Laurens County, South Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 17 deaths in 16 fatal crashes in Laurens County in 2024.

FARS records 238 deaths in 210 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 35.1 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, Laurens County was number 14 of 46 counties of South Carolina.

Deaths in Laurens County rose by 37.6% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (173) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (238).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 84.8% of the fatal crashes in Laurens 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 Laurens 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.Laurens County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	17	16	4
2023	26	23	10
2022	24	21	8
2021	21	20	10
2020	23	17	7
2019	23	20	9
2018	32	28	14
2017	29	25	12
2016	21	20	7
2015	22	20	4
2015 to 2024	238	210	85

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 32 (2018)2024: 17

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

Table 2.Laurens County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	17	16
2023	26	23
2022	24	21
2021	21	20
2020	23	17
2019	23	20
2018	32	28
2017	29	25
2016	21	20
2015	22	20
2014	24	22
2013	11	11
2012	22	22
2011	15	14
2010	14	14
2009	21	21
2008	15	15
2007	17	17
2006	15	15
2005	19	16
2004	22	19
2003	17	17
2002	16	15
2001	21	21
2000	24	22
1999	20	19
1998	19	16
1997	12	10
1996	15	15
1995	26	23
1994	18	15
1993	14	14
1992	20	17
1991	23	20
1990	19	16
1989	10	9
1988	16	14
1987	17	14
1986	16	15
1985	27	17
1984	18	17
1983	18	15
1982	15	13
1981	30	29
1980	20	19
1979	6	6
1978	12	12
1977	21	19
1976	11	11
1975	17	15

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.Laurens County beside South Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Laurens County	South Carolina	United States
2024	24.1	18.9	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	35.1	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. Laurens County had 70,508 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Laurens County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in South Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 210 fatal crashes	85	210 fatal crashes	40.5%	32.2%
A speeding-related driverof 210 fatal crashes	114	210 fatal crashes	54.3%	40.2%
No restraint usedof 163 occupant deaths with restraint use known	90	163 occupant deathswith restraint use known	55.2%	53.2%
Pedestriansof 238 deaths	21	238 deaths	8.8%	15.7%
Bicyclistsof 238 deaths	3	238 deaths	1.3%	2.2%
Motorcyclistsof 238 deaths	35	238 deaths	14.7%	15.4%
On a rural roadof 210 fatal crashes with the condition reported	178	210 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	84.8%	58.5%
In the darkof 210 fatal crashes with the condition reported	106	210 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	50.5%	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.Laurens 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	11	5	7	10	33
Monday	4	4	9	5	22
Tuesday	1 or 2	6	6	12	26
Wednesday	5	4	10	11	30
Thursday	5	4	10	14	33
Friday	7	4	10	4	25
Saturday	9	5	10	17	41
All days	43	32	62	73	210

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.Laurens County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in South Carolina
Interstate	31	14.8%	10.8%
Other freeways and expressways	1 or 2	1.0%	1.6%
Other principal arterial	40	19.0%	31.5%
Minor arterial	80	38.1%	33.9%
Major collector	34	16.2%	11.5%
Minor collector	4	1.9%	1.4%
Local	19	9.0%	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.Laurens County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	98
Dark, not lighted	84
Dark, lighted	15
Dawn	3
Dusk	3
Dark, lighting unknown	7
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Laurens County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	172
Cloudy	12
Rain	22
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	4
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Laurens County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Laurens	In all of South Carolina
Interstate 26	Interstate	16	298
Interstate 385	Interstate	15	48
State Route 6	State highway	3	83
State Route 14	State highway	12	53
State Route 19	State highway	3	55
State Route 29	State highway	1 or 2	44
State Route 31	State highway	1 or 2	54
State Route 34	State highway	1 or 2	98
State Route 38	State highway	1 or 2	40
State Route 39	State highway	5	34
State Route 40	State highway	1 or 2	21
State Route 43	State highway	4	22
State Route 46	State highway	5	34
State Route 49	State highway	7	55
State Route 50	State highway	1 or 2	24
State Route 53	State highway	3	32
State Route 54	State highway	9	32
State Route 56	State highway	4	34
State Route 72	State highway	9	68
State Route 76	State highway	6	21
State Route 101	State highway	8	41
US Route 25	US highway	7	171
US Route 52	US highway	1 or 2	180
US Route 76	US highway	20	206
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.Laurens 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
Laurens County: 35.1

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 Laurens County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Abbeville County	South Carolina	4	48	19.5
Greenville County	South Carolina	94	831	15.7
Greenwood County	South Carolina	5	124	17.7
Newberry County	South Carolina	8	95	24.8
Spartanburg County	South Carolina	66	672	20.5
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 Laurens 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. Laurens County, South Carolina: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/sc/laurens/. 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 Laurens in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 173 deaths in Laurens County from 2005 to 2014. It records 238 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Laurens in 2024?

The rate of Laurens County in 2024 was 24.1 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 Laurens had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 85 of 210 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 Laurens?

25 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 153 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.