Wilson County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 21 deaths in 14 fatal crashes in Wilson County in 2024.

FARS records 164 deaths in 143 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 20.3 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, Wilson County was number 31 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Wilson County rose by 11.6% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (147) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (164).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 57.9% of the occupants killed in Wilson County with restraint use known had no restraint, against 46.8% 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 Wilson 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.Wilson County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	21	14	0
2023	18	17	5
2022	17	14	3
2021	16	16	4
2020	19	17	6
2019	8	8	1 or 2
2018	12	12	0
2017	20	18	6
2016	18	14	5
2015	15	13	3
2015 to 2024	164	143	33

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 34 (1975)2024: 21

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

Table 2.Wilson County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	21	14
2023	18	17
2022	17	14
2021	16	16
2020	19	17
2019	8	8
2018	12	12
2017	20	18
2016	18	14
2015	15	13
2014	14	12
2013	13	13
2012	8	7
2011	14	12
2010	13	12
2009	9	9
2008	13	13
2007	15	13
2006	21	18
2005	27	21
2004	18	17
2003	18	18
2002	14	14
2001	19	17
2000	15	13
1999	24	21
1998	17	16
1997	19	19
1996	17	16
1995	15	14
1994	17	17
1993	18	17
1992	20	20
1991	17	16
1990	24	21
1989	17	16
1988	19	15
1987	21	17
1986	21	20
1985	28	22
1984	21	19
1983	18	13
1982	19	19
1981	13	13
1980	30	27
1979	21	19
1978	24	19
1977	22	19
1976	28	23
1975	34	30

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.Wilson County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Wilson County	North Carolina	United States
2024	26.0	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	20.3	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. Wilson County had 80,885 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Wilson County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 143 fatal crashes	33	143 fatal crashes	23.1%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 143 fatal crashes	38	143 fatal crashes	26.6%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 107 occupant deaths with restraint use known	62	107 occupant deathswith restraint use known	57.9%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 164 deaths	28	164 deaths	17.1%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 164 deaths	3	164 deaths	1.8%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 164 deaths	14	164 deaths	8.5%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 143 fatal crashes with the condition reported	84	143 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	58.7%	57.2%
In the darkof 139 fatal crashes with the condition reported	70	139 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	50.4%	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.Wilson 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	1 or 2	10	7	27
Monday	4	5	6	7	22
Tuesday	1 or 2	4	6	6	17
Wednesday	1 or 2	3	8	5	17
Thursday	1 or 2	1 or 2	4	6	13
Friday	5	5	6	6	22
Saturday	9	4	1 or 2	10	25
All days	30	24	42	47	143

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.Wilson County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in North Carolina
Interstate	12	8.4%	9.7%
Other freeways and expressways	7	4.9%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	50	35.0%	27.0%
Minor arterial	17	11.9%	16.1%
Major collector	17	11.9%	15.1%
Minor collector	8	5.6%	5.7%
Local	32	22.4%	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.Wilson County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	64
Dark, not lighted	46
Dark, lighted	24
Dawn	3
Dusk	1 or 2
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	4

Table 8.Wilson County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	115
Cloudy	13
Rain	12
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Wilson County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Wilson	In all of North Carolina
Interstate 95	Interstate	11	196
State Route 42	State highway	12	57
State Route 58	State highway	11	31
US Route 117	US highway	1 or 2	61
US Route 264	US highway	17	87
US Route 301	US highway	16	93

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.Wilson 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
Wilson County: 20.3

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 Wilson County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Edgecombe County	North Carolina	15	118	23.3
Greene County	North Carolina	4	36	17.4
Johnston County	North Carolina	40	341	15.8
Nash County	North Carolina	12	232	24.3
Pitt County	North Carolina	26	261	14.7
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 Wilson 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. Wilson County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/nc/wilson/. 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 Wilson in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 147 deaths in Wilson County from 2005 to 2014. It records 164 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Wilson in 2024?

The rate of Wilson County in 2024 was 26.0 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 Wilson had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 33 of 143 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 Wilson?

6 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 68 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.