Beaufort County, South Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 27 deaths in 23 fatal crashes in Beaufort County in 2024.

FARS records 225 deaths in 205 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 11.8 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of South Carolina in the same years is 20.3.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Beaufort County was number 16 of 46 counties of South Carolina.

Deaths in Beaufort County rose by 20.3% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (187) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (225).

In the counties of South Carolina the deaths rose by 14.8% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 40.0% of the fatal crashes in Beaufort County with a known setting were rural, against 58.5% in South 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 Beaufort 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.Beaufort County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	27	23	7
2023	21	18	7
2022	22	22	4
2021	26	22	8
2020	20	16	5
2019	15	13	3
2018	21	21	5
2017	26	25	10
2016	30	29	7
2015	17	16	3
2015 to 2024	225	205	59

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 31 (1976)2024: 27

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

Table 2.Beaufort County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	27	23
2023	21	18
2022	22	22
2021	26	22
2020	20	16
2019	15	13
2018	21	21
2017	26	25
2016	30	29
2015	17	16
2014	23	22
2013	13	12
2012	23	21
2011	13	12
2010	23	23
2009	13	13
2008	20	19
2007	17	17
2006	19	18
2005	23	20
2004	25	20
2003	23	20
2002	23	20
2001	20	16
2000	26	25
1999	30	27
1998	25	23
1997	20	19
1996	16	14
1995	22	17
1994	18	15
1993	27	24
1992	12	10
1991	21	17
1990	21	19
1989	18	16
1988	20	20
1987	17	16
1986	19	18
1985	24	19
1984	13	11
1983	20	18
1982	18	16
1981	21	18
1980	23	18
1979	27	21
1978	15	13
1977	16	14
1976	31	21
1975	23	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.Beaufort County beside South Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Beaufort County	South Carolina	United States
2024	13.3	18.9	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	11.8	20.3	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. Beaufort County had 203,006 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Beaufort County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in South Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 205 fatal crashes	59	205 fatal crashes	28.8%	32.2%
A speeding-related driverof 205 fatal crashes	68	205 fatal crashes	33.2%	40.2%
No restraint usedof 124 occupant deaths with restraint use known	67	124 occupant deathswith restraint use known	54.0%	53.2%
Pedestriansof 225 deaths	43	225 deaths	19.1%	15.7%
Bicyclistsof 225 deaths	17	225 deaths	7.6%	2.2%
Motorcyclistsof 225 deaths	30	225 deaths	13.3%	15.4%
On a rural roadof 205 fatal crashes with the condition reported	82	205 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	40.0%	58.5%
In the darkof 205 fatal crashes with the condition reported	108	205 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	52.7%	51.8%

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.Beaufort 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	10	3	3	15	31
Monday	4	6	7	20	37
Tuesday	1 or 2	4	7	6	18
Wednesday	1 or 2	4	9	11	26
Thursday	1 or 2	7	7	9	25
Friday	5	6	12	8	31
Saturday	14	4	10	9	37
All days	38	34	55	78	205

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.Beaufort County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in South Carolina
Interstate	0	0.0%	10.8%
Other freeways and expressways	6	2.9%	1.6%
Other principal arterial	111	54.1%	31.5%
Minor arterial	53	25.9%	33.9%
Major collector	9	4.4%	11.5%
Minor collector	1 or 2	0.5%	1.4%
Local	25	12.2%	9.4%
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.Beaufort County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	85
Dark, not lighted	85
Dark, lighted	14
Dawn	7
Dusk	5
Dark, lighting unknown	9
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Beaufort County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	177
Cloudy	13
Rain	12
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	3
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Beaufort County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Beaufort	In all of South Carolina
State Route 13	State highway	1 or 2	43
State Route 20	State highway	1 or 2	74
State Route 21	State highway	1 or 2	40
State Route 29	State highway	1 or 2	44
State Route 33	State highway	1 or 2	34
State Route 43	State highway	1 or 2	22
State Route 44	State highway	1 or 2	22
State Route 46	State highway	7	34
State Route 72	State highway	1 or 2	68
State Route 170	State highway	29	32
US Route 17	US highway	12	441
US Route 21	US highway	39	156
US Route 278	US highway	47	86

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 South Carolina

Adjacent counties

These lists are for navigation. They are in name order.

Figure 3.Beaufort County on the county map of South Carolina

Deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year, 2015 to 2024

Fewer than 100 counties
10 to 14.93 counties
15 to 19.913 counties
20 to 29.913 counties
30 or more17 counties
Beaufort County: 11.8

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 South Carolina

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Beaufort County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Colleton County	South Carolina	17	215	56.2
Hampton County	South Carolina	5	64	33.8
Jasper County	South Carolina	17	178	58.2

Source of the list: Census Bureau county adjacency file, 2026 edition.

Counties of similar population

These counties of South Carolina have a population nearest to that of Beaufort 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.
Governors Highway Safety Association: State Highway Safety OfficesThe list of the highway safety offices of the states.

These links go to the sites of the agencies. They were checked on 2 Oct 2026.

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Beaufort County, South Carolina: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/sc/beaufort/. 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 Beaufort in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 187 deaths in Beaufort County from 2005 to 2014. It records 225 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Beaufort in 2024?

The rate of Beaufort County in 2024 was 13.3 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of South Carolina was 18.9. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

How many fatal crashes in Beaufort had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 59 of 205 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 Beaufort?

13 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 145 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.