Lancaster 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 Lancaster County in 2024.

FARS records 167 deaths in 152 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 17.0 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, Lancaster County was number 21 of 46 counties of South Carolina.

Deaths in Lancaster County rose by 12.8% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (148) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (167).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 33.6% of the fatal crashes in Lancaster County with known light were in the dark, against 51.8% 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 Lancaster 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.Lancaster County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	20	18	9
2023	15	13	4
2022	15	14	3
2021	21	18	5
2020	18	17	6
2019	18	14	1 or 2
2018	13	13	4
2017	18	17	3
2016	14	13	5
2015	15	15	5
2015 to 2024	167	152	46

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 27 (1989)2024: 20

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

Table 2.Lancaster County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	20	18
2023	15	13
2022	15	14
2021	21	18
2020	18	17
2019	18	14
2018	13	13
2017	18	17
2016	14	13
2015	15	15
2014	16	15
2013	5	5
2012	9	9
2011	24	22
2010	11	10
2009	18	17
2008	18	14
2007	18	17
2006	10	10
2005	19	16
2004	18	17
2003	20	20
2002	23	21
2001	20	17
2000	22	20
1999	18	16
1998	26	25
1997	15	12
1996	14	14
1995	11	11
1994	19	14
1993	15	15
1992	14	11
1991	18	18
1990	16	12
1989	27	25
1988	24	19
1987	16	15
1986	15	14
1985	20	19
1984	24	24
1983	12	11
1982	13	12
1981	24	17
1980	12	12
1979	24	21
1978	11	10
1977	16	16
1976	11	9
1975	17	13

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.Lancaster County beside South Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Lancaster County	South Carolina	United States
2024	18.0	18.9	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	17.0	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. Lancaster County had 111,299 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Lancaster County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in South Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 152 fatal crashes	46	152 fatal crashes	30.3%	32.2%
A speeding-related driverof 152 fatal crashes	47	152 fatal crashes	30.9%	40.2%
No restraint usedof 108 occupant deaths with restraint use known	50	108 occupant deathswith restraint use known	46.3%	53.2%
Pedestriansof 167 deaths	19	167 deaths	11.4%	15.7%
Bicyclistsof 167 deaths	5	167 deaths	3.0%	2.2%
Motorcyclistsof 167 deaths	30	167 deaths	18.0%	15.4%
On a rural roadof 152 fatal crashes with the condition reported	107	152 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	70.4%	58.5%
In the darkof 152 fatal crashes with the condition reported	51	152 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	33.6%	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.Lancaster 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	5	1 or 2	3	3	13
Monday	1 or 2	8	7	5	22
Tuesday	0	4	7	7	18
Wednesday	3	5	9	9	26
Thursday	1 or 2	8	10	9	29
Friday	3	6	4	9	22
Saturday	3	4	6	9	22
All days	18	37	46	51	152

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.Lancaster 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	0	0.0%	1.6%
Other principal arterial	59	38.8%	31.5%
Minor arterial	50	32.9%	33.9%
Major collector	22	14.5%	11.5%
Minor collector	1 or 2	1.3%	1.4%
Local	19	12.5%	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.Lancaster County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	85
Dark, not lighted	33
Dark, lighted	8
Dawn	6
Dusk	10
Dark, lighting unknown	10
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Lancaster County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	125
Cloudy	9
Rain	18
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	0
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Lancaster County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Lancaster	In all of South Carolina
State Route 5	State highway	7	45
State Route 9	State highway	17	150
State Route 12	State highway	1 or 2	31
State Route 19	State highway	1 or 2	55
State Route 28	State highway	1 or 2	65
State Route 29	State highway	1 or 2	44
State Route 33	State highway	1 or 2	34
State Route 38	State highway	1 or 2	40
State Route 46	State highway	1 or 2	34
State Route 50	State highway	1 or 2	24
State Route 51	State highway	3	36
State Route 54	State highway	1 or 2	32
State Route 55	State highway	1 or 2	31
State Route 97	State highway	1 or 2	29
State Route 161	State highway	1 or 2	22
State Route 200	State highway	14	24
State Route 296	State highway	3	26
US Route 521	US highway	27	75
US Route 601	US highway	1 or 2	49

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.Lancaster 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
Lancaster County: 17.0

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 Lancaster County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Mecklenburg County	North Carolina	121	1,059	9.5
Union County	North Carolina	24	232	9.6
Chester County	South Carolina	8	135	41.8
Chesterfield County	South Carolina	10	118	26.3
Fairfield County	South Carolina	10	113	52.3
Kershaw County	South Carolina	10	167	25.0
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 Lancaster 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. Lancaster County, South Carolina: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/sc/lancaster/. 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 Lancaster in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 148 deaths in Lancaster County from 2005 to 2014. It records 167 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Lancaster in 2024?

The rate of Lancaster County in 2024 was 18.0 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 Lancaster had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 46 of 152 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 Lancaster?

19 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 89 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.