Orange County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 22 deaths in 16 fatal crashes in Orange County in 2024.

FARS records 147 deaths in 133 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 10.0 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, Orange County was number 36 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Orange County rose by 2.8% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (143) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (147).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 70.5% of the fatal crashes in Orange 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 Orange 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.Orange County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	22	16	5
2023	17	16	3
2022	19	18	5
2021	19	17	5
2020	13	12	1 or 2
2019	15	15	8
2018	8	8	1 or 2
2017	10	9	3
2016	12	12	3
2015	12	10	3
2015 to 2024	147	133	38

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 25 (1981)2024: 22

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

Table 2.Orange County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	22	16
2023	17	16
2022	19	18
2021	19	17
2020	13	12
2019	15	15
2018	8	8
2017	10	9
2016	12	12
2015	12	10
2014	10	9
2013	15	13
2012	13	11
2011	16	13
2010	9	9
2009	16	14
2008	19	18
2007	11	11
2006	17	16
2005	17	16
2004	16	16
2003	10	10
2002	16	15
2001	25	24
2000	18	17
1999	17	17
1998	10	10
1997	12	12
1996	11	10
1995	17	17
1994	11	9
1993	22	21
1992	24	22
1991	20	19
1990	16	15
1989	9	9
1988	14	14
1987	16	13
1986	23	18
1985	16	14
1984	15	15
1983	7	7
1982	13	12
1981	25	19
1980	23	20
1979	15	13
1978	10	8
1977	12	11
1976	10	10
1975	20	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.Orange County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Orange County	North Carolina	United States
2024	14.5	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	10.0	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. Orange County had 151,745 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Orange County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 133 fatal crashes	38	133 fatal crashes	28.6%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 133 fatal crashes	43	133 fatal crashes	32.3%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 98 occupant deaths with restraint use known	51	98 occupant deathswith restraint use known	52.0%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 147 deaths	27	147 deaths	18.4%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 147 deaths	1 or 2	147 deaths	0.7%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 147 deaths	16	147 deaths	10.9%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 132 fatal crashes with the condition reported	93	132 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	70.5%	57.2%
In the darkof 133 fatal crashes with the condition reported	65	133 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	48.9%	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.Orange 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	8	1 or 2	4	1 or 2	16
Monday	3	1 or 2	7	7	19
Tuesday	3	4	10	7	24
Wednesday	3	3	3	6	15
Thursday	3	4	7	6	20
Friday	3	3	7	3	16
Saturday	7	3	9	4	23
All days	30	21	47	35	133

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.Orange County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in North Carolina
Interstate	31	23.5%	9.7%
Other freeways and expressways	7	5.3%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	18	13.6%	27.0%
Minor arterial	24	18.2%	16.1%
Major collector	15	11.4%	15.1%
Minor collector	9	6.8%	5.7%
Local	28	21.2%	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.Orange County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	65
Dark, not lighted	54
Dark, lighted	11
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	1 or 2
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Orange County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	108
Cloudy	14
Rain	10
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
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 Orange County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Orange	In all of North Carolina
Interstate 40	Interstate	19	363
Interstate 85	Interstate	12	324
State Route 49	State highway	1 or 2	70
State Route 54	State highway	9	28
State Route 86	State highway	15	25
US Route 15	US highway	1 or 2	62
US Route 70	US highway	13	318

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.Orange 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
Orange County: 10.0

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 Orange County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Alamance County	North Carolina	25	214	12.6
Caswell County	North Carolina	7	55	24.4
Chatham County	North Carolina	17	141	18.6
Durham County	North Carolina	31	296	9.2
Person County	North Carolina	6	60	15.2

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

FARS records 143 deaths in Orange County from 2005 to 2014. It records 147 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Orange in 2024?

The rate of Orange County in 2024 was 14.5 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 Orange had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 38 of 133 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 Orange?

7 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 72 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.