Wake County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 83 deaths in 76 fatal crashes in Wake County in 2024.

FARS records 772 deaths in 718 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 6.9 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, Wake County was number 2 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Wake County rose by 12.2% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (688) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (772).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 26.2% of the fatal crashes in Wake 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 Wake County by year, 2015 to 2024

101

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.Wake County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	83	76	18
2023	101	92	22
2022	97	91	22
2021	86	77	28
2020	65	62	15
2019	75	74	16
2018	66	60	14
2017	53	49	15
2016	81	74	23
2015	65	63	18
2015 to 2024	772	718	191

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 101 (2023)2024: 83

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

Table 2.Wake County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	83	76
2023	101	92
2022	97	91
2021	86	77
2020	65	62
2019	75	74
2018	66	60
2017	53	49
2016	81	74
2015	65	63
2014	63	58
2013	73	64
2012	71	62
2011	63	61
2010	75	70
2009	69	68
2008	75	66
2007	61	59
2006	78	68
2005	60	56
2004	71	64
2003	75	63
2002	78	70
2001	54	49
2000	64	56
1999	71	66
1998	96	87
1997	64	58
1996	63	56
1995	57	54
1994	48	45
1993	50	50
1992	36	34
1991	48	47
1990	55	52
1989	51	45
1988	58	54
1987	54	51
1986	70	63
1985	73	66
1984	71	62
1983	33	31
1982	67	54
1981	56	54
1980	68	56
1979	53	51
1978	43	39
1977	61	53
1976	60	48
1975	43	37

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.Wake County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Wake County	North Carolina	United States
2024	6.8	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	6.9	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. Wake County had 1,229,475 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Wake County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 718 fatal crashes	191	718 fatal crashes	26.6%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 718 fatal crashes	248	718 fatal crashes	34.5%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 451 occupant deaths with restraint use known	207	451 occupant deathswith restraint use known	45.9%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 772 deaths	180	772 deaths	23.3%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 772 deaths	17	772 deaths	2.2%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 772 deaths	106	772 deaths	13.7%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 718 fatal crashes with the condition reported	188	718 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	26.2%	57.2%
In the darkof 714 fatal crashes with the condition reported	396	714 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	55.5%	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.Wake 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	39	18	27	36	120
Monday	20	22	27	22	91
Tuesday	17	21	18	37	93
Wednesday	15	21	25	31	92
Thursday	12	18	30	33	93
Friday	28	20	21	51	120
Saturday	26	21	20	41	108
All days	157	141	168	251	717

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.Wake County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in North Carolina
Interstate	101	14.1%	9.7%
Other freeways and expressways	24	3.3%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	192	26.7%	27.0%
Minor arterial	162	22.6%	16.1%
Major collector	96	13.4%	15.1%
Minor collector	3	0.4%	5.7%
Local	140	19.5%	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.Wake County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	294
Dark, not lighted	250
Dark, lighted	144
Dawn	9
Dusk	15
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	4

Table 8.Wake County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	540
Cloudy	111
Rain	54
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	6
Fog, smog or smoke	4
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	3

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Wake County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Wake	In all of North Carolina
Interstate 40	Interstate	48	363
Interstate 440	Interstate	22	22
Interstate 540	Interstate	19	20
State Route 42	State highway	3	57
State Route 50	State highway	9	33
State Route 54	State highway	3	28
State Route 55	State highway	7	89
State Route 96	State highway	10	27
State Route 97	State highway	4	30
State Route 98	State highway	8	26
US Route 1	US highway	37	120
US Route 64	US highway	30	293
US Route 70	US highway	32	318
US Route 264	US highway	1 or 2	87
US Route 401	US highway	54	177

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.Wake 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
Wake County: 6.9

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 Wake County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Chatham County	North Carolina	17	141	18.6
Durham County	North Carolina	31	296	9.2
Franklin County	North Carolina	17	154	21.9
Granville County	North Carolina	9	138	22.9
Harnett County	North Carolina	35	293	21.6
Johnston County	North Carolina	40	341	15.8

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

FARS records 688 deaths in Wake County from 2005 to 2014. It records 772 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Wake in 2024?

The rate of Wake County in 2024 was 6.8 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 Wake had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 191 of 718 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 Wake?

15 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 288 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.