Union County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 24 deaths in 24 fatal crashes in Union County in 2024.

FARS records 232 deaths in 215 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 9.6 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, Union County was number 19 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Union County rose by 1.8% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (228) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (232).

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

From 2015 to 2024, pedestrians were 9.5% of the deaths in Union County and 14.9% 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 Union 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.Union County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	24	24	5
2023	21	20	7
2022	28	25	8
2021	24	21	4
2020	17	17	4
2019	23	22	5
2018	24	23	5
2017	28	23	6
2016	27	24	8
2015	16	16	5
2015 to 2024	232	215	57

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 34 (1995)2024: 24

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

Table 2.Union County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	24	24
2023	21	20
2022	28	25
2021	24	21
2020	17	17
2019	23	22
2018	24	23
2017	28	23
2016	27	24
2015	16	16
2014	18	16
2013	21	20
2012	25	25
2011	24	24
2010	20	18
2009	19	18
2008	19	19
2007	34	32
2006	25	23
2005	23	19
2004	29	28
2003	18	15
2002	22	19
2001	26	25
2000	26	25
1999	30	26
1998	19	19
1997	29	24
1996	23	21
1995	34	27
1994	29	25
1993	24	19
1992	13	12
1991	19	17
1990	19	19
1989	18	15
1988	26	22
1987	27	25
1986	23	21
1985	16	14
1984	22	18
1983	18	16
1982	22	19
1981	20	20
1980	20	19
1979	11	11
1978	13	13
1977	10	10
1976	19	17
1975	24	14

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.Union County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Union County	North Carolina	United States
2024	9.1	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	9.6	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. Union County had 263,704 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Union County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 215 fatal crashes	57	215 fatal crashes	26.5%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 215 fatal crashes	70	215 fatal crashes	32.6%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 161 occupant deaths with restraint use known	71	161 occupant deathswith restraint use known	44.1%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 232 deaths	22	232 deaths	9.5%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 232 deaths	4	232 deaths	1.7%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 232 deaths	34	232 deaths	14.7%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 214 fatal crashes with the condition reported	121	214 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	56.5%	57.2%
In the darkof 214 fatal crashes with the condition reported	96	214 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	44.9%	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.Union 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	3	8	8	27
Monday	3	9	9	8	29
Tuesday	5	7	18	1 or 2	32
Wednesday	5	1 or 2	13	15	35
Thursday	3	8	7	7	25
Friday	5	4	8	9	26
Saturday	8	6	13	14	41
All days	37	39	76	63	215

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.Union 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	4	1.9%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	55	25.7%	27.0%
Minor arterial	34	15.9%	16.1%
Major collector	45	21.0%	15.1%
Minor collector	13	6.1%	5.7%
Local	62	29.0%	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.Union County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	108
Dark, not lighted	80
Dark, lighted	16
Dawn	7
Dusk	3
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Union County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	175
Cloudy	15
Rain	19
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	6
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Union County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Union	In all of North Carolina
State Route 16	State highway	1 or 2	77
US Route 74	US highway	34	256
US Route 601	US highway	15	57

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.Union 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
Union County: 9.6

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 Union County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Anson County	North Carolina	13	61	26.2
Cabarrus County	North Carolina	23	235	10.6
Mecklenburg County	North Carolina	121	1,059	9.5
Stanly County	North Carolina	11	95	15.1
Chesterfield County	South Carolina	10	118	26.3
Lancaster County	South Carolina	20	167	17.0

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

FARS records 228 deaths in Union County from 2005 to 2014. It records 232 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Union in 2024?

The rate of Union County in 2024 was 9.1 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 Union had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 57 of 215 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 Union?

FARS records 1 or 2 fatal crashes on State Route 16 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 34 fatal crashes on US Route 74 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 15 fatal crashes on US Route 601 in the county from 2015 to 2024.