Wilkes County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 17 deaths in 16 fatal crashes in Wilkes County in 2024.

FARS records 129 deaths in 120 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 19.2 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, Wilkes County was number 44 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Wilkes County fell by 5.8% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (137) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (129).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 74.2% of the fatal crashes in Wilkes 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 Wilkes 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.Wilkes County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	17	16	1 or 2
2023	8	7	1 or 2
2022	17	17	5
2021	18	15	3
2020	13	13	0
2019	13	11	1 or 2
2018	8	8	3
2017	12	12	4
2016	11	11	3
2015	12	10	1 or 2
2015 to 2024	129	120	25

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 28 (2002)2024: 17

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

Table 2.Wilkes County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	17	16
2023	8	7
2022	17	17
2021	18	15
2020	13	13
2019	13	11
2018	8	8
2017	12	12
2016	11	11
2015	12	10
2014	13	12
2013	10	10
2012	9	9
2011	12	11
2010	21	20
2009	10	9
2008	14	13
2007	23	19
2006	15	14
2005	10	9
2004	9	8
2003	13	12
2002	28	21
2001	12	12
2000	20	18
1999	8	8
1998	22	19
1997	15	11
1996	11	10
1995	13	12
1994	13	11
1993	8	7
1992	14	13
1991	12	11
1990	22	16
1989	19	15
1988	21	19
1987	21	18
1986	21	19
1985	12	11
1984	14	13
1983	12	12
1982	13	12
1981	16	14
1980	25	23
1979	18	18
1978	14	13
1977	16	13
1976	15	14
1975	16	16

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.Wilkes County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Wilkes County	North Carolina	United States
2024	25.7	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	19.2	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. Wilkes County had 66,252 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Wilkes County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 120 fatal crashes	25	120 fatal crashes	20.8%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 120 fatal crashes	31	120 fatal crashes	25.8%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 80 occupant deaths with restraint use known	29	80 occupant deathswith restraint use known	36.3%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 129 deaths	12	129 deaths	9.3%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 129 deaths	1 or 2	129 deaths	0.8%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 129 deaths	31	129 deaths	24.0%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 120 fatal crashes with the condition reported	89	120 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	74.2%	57.2%
In the darkof 119 fatal crashes with the condition reported	37	119 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	31.1%	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.Wilkes 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	1 or 2	3	10	3	17
Monday	0	1 or 2	6	6	13
Tuesday	1 or 2	1 or 2	8	1 or 2	13
Wednesday	1 or 2	10	3	5	19
Thursday	0	1 or 2	4	6	12
Friday	1 or 2	5	8	6	21
Saturday	5	5	11	3	24
All days	11	27	50	31	119

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.Wilkes County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in North Carolina
Interstate	1 or 2	0.8%	9.7%
Other freeways and expressways	3	2.5%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	35	29.2%	27.0%
Minor arterial	15	12.5%	16.1%
Major collector	22	18.3%	15.1%
Minor collector	13	10.8%	5.7%
Local	31	25.8%	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.Wilkes County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	79
Dark, not lighted	35
Dark, lighted	1 or 2
Dawn	0
Dusk	3
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Wilkes County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	93
Cloudy	20
Rain	7
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
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 Wilkes County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Wilkes	In all of North Carolina
State Route 16	State highway	9	77
State Route 18	State highway	13	37
State Route 268	State highway	11	22
US Route 21	US highway	4	34
US Route 421	US highway	21	197

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.Wilkes 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
Wilkes County: 19.2

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 Wilkes County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Alexander County	North Carolina	6	57	15.5
Alleghany County	North Carolina	0	17	15.3
Ashe County	North Carolina	3	43	16.0
Caldwell County	North Carolina	24	123	15.1
Iredell County	North Carolina	27	238	12.8
Surry County	North Carolina	12	141	19.6
Watauga County	North Carolina	4	58	10.5
Yadkin County	North Carolina	11	91	24.2

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

FARS records 137 deaths in Wilkes County from 2005 to 2014. It records 129 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Wilkes in 2024?

The rate of Wilkes County in 2024 was 25.7 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 Wilkes had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 25 of 120 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 Wilkes?

5 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 58 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.