Charleston County, South Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 61 deaths in 55 fatal crashes in Charleston County in 2024.

FARS records 682 deaths in 634 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 16.6 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, Charleston County was number 3 of 46 counties of South Carolina.

Deaths in Charleston County rose by 30.4% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (523) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (682).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 20.3% of the fatal crashes in Charleston 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 Charleston 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.Charleston County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	61	55	16
2023	75	70	22
2022	64	57	18
2021	77	72	23
2020	73	68	20
2019	76	72	25
2018	66	61	24
2017	72	66	22
2016	54	50	20
2015	64	63	14
2015 to 2024	682	634	204

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 77 (2021)2024: 61

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

Table 2.Charleston County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	61	55
2023	75	70
2022	64	57
2021	77	72
2020	73	68
2019	76	72
2018	66	61
2017	72	66
2016	54	50
2015	64	63
2014	47	45
2013	44	41
2012	48	42
2011	50	47
2010	51	49
2009	50	44
2008	61	57
2007	67	59
2006	61	58
2005	44	41
2004	66	62
2003	34	31
2002	46	45
2001	45	40
2000	57	49
1999	51	47
1998	43	42
1997	40	37
1996	38	35
1995	43	36
1994	37	37
1993	50	50
1992	48	46
1991	48	43
1990	47	45
1989	46	43
1988	60	55
1987	59	56
1986	62	57
1985	60	53
1984	59	58
1983	67	62
1982	54	50
1981	65	62
1980	49	49
1979	63	55
1978	47	41
1977	71	59
1976	46	41
1975	61	58

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.Charleston County beside South Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Charleston County	South Carolina	United States
2024	14.1	18.9	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	16.6	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. Charleston County had 433,257 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Charleston County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in South Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 634 fatal crashes	204	634 fatal crashes	32.2%	32.2%
A speeding-related driverof 634 fatal crashes	230	634 fatal crashes	36.3%	40.2%
No restraint usedof 316 occupant deaths with restraint use known	178	316 occupant deathswith restraint use known	56.3%	53.2%
Pedestriansof 682 deaths	172	682 deaths	25.2%	15.7%
Bicyclistsof 682 deaths	33	682 deaths	4.8%	2.2%
Motorcyclistsof 682 deaths	111	682 deaths	16.3%	15.4%
On a rural roadof 634 fatal crashes with the condition reported	129	634 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	20.3%	58.5%
In the darkof 634 fatal crashes with the condition reported	392	634 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	61.8%	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.Charleston 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	31	6	15	40	92
Monday	22	12	25	33	92
Tuesday	13	13	18	36	80
Wednesday	18	8	21	28	75
Thursday	23	19	20	36	98
Friday	11	14	17	41	83
Saturday	39	12	21	42	114
All days	157	84	137	256	634

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.Charleston County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in South Carolina
Interstate	53	8.4%	10.8%
Other freeways and expressways	16	2.5%	1.6%
Other principal arterial	288	45.4%	31.5%
Minor arterial	188	29.7%	33.9%
Major collector	42	6.6%	11.5%
Minor collector	4	0.6%	1.4%
Local	43	6.8%	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.Charleston County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	217
Dark, not lighted	164
Dark, lighted	162
Dawn	13
Dusk	12
Dark, lighting unknown	66
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Charleston County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	532
Cloudy	42
Rain	50
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	5
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	5

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Charleston County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Charleston	In all of South Carolina
Interstate 26	Interstate	38	298
State Route 6	State highway	1 or 2	83
State Route 7	State highway	19	20
State Route 13	State highway	8	43
State Route 20	State highway	18	74
State Route 30	State highway	4	25
State Route 31	State highway	1 or 2	54
State Route 39	State highway	1 or 2	34
State Route 40	State highway	1 or 2	21
State Route 41	State highway	1 or 2	68
State Route 43	State highway	1 or 2	22
State Route 46	State highway	1 or 2	34
State Route 51	State highway	1 or 2	36
State Route 52	State highway	3	28
State Route 53	State highway	4	32
State Route 54	State highway	4	32
State Route 56	State highway	1 or 2	34
State Route 57	State highway	3	36
State Route 61	State highway	24	68
State Route 62	State highway	1 or 2	38
State Route 76	State highway	5	21
State Route 107	State highway	3	29
State Route 162	State highway	25	31
State Route 165	State highway	10	22
State Route 642	State highway	36	53
State Route 700	State highway	22	22
US Route 17	US highway	112	441
US Route 52	US highway	55	180
US Route 78	US highway	26	66

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.Charleston 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
Charleston County: 16.6

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 Charleston County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Berkeley County	South Carolina	37	410	17.7
Colleton County	South Carolina	17	215	56.2
Dorchester County	South Carolina	38	245	15.0
Georgetown County	South Carolina	20	150	23.6

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 Charleston 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. Charleston County, South Carolina: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/sc/charleston/. 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 Charleston in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 523 deaths in Charleston County from 2005 to 2014. It records 682 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Charleston in 2024?

The rate of Charleston County in 2024 was 14.1 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 Charleston had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 204 of 634 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 Charleston?

29 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 433 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.