Cherokee County, South Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 20 deaths in 18 fatal crashes in Cherokee County in 2024.

FARS records 160 deaths in 149 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 28.2 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, Cherokee County was number 23 of 46 counties of South Carolina.

Deaths in Cherokee County rose by 19.4% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (134) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (160).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 80.5% of the fatal crashes in Cherokee 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 Cherokee 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.Cherokee County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	20	18	8
2023	14	13	3
2022	16	16	5
2021	23	19	8
2020	12	12	7
2019	15	14	11
2018	18	18	7
2017	20	20	13
2016	5	5	1 or 2
2015	17	14	5
2015 to 2024	160	149	68

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 25 (2005)2024: 20

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

Table 2.Cherokee County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	20	18
2023	14	13
2022	16	16
2021	23	19
2020	12	12
2019	15	14
2018	18	18
2017	20	20
2016	5	5
2015	17	14
2014	15	13
2013	9	9
2012	9	7
2011	14	11
2010	9	8
2009	11	11
2008	16	13
2007	18	16
2006	8	8
2005	25	23
2004	19	15
2003	10	10
2002	9	9
2001	9	9
2000	20	20
1999	16	13
1998	17	15
1997	12	10
1996	24	15
1995	20	19
1994	9	8
1993	11	9
1992	15	13
1991	11	9
1990	12	12
1989	18	15
1988	13	11
1987	21	14
1986	13	11
1985	17	15
1984	19	19
1983	9	8
1982	15	12
1981	17	17
1980	11	10
1979	19	17
1978	19	18
1977	16	14
1976	7	5
1975	11	9

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.Cherokee County beside South Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Cherokee County	South Carolina	United States
2024	34.6	18.9	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	28.2	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. Cherokee County had 57,874 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Cherokee County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in South Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 149 fatal crashes	68	149 fatal crashes	45.6%	32.2%
A speeding-related driverof 149 fatal crashes	61	149 fatal crashes	40.9%	40.2%
No restraint usedof 106 occupant deaths with restraint use known	46	106 occupant deathswith restraint use known	43.4%	53.2%
Pedestriansof 160 deaths	14	160 deaths	8.8%	15.7%
Bicyclistsof 160 deaths	1 or 2	160 deaths	1.3%	2.2%
Motorcyclistsof 160 deaths	35	160 deaths	21.9%	15.4%
On a rural roadof 149 fatal crashes with the condition reported	120	149 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	80.5%	58.5%
In the darkof 149 fatal crashes with the condition reported	61	149 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	40.9%	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.Cherokee 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	1 or 2	9	7	21
Monday	3	4	5	7	19
Tuesday	1 or 2	1 or 2	8	5	17
Wednesday	1 or 2	3	4	7	16
Thursday	1 or 2	5	7	16	30
Friday	3	1 or 2	12	7	23
Saturday	1 or 2	4	7	10	23
All days	18	20	52	59	149

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.Cherokee County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in South Carolina
Interstate	22	14.8%	10.8%
Other freeways and expressways	1 or 2	0.7%	1.6%
Other principal arterial	36	24.2%	31.5%
Minor arterial	45	30.2%	33.9%
Major collector	21	14.1%	11.5%
Minor collector	1 or 2	1.3%	1.4%
Local	22	14.8%	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.Cherokee County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	80
Dark, not lighted	43
Dark, lighted	7
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	7
Dark, lighting unknown	11
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Cherokee County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	130
Cloudy	6
Rain	11
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Cherokee County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Cherokee	In all of South Carolina
Interstate 85	Interstate	22	142
State Route 5	State highway	7	45
State Route 11	State highway	9	62
State Route 13	State highway	1 or 2	43
State Route 18	State highway	8	24
State Route 21	State highway	1 or 2	40
State Route 30	State highway	3	25
State Route 34	State highway	1 or 2	98
State Route 35	State highway	1 or 2	25
State Route 38	State highway	1 or 2	40
State Route 41	State highway	1 or 2	68
State Route 43	State highway	1 or 2	22
State Route 44	State highway	3	22
State Route 48	State highway	1 or 2	38
State Route 51	State highway	1 or 2	36
State Route 55	State highway	1 or 2	31
State Route 57	State highway	1 or 2	36
State Route 61	State highway	1 or 2	68
State Route 63	State highway	1 or 2	28
State Route 65	State highway	1 or 2	22
State Route 72	State highway	1 or 2	68
US Route 29	US highway	18	135
US Route 221	US highway	8	76

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.Cherokee 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
Cherokee County: 28.2

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 South Carolina

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Cherokee County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Cleveland County	North Carolina	16	208	21.0
Rutherford County	North Carolina	16	118	17.9
Spartanburg County	South Carolina	66	672	20.5
Union County	South Carolina	10	71	26.1
York County	South Carolina	34	338	12.1

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 Cherokee 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. Cherokee County, South Carolina: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/sc/cherokee/. 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.

Embed this card on your site

Copy this code into your page. The card shows the figures above with their source. A line under the card links to this page.

<iframe src="https://fatalroads.com/embed/county/sc/cherokee/" title="Fatal crashes in Cherokee County, South Carolina" width="100%" height="300" style="border:0;max-width:640px" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p style="margin:4px 0 0;font-size:13px"><a href="https://fatalroads.com/county/sc/cherokee/">Fatal crashes in Cherokee County, South Carolina</a>, from fatalroads.com</p>

How embedding works. It is free. Keep the link in the card and the link line under it.

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 Cherokee in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 134 deaths in Cherokee County from 2005 to 2014. It records 160 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Cherokee in 2024?

The rate of Cherokee County in 2024 was 34.6 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 Cherokee had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 68 of 149 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 Cherokee?

23 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 96 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.