Richland County, South Carolina: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 63 deaths in 59 fatal crashes in Richland County in 2024.

FARS records 585 deaths in 553 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 14.0 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, Richland County was number 5 of 46 counties of South Carolina.

Deaths in Richland County rose by 19.9% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (488) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (585).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 26.4% of the fatal crashes in Richland 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 Richland 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.Richland County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	63	59	16
2023	60	58	15
2022	67	65	29
2021	74	70	29
2020	55	49	23
2019	50	47	17
2018	50	49	23
2017	52	49	18
2016	69	64	25
2015	45	43	16
2015 to 2024	585	553	211

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 74 (2021)2024: 63

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

Table 2.Richland County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	63	59
2023	60	58
2022	67	65
2021	74	70
2020	55	49
2019	50	47
2018	50	49
2017	52	49
2016	69	64
2015	45	43
2014	41	40
2013	63	61
2012	51	46
2011	40	37
2010	43	41
2009	42	40
2008	43	39
2007	49	48
2006	56	51
2005	60	56
2004	55	52
2003	46	42
2002	51	46
2001	49	44
2000	62	49
1999	56	53
1998	45	42
1997	43	34
1996	38	33
1995	34	31
1994	44	39
1993	40	38
1992	40	38
1991	44	35
1990	47	44
1989	50	44
1988	54	48
1987	70	65
1986	63	53
1985	60	54
1984	45	43
1983	55	47
1982	42	40
1981	42	36
1980	44	36
1979	46	40
1978	59	50
1977	48	43
1976	30	28
1975	42	39

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.Richland County beside South Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Richland County	South Carolina	United States
2024	14.6	18.9	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	14.0	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. Richland County had 430,800 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Richland County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in South Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 553 fatal crashes	211	553 fatal crashes	38.2%	32.2%
A speeding-related driverof 553 fatal crashes	205	553 fatal crashes	37.1%	40.2%
No restraint usedof 320 occupant deaths with restraint use known	180	320 occupant deathswith restraint use known	56.3%	53.2%
Pedestriansof 585 deaths	138	585 deaths	23.6%	15.7%
Bicyclistsof 585 deaths	10	585 deaths	1.7%	2.2%
Motorcyclistsof 585 deaths	102	585 deaths	17.4%	15.4%
On a rural roadof 553 fatal crashes with the condition reported	146	553 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	26.4%	58.5%
In the darkof 553 fatal crashes with the condition reported	332	553 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	60.0%	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.Richland 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	28	8	12	22	70
Monday	12	14	18	25	69
Tuesday	11	10	23	24	68
Wednesday	15	7	18	48	88
Thursday	18	13	16	31	78
Friday	16	12	19	30	77
Saturday	33	12	18	40	103
All days	133	76	124	220	553

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.Richland County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in South Carolina
Interstate	119	21.5%	10.8%
Other freeways and expressways	19	3.4%	1.6%
Other principal arterial	170	30.7%	31.5%
Minor arterial	163	29.5%	33.9%
Major collector	46	8.3%	11.5%
Minor collector	6	1.1%	1.4%
Local	30	5.4%	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.Richland County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	200
Dark, not lighted	190
Dark, lighted	112
Dawn	8
Dusk	13
Dark, lighting unknown	30
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Richland County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	467
Cloudy	29
Rain	51
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	3
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	3

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Richland County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Richland	In all of South Carolina
Interstate 20	Interstate	41	162
Interstate 26	Interstate	24	298
Interstate 77	Interstate	52	139
Interstate 95	Interstate	1 or 2	229
State Route 6	State highway	1 or 2	83
State Route 12	State highway	19	31
State Route 16	State highway	10	23
State Route 31	State highway	4	54
State Route 38	State highway	1 or 2	40
State Route 39	State highway	1 or 2	34
State Route 48	State highway	27	38
State Route 50	State highway	1 or 2	24
State Route 52	State highway	7	28
State Route 53	State highway	1 or 2	32
State Route 54	State highway	1 or 2	32
State Route 61	State highway	1 or 2	68
State Route 63	State highway	1 or 2	28
State Route 81	State highway	1 or 2	48
State Route 151	State highway	1 or 2	28
State Route 215	State highway	7	29
State Route 555	State highway	25	27
US Route 1	US highway	43	135
US Route 17	US highway	1 or 2	441
US Route 21	US highway	19	156
US Route 76	US highway	49	206
US Route 176	US highway	23	134
US Route 278	US highway	1 or 2	86
US Route 321	US highway	10	87
US Route 378	US highway	3	90
US Route 601	US highway	11	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.Richland 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
Richland County: 14.0

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 Richland County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Calhoun County	South Carolina	6	67	46.5
Fairfield County	South Carolina	10	113	52.3
Kershaw County	South Carolina	10	167	25.0
Lexington County	South Carolina	54	501	16.8
Newberry County	South Carolina	8	95	24.8
Sumter County	South Carolina	23	234	22.1

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

FARS records 488 deaths in Richland County from 2005 to 2014. It records 585 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Richland in 2024?

The rate of Richland County in 2024 was 14.6 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 Richland had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 211 of 553 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 Richland?

30 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 388 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.