006	89	86
2005	84	80
2004	72	63
2003	69	64
2002	74	73
2001	58	53
2000	85	82
1999	71	69
1998	69	66
1997	56	50
1996	63	60
1995	56	50
1994	64	58
1993	64	54
1992	55	50
1991	68	61
1990	73	62
1989	75	69
1988	68	62
1987	77	72
1986	88	81
1985	54	52
1984	80	72
1983	70	60
1982	58	54
1981	87	78
1980	68	61
1979	80	71
1978	80	72
1977	54	52
1976	69	61
1975	79	73

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.Mecklenburg County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Mecklenburg County	North Carolina	United States
2024	10.0	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	9.5	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. Mecklenburg County had 1,206,829 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Mecklenburg County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 992 fatal crashes	336	992 fatal crashes	33.9%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 992 fatal crashes	403	992 fatal crashes	40.6%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 586 occupant deaths with restraint use known	302	586 occupant deathswith restraint use known	51.5%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 1,059 deaths	281	1,059 deaths	26.5%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 1,059 deaths	23	1,059 deaths	2.2%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 1,059 deaths	125	1,059 deaths	11.8%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 990 fatal crashes with the condition reported	24	990 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	2.4%	57.2%
In the darkof 991 fatal crashes with the condition reported	585	991 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	59.0%	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.Mecklenburg 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	84	23	33	50	190
Monday	30	33	28	41	132
Tuesday	30	24	26	29	109
Wednesday	34	29	25	45	133
Thursday	24	21	34	46	125
Friday	29	23	29	42	123
Saturday	69	24	28	59	180
All days	300	177	203	312	992

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.Mecklenburg County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in North Carolina
Interstate	260	26.3%	9.7%
Other freeways and expressways	12	1.2%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	231	23.3%	27.0%
Minor arterial	148	14.9%	16.1%
Major collector	67	6.8%	15.1%
Minor collector	10	1.0%	5.7%
Local	262	26.5%	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.Mecklenburg County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	356
Dark, not lighted	189
Dark, lighted	393
Dawn	20
Dusk	30
Dark, lighting unknown	3
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Mecklenburg County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	785
Cloudy	112
Rain	83
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	4
Fog, smog or smoke	8
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Mecklenburg County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Mecklenburg	In all of North Carolina
Interstate 77	Interstate	75	132
Interstate 85	Interstate	71	324
Interstate 485	Interstate	106	106
State Route 16	State highway	19	77
State Route 24	State highway	29	151
State Route 27	State highway	23	56
State Route 49	State highway	18	70
State Route 73	State highway	7	37
US Route 21	US highway	9	34
US Route 29	US highway	43	165
US Route 74	US highway	25	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.Mecklenburg 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
Mecklenburg County: 9.5

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 Mecklenburg County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Cabarrus County	North Carolina	23	235	10.6
Gaston County	North Carolina	37	277	12.2
Iredell County	North Carolina	27	238	12.8
Lincoln County	North Carolina	7	127	14.5
Union County	North Carolina	24	232	9.6
Lancaster County	South Carolina	20	167	17.0
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 Mecklenburg 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. Mecklenburg County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/nc/mecklenburg/. 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 Mecklenburg in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 724 deaths in Mecklenburg County from 2005 to 2014. It records 1,059 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Mecklenburg in 2024?

The rate of Mecklenburg County in 2024 was 10.0 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 Mecklenburg had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 336 of 992 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 Mecklenburg?

11 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 425 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.