Fairfield County, South Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 10 deaths in 8 fatal crashes in Fairfield County in 2024.

FARS records 113 deaths in 104 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 52.3 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, Fairfield County was number 31 of 46 counties of South Carolina.

Deaths in Fairfield County rose by 6.6% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (106) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (113).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 92.3% of the fatal crashes in Fairfield 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 Fairfield 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.Fairfield County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	10	8	4
2023	15	13	3
2022	9	8	6
2021	10	10	4
2020	17	17	7
2019	10	8	3
2018	12	11	5
2017	13	13	1 or 2
2016	10	9	4
2015	7	7	0
2015 to 2024	113	104	38

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 25 (1978)2024: 10

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

Table 2.Fairfield County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	10	8
2023	15	13
2022	9	8
2021	10	10
2020	17	17
2019	10	8
2018	12	11
2017	13	13
2016	10	9
2015	7	7
2014	8	6
2013	8	8
2012	9	8
2011	10	10
2010	11	10
2009	8	7
2008	11	9
2007	19	18
2006	3	3
2005	19	17
2004	17	14
2003	12	9
2002	12	11
2001	6	6
2000	8	8
1999	12	11
1998	10	8
1997	5	5
1996	14	12
1995	8	7
1994	15	11
1993	7	6
1992	12	12
1991	12	9
1990	6	6
1989	7	7
1988	14	14
1987	13	11
1986	14	12
1985	18	16
1984	6	6
1983	11	8
1982	4	4
1981	11	11
1980	8	5
1979	8	7
1978	25	22
1977	13	13
1976	13	12
1975	4	4

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.Fairfield County beside South Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Fairfield County	South Carolina	United States
2024	48.8	18.9	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	52.3	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. Fairfield County had 20,478 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Fairfield County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in South Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 104 fatal crashes	38	104 fatal crashes	36.5%	32.2%
A speeding-related driverof 104 fatal crashes	45	104 fatal crashes	43.3%	40.2%
No restraint usedof 82 occupant deaths with restraint use known	47	82 occupant deathswith restraint use known	57.3%	53.2%
Pedestriansof 113 deaths	13	113 deaths	11.5%	15.7%
Bicyclistsof 113 deaths	1 or 2	113 deaths	0.9%	2.2%
Motorcyclistsof 113 deaths	13	113 deaths	11.5%	15.4%
On a rural roadof 104 fatal crashes with the condition reported	96	104 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	92.3%	58.5%
In the darkof 104 fatal crashes with the condition reported	53	104 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	51.0%	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.Fairfield 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	7	0	1 or 2	1 or 2	10
Monday	1 or 2	4	4	1 or 2	12
Tuesday	1 or 2	4	7	1 or 2	15
Wednesday	1 or 2	0	5	8	15
Thursday	1 or 2	3	5	5	14
Friday	4	1 or 2	5	7	18
Saturday	3	1 or 2	3	12	20
All days	21	15	31	37	104

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.Fairfield County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in South Carolina
Interstate	20	19.2%	10.8%
Other freeways and expressways	0	0.0%	1.6%
Other principal arterial	25	24.0%	31.5%
Minor arterial	37	35.6%	33.9%
Major collector	12	11.5%	11.5%
Minor collector	0	0.0%	1.4%
Local	10	9.6%	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.Fairfield County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	47
Dark, not lighted	47
Dark, lighted	3
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	3
Dark, lighting unknown	3
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Fairfield County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	90
Cloudy	1 or 2
Rain	11
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
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 Fairfield County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Fairfield	In all of South Carolina
Interstate 77	Interstate	20	139
State Route 3	State highway	1 or 2	24
State Route 19	State highway	1 or 2	55
State Route 21	State highway	1 or 2	40
State Route 22	State highway	1 or 2	50
State Route 23	State highway	1 or 2	26
State Route 30	State highway	3	25
State Route 34	State highway	16	98
State Route 41	State highway	1 or 2	68
State Route 54	State highway	1 or 2	32
State Route 55	State highway	1 or 2	31
State Route 62	State highway	1 or 2	38
State Route 63	State highway	1 or 2	28
State Route 200	State highway	7	24
State Route 215	State highway	4	29
US Route 21	US highway	7	156
US Route 321	US highway	11	87

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.Fairfield 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
Fairfield County: 52.3

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 South Carolina

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Fairfield County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Chester County	South Carolina	8	135	41.8
Kershaw County	South Carolina	10	167	25.0
Lancaster County	South Carolina	20	167	17.0
Newberry County	South Carolina	8	95	24.8
Richland County	South Carolina	63	585	14.0
Union County	South Carolina	10	71	26.1

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

FARS records 106 deaths in Fairfield County from 2005 to 2014. It records 113 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Fairfield in 2024?

The rate of Fairfield County in 2024 was 48.8 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 Fairfield had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 38 of 104 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 Fairfield?

17 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 81 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.