Raleigh County, West Virginia: fatal crash statistics

Counties of West Virginia by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 23 deaths in 18 fatal crashes in Raleigh County in 2024.

FARS records 137 deaths in 120 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 18.5 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of West Virginia in the same years is 15.2.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Raleigh County was number 3 of 55 counties of West Virginia.

Deaths in Raleigh County fell by 11.0% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (154) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (137).

In the counties of West Virginia the deaths fell by 23.1% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 38.1% of the fatal crashes in Raleigh County with a known setting were rural, against 64.4% in West Virginia.

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 Raleigh 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.Raleigh County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	23	18	4
2023	12	10	3
2022	10	10	3
2021	12	11	1 or 2
2020	5	5	3
2019	14	14	3
2018	19	18	1 or 2
2017	11	10	1 or 2
2016	14	10	1 or 2
2015	17	14	1 or 2
2015 to 2024	137	120	24

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 29 (1976)2024: 23

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

Table 2.Raleigh County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	23	18
2023	12	10
2022	10	10
2021	12	11
2020	5	5
2019	14	14
2018	19	18
2017	11	10
2016	14	10
2015	17	14
2014	9	8
2013	13	12
2012	11	11
2011	12	10
2010	11	10
2009	18	17
2008	24	24
2007	25	22
2006	16	15
2005	15	15
2004	24	23
2003	15	15
2002	20	18
2001	14	13
2000	19	16
1999	20	17
1998	13	13
1997	23	19
1996	17	14
1995	16	15
1994	16	16
1993	16	13
1992	18	14
1991	20	16
1990	18	15
1989	12	11
1988	15	15
1987	16	16
1986	12	12
1985	17	14
1984	17	15
1983	12	12
1982	17	14
1981	22	18
1980	15	13
1979	23	18
1978	15	13
1977	23	21
1976	29	24
1975	24	21

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.Raleigh County beside West Virginia and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Raleigh County	West Virginia	United States
2024	31.9	14.5	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	18.5	15.2	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. Raleigh County had 72,185 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Raleigh County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in West Virginia
A driver recorded as drinkingof 120 fatal crashes	24	120 fatal crashes	20.0%	27.2%
A speeding-related driverof 120 fatal crashes	28	120 fatal crashes	23.3%	26.7%
No restraint usedof 73 occupant deaths with restraint use known	35	73 occupant deathswith restraint use known	47.9%	53.2%
Pedestriansof 137 deaths	12	137 deaths	8.8%	8.7%
Bicyclistsof 137 deaths	1 or 2	137 deaths	1.5%	1.0%
Motorcyclistsof 137 deaths	21	137 deaths	15.3%	12.4%
On a rural roadof 118 fatal crashes with the condition reported	45	118 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	38.1%	64.4%
In the darkof 119 fatal crashes with the condition reported	43	119 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	36.1%	38.3%

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.Raleigh 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	1 or 2	4	3	6	14
Monday	1 or 2	3	4	5	14
Tuesday	5	5	8	3	21
Wednesday	1 or 2	4	9	8	23
Thursday	0	4	5	6	15
Friday	1 or 2	6	7	3	18
Saturday	1 or 2	3	6	4	15
All days	14	29	42	35	120

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.Raleigh County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in West Virginia
Interstate	28	23.7%	11.9%
Other freeways and expressways	1 or 2	0.8%	0.4%
Other principal arterial	12	10.2%	25.0%
Minor arterial	41	34.7%	22.3%
Major collector	14	11.9%	22.8%
Minor collector	13	11.0%	6.1%
Local	9	7.6%	11.5%
Not reported	1 or 2	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.Raleigh County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	70
Dark, not lighted	35
Dark, lighted	7
Dawn	3
Dusk	3
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Raleigh County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	90
Cloudy	20
Rain	8
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	0
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Raleigh County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Raleigh	In all of West Virginia
Interstate 64	Interstate	9	78
Interstate 77	Interstate	20	94
State Route 3	State highway	19	36
State Route 16	State highway	19	57
US Route 19	US highway	17	75

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 West Virginia

Adjacent counties

These lists are for navigation. They are in name order.

Figure 3.Raleigh County on the county map of West Virginia

Deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year, 2015 to 2024

Fewer than 105 counties
10 to 14.918 counties
15 to 19.915 counties
20 to 29.916 counties
30 or more1 county
Raleigh County: 18.5

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 West Virginia

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Raleigh County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Boone County	West Virginia	1 or 2	39	18.0
Fayette County	West Virginia	1 or 2	62	14.9
Kanawha County	West Virginia	28	268	14.9
Mercer County	West Virginia	6	101	17.0
Summers County	West Virginia	6	24	19.5
Wyoming County	West Virginia	3	29	13.8

Source of the list: Census Bureau county adjacency file, 2026 edition.

Counties of similar population

These counties of West Virginia have a population nearest to that of Raleigh 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. Raleigh County, West Virginia: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/wv/raleigh/. 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 Raleigh in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 154 deaths in Raleigh County from 2005 to 2014. It records 137 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Raleigh in 2024?

The rate of Raleigh County in 2024 was 31.9 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of West Virginia was 14.5. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

How many fatal crashes in Raleigh had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 24 of 120 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 Raleigh?

5 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 84 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.