Sampson County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 21 deaths in 17 fatal crashes in Sampson County in 2024.

FARS records 199 deaths in 177 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 32.4 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, Sampson County was number 28 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Sampson County rose by 13.1% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (176) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (199).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 94.9% of the fatal crashes in Sampson 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 Sampson 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.Sampson County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	21	17	4
2023	25	22	4
2022	22	20	8
2021	18	18	4
2020	12	12	3
2019	17	15	3
2018	17	16	1 or 2
2017	18	15	4
2016	24	21	3
2015	25	21	6
2015 to 2024	199	177	40

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 33 (2001)2024: 21

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

Table 2.Sampson County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	21	17
2023	25	22
2022	22	20
2021	18	18
2020	12	12
2019	17	15
2018	17	16
2017	18	15
2016	24	21
2015	25	21
2014	10	9
2013	13	12
2012	16	16
2011	17	17
2010	19	18
2009	23	22
2008	18	16
2007	18	18
2006	19	14
2005	23	22
2004	18	16
2003	32	29
2002	17	17
2001	33	28
2000	25	23
1999	18	18
1998	21	19
1997	30	27
1996	16	15
1995	23	22
1994	27	20
1993	24	20
1992	16	13
1991	15	15
1990	16	16
1989	18	14
1988	22	21
1987	32	30
1986	29	23
1985	16	15
1984	27	19
1983	25	21
1982	22	19
1981	24	20
1980	23	22
1979	16	14
1978	22	20
1977	27	25
1976	28	20
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.Sampson County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Sampson County	North Carolina	United States
2024	34.4	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	32.4	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. Sampson County had 61,077 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Sampson County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 177 fatal crashes	40	177 fatal crashes	22.6%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 177 fatal crashes	39	177 fatal crashes	22.0%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 155 occupant deaths with restraint use known	70	155 occupant deathswith restraint use known	45.2%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 199 deaths	17	199 deaths	8.5%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 199 deaths	1 or 2	199 deaths	1.0%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 199 deaths	11	199 deaths	5.5%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 176 fatal crashes with the condition reported	167	176 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	94.9%	57.2%
In the darkof 176 fatal crashes with the condition reported	62	176 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	35.2%	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.Sampson 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	1 or 2	5	7	24
Monday	1 or 2	6	10	3	21
Tuesday	1 or 2	8	5	6	21
Wednesday	3	10	10	5	28
Thursday	1 or 2	10	10	4	25
Friday	3	7	6	10	26
Saturday	4	6	12	10	32
All days	25	49	58	45	177

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.Sampson County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in North Carolina
Interstate	8	4.5%	9.7%
Other freeways and expressways	4	2.3%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	49	27.8%	27.0%
Minor arterial	28	15.9%	16.1%
Major collector	24	13.6%	15.1%
Minor collector	29	16.5%	5.7%
Local	34	19.3%	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.Sampson County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	103
Dark, not lighted	59
Dark, lighted	3
Dawn	8
Dusk	3
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Sampson County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	144
Cloudy	18
Rain	10
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	5
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Sampson County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Sampson	In all of North Carolina
Interstate 40	Interstate	7	363
State Route 24	State highway	11	151
State Route 41	State highway	3	44
State Route 55	State highway	13	89
State Route 903	State highway	1 or 2	41
US Route 13	US highway	13	76
US Route 421	US highway	19	197
US Route 701	US highway	15	54

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.Sampson 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
Sampson County: 32.4

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 Sampson County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Bladen County	North Carolina	6	108	34.3
Cumberland County	North Carolina	59	501	14.9
Duplin County	North Carolina	19	181	33.4
Harnett County	North Carolina	35	293	21.6
Johnston County	North Carolina	40	341	15.8
Pender County	North Carolina	7	159	25.2
Wayne County	North Carolina	21	209	17.2

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

FARS records 176 deaths in Sampson County from 2005 to 2014. It records 199 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Sampson in 2024?

The rate of Sampson County in 2024 was 34.4 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 Sampson had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 40 of 177 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 Sampson?

8 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 83 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.