Onslow County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 19 deaths in 19 fatal crashes in Onslow County in 2024.

FARS records 231 deaths in 219 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 11.4 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, Onslow County was number 21 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Onslow County fell by 11.8% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (262) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (231).

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

From 2015 to 2024, motorcyclists were 26.8% of the deaths in Onslow County and 13.5% 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 Onslow 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.Onslow County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	19	19	1 or 2
2023	25	25	5
2022	38	32	6
2021	27	25	6
2020	18	18	4
2019	22	20	4
2018	20	20	6
2017	18	18	6
2016	20	19	5
2015	24	23	13
2015 to 2024	231	219	57

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 38 (1986)2024: 19

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

Table 2.Onslow County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	19	19
2023	25	25
2022	38	32
2021	27	25
2020	18	18
2019	22	20
2018	20	20
2017	18	18
2016	20	19
2015	24	23
2014	23	20
2013	25	23
2012	23	21
2011	19	19
2010	24	23
2009	29	28
2008	29	28
2007	33	30
2006	33	31
2005	24	23
2004	24	22
2003	28	26
2002	25	24
2001	18	17
2000	24	21
1999	29	25
1998	18	17
1997	30	27
1996	25	22
1995	25	21
1994	25	19
1993	19	18
1992	22	18
1991	27	25
1990	25	17
1989	21	21
1988	27	26
1987	35	31
1986	38	33
1985	31	28
1984	27	25
1983	33	27
1982	37	30
1981	22	18
1980	18	14
1979	25	22
1978	27	27
1977	36	30
1976	35	32
1975	35	30

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.Onslow County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Onslow County	North Carolina	United States
2024	8.9	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	11.4	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. Onslow County had 214,672 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Onslow County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 219 fatal crashes	57	219 fatal crashes	26.0%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 219 fatal crashes	70	219 fatal crashes	32.0%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 114 occupant deaths with restraint use known	50	114 occupant deathswith restraint use known	43.9%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 231 deaths	44	231 deaths	19.0%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 231 deaths	4	231 deaths	1.7%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 231 deaths	62	231 deaths	26.8%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 219 fatal crashes with the condition reported	142	219 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	64.8%	57.2%
In the darkof 218 fatal crashes with the condition reported	116	218 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	53.2%	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.Onslow 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	10	4	10	11	35
Monday	8	4	6	12	30
Tuesday	1 or 2	8	7	7	24
Wednesday	3	8	9	8	28
Thursday	5	1 or 2	6	13	26
Friday	5	7	11	14	37
Saturday	13	3	10	12	38
All days	46	36	59	77	218

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.Onslow County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in North Carolina
Interstate	1 or 2	0.5%	9.7%
Other freeways and expressways	1 or 2	0.9%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	93	42.5%	27.0%
Minor arterial	46	21.0%	16.1%
Major collector	24	11.0%	15.1%
Minor collector	12	5.5%	5.7%
Local	41	18.7%	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.Onslow County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	95
Dark, not lighted	101
Dark, lighted	15
Dawn	3
Dusk	4
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Onslow County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	183
Cloudy	23
Rain	11
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	0
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Onslow County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Onslow	In all of North Carolina
State Route 24	State highway	17	151
State Route 50	State highway	3	33
State Route 53	State highway	10	25
State Route 111	State highway	5	33
State Route 210	State highway	5	68
US Route 17	US highway	28	188
US Route 25	US highway	1 or 2	63
US Route 258	US highway	29	64

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.Onslow 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
Onslow County: 11.4

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 Onslow County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Carteret County	North Carolina	13	93	13.5
Duplin County	North Carolina	19	181	33.4
Jones County	North Carolina	1 or 2	26	27.6
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 Onslow 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. Onslow County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/nc/onslow/. 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 Onslow in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 262 deaths in Onslow County from 2005 to 2014. It records 231 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Onslow in 2024?

The rate of Onslow County in 2024 was 8.9 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 Onslow had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 57 of 219 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 Onslow?

8 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 98 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.