Wayne County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 21 deaths in 20 fatal crashes in Wayne County in 2024.

FARS records 209 deaths in 188 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 17.2 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, Wayne County was number 25 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Wayne County fell by 7.9% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (227) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (209).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 69.0% of the fatal crashes in Wayne 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 Wayne 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.Wayne County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	21	20	1 or 2
2023	23	19	6
2022	26	21	6
2021	16	16	7
2020	32	27	4
2019	19	17	3
2018	18	17	3
2017	13	13	5
2016	24	23	6
2015	17	15	3
2015 to 2024	209	188	45

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 38 (1980)2024: 21

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

Table 2.Wayne County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	21	20
2023	23	19
2022	26	21
2021	16	16
2020	32	27
2019	19	17
2018	18	17
2017	13	13
2016	24	23
2015	17	15
2014	22	20
2013	26	21
2012	21	21
2011	17	16
2010	30	24
2009	23	20
2008	25	21
2007	22	18
2006	22	22
2005	19	18
2004	20	17
2003	30	27
2002	30	28
2001	25	24
2000	14	13
1999	25	23
1998	15	14
1997	24	21
1996	26	22
1995	22	21
1994	20	19
1993	25	23
1992	17	16
1991	15	15
1990	18	17
1989	31	28
1988	19	19
1987	24	23
1986	18	17
1985	16	15
1984	25	25
1983	6	6
1982	21	16
1981	27	23
1980	38	32
1979	34	34
1978	28	26
1977	12	11
1976	24	20
1975	22	21

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.Wayne County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Wayne County	North Carolina	United States
2024	17.3	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	17.2	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. Wayne County had 121,168 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Wayne County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 188 fatal crashes	45	188 fatal crashes	23.9%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 188 fatal crashes	58	188 fatal crashes	30.9%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 147 occupant deaths with restraint use known	69	147 occupant deathswith restraint use known	46.9%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 209 deaths	30	209 deaths	14.4%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 209 deaths	6	209 deaths	2.9%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 209 deaths	19	209 deaths	9.1%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 187 fatal crashes with the condition reported	129	187 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	69.0%	57.2%
In the darkof 187 fatal crashes with the condition reported	88	187 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	47.1%	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.Wayne 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	4	9	7	9	29
Monday	3	8	9	6	26
Tuesday	1 or 2	7	5	9	23
Wednesday	1 or 2	4	6	8	20
Thursday	4	7	5	9	25
Friday	6	3	11	13	33
Saturday	13	5	5	9	32
All days	34	43	48	63	188

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.Wayne County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in North Carolina
Interstate	3	1.6%	9.7%
Other freeways and expressways	16	8.6%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	45	24.1%	27.0%
Minor arterial	32	17.1%	16.1%
Major collector	38	20.3%	15.1%
Minor collector	15	8.0%	5.7%
Local	38	20.3%	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.Wayne County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	93
Dark, not lighted	81
Dark, lighted	7
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	4
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Wayne County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	149
Cloudy	21
Rain	13
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	4
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Wayne County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Wayne	In all of North Carolina
State Route 55	State highway	20	89
State Route 111	State highway	14	33
US Route 13	US highway	15	76
US Route 70	US highway	25	318
US Route 117	US highway	10	61

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.Wayne 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
Wayne County: 17.2

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 Wayne County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Duplin County	North Carolina	19	181	33.4
Greene County	North Carolina	4	36	17.4
Johnston County	North Carolina	40	341	15.8
Lenoir County	North Carolina	15	129	23.1
Sampson County	North Carolina	21	199	32.4
Wilson County	North Carolina	21	164	20.3

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

FARS records 227 deaths in Wayne County from 2005 to 2014. It records 209 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Wayne in 2024?

The rate of Wayne County in 2024 was 17.3 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 Wayne had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 45 of 188 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 Wayne?

5 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 84 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.