New Hanover County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 29 deaths in 27 fatal crashes in New Hanover County in 2024.

FARS records 210 deaths in 203 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 9.1 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, New Hanover County was number 24 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in New Hanover County fell by 2.3% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (215) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (210).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 26.1% of the fatal crashes in New Hanover 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 New Hanover 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.New Hanover County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	29	27	7
2023	19	18	3
2022	14	14	1 or 2
2021	27	26	6
2020	12	11	3
2019	37	36	5
2018	12	12	6
2017	18	17	4
2016	20	20	7
2015	22	22	5
2015 to 2024	210	203	48

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 37 (2019)2024: 29

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

Table 2.New Hanover County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	29	27
2023	19	18
2022	14	14
2021	27	26
2020	12	11
2019	37	36
2018	12	12
2017	18	17
2016	20	20
2015	22	22
2014	18	18
2013	18	18
2012	27	25
2011	17	16
2010	14	14
2009	22	21
2008	31	27
2007	21	20
2006	20	19
2005	27	27
2004	20	20
2003	17	17
2002	15	14
2001	12	12
2000	14	14
1999	17	15
1998	12	12
1997	13	12
1996	14	14
1995	14	14
1994	11	11
1993	14	14
1992	14	12
1991	12	10
1990	15	15
1989	19	19
1988	12	12
1987	23	22
1986	17	16
1985	22	19
1984	19	17
1983	10	9
1982	18	16
1981	15	14
1980	18	17
1979	24	20
1978	16	16
1977	18	17
1976	14	13
1975	18	17

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.New Hanover County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	New Hanover County	North Carolina	United States
2024	11.9	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	9.1	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. New Hanover County had 243,335 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.New Hanover County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 203 fatal crashes	48	203 fatal crashes	23.6%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 203 fatal crashes	66	203 fatal crashes	32.5%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 94 occupant deaths with restraint use known	42	94 occupant deathswith restraint use known	44.7%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 210 deaths	60	210 deaths	28.6%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 210 deaths	8	210 deaths	3.8%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 210 deaths	39	210 deaths	18.6%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 203 fatal crashes with the condition reported	53	203 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	26.1%	57.2%
In the darkof 202 fatal crashes with the condition reported	112	202 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	55.4%	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.New Hanover 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	3	6	12	27
Monday	5	4	5	14	28
Tuesday	1 or 2	7	7	14	30
Wednesday	5	3	6	11	25
Thursday	7	1 or 2	9	13	31
Friday	4	6	11	7	28
Saturday	8	3	10	13	34
All days	37	28	54	84	203

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.New Hanover County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in North Carolina
Interstate	11	5.4%	9.7%
Other freeways and expressways	4	2.0%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	102	50.2%	27.0%
Minor arterial	27	13.3%	16.1%
Major collector	11	5.4%	15.1%
Minor collector	4	2.0%	5.7%
Local	44	21.7%	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.New Hanover County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	83
Dark, not lighted	67
Dark, lighted	44
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	6
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.New Hanover County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	172
Cloudy	15
Rain	16
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	0
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in New Hanover County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In New Hanover	In all of North Carolina
Interstate 40	Interstate	5	363
US Route 17	US highway	23	188
US Route 70	US highway	1 or 2	318
US Route 74	US highway	9	256
US Route 117	US highway	17	61
US Route 421	US highway	33	197

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.New Hanover 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
New Hanover County: 9.1

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 New Hanover County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Brunswick County	North Carolina	24	214	15.1
Pender County	North Carolina	7	159	25.2

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 New Hanover 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. New Hanover County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/nc/new-hanover/. 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 New Hanover in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 215 deaths in New Hanover County from 2005 to 2014. It records 210 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of New Hanover in 2024?

The rate of New Hanover County in 2024 was 11.9 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 New Hanover had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 48 of 203 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 New Hanover?

6 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 88 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.