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Edition: FARS 2024, annual fileNHTSA released it on Release dates

South Carolina fatal crash statistics by county

This record uses FARS 2024. Read counts, rates and file versions before comparing periods.

Counties by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 1,038 deaths in 948 fatal crashes in South Carolina in 2024.

In 2024 the rate is 18.9 deaths for each 100,000 residents in South Carolina and 11.5 in the United States.

In 2024 the rate is 1.67 deaths for each 100 million vehicle-miles in South Carolina and 1.19 in the United States.

By deaths for each 100,000 residents in 2024, South Carolina was number 4 of 51, the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Deaths in South Carolina fell by 0.9% from 2023 to 2024. In the United States they fell by 4.3%.

From 2015 to 2024, 58.5% of the fatal crashes in South Carolina with a known setting were rural, against 42.7% in the United States.

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 .

This page rests on the FARS 2024 annual file. NHTSA released it on . NHTSA can revise the counts in the final file. Release dates

Figure 1.Deaths in South Carolina by year, 2015 to 2024

Table 2 has the numbers. Go to the table

Since the last update: no figure of this state has a change on record.

County map

Figure 2.Counties of South Carolina by deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year, 2015 to 2024
Abbeville County: 19.5 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearAiken County: 18.8 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearAllendale County: 33.6 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearAnderson County: 21.3 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearBamberg County: 25.5 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearBarnwell County: 22.4 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearBeaufort County: 11.8 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearBerkeley County: 17.7 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearCalhoun County: 46.5 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearCharleston County: 16.6 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearCherokee County: 28.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearChester County: 41.8 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearChesterfield County: 26.3 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearClarendon County: 44.9 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearColleton County: 56.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearDarlington County: 32.8 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearDillon County: 38.3 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearDorchester County: 15.0 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearEdgefield County: 19.1 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearFairfield County: 52.3 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearFlorence County: 25.3 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearGeorgetown County: 23.6 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearGreenville County: 15.7 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearGreenwood County: 17.7 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearHampton County: 33.8 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearHorry County: 19.9 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearJasper County: 58.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearKershaw County: 25.0 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearLancaster County: 17.0 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearLaurens County: 35.1 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearLee County: 38.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearLexington County: 16.8 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearMcCormick County: 33.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearMarion County: 33.7 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearMarlboro County: 39.1 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearNewberry County: 24.8 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearOconee County: 18.0 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearOrangeburg County: 45.3 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearPickens County: 15.7 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearRichland County: 14.0 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearSaluda County: 21.3 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearSpartanburg County: 20.5 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearSumter County: 22.1 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearUnion County: 26.1 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearWilliamsburg County: 37.0 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a yearYork County: 12.1 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year

Deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year

  • Fewer than 100 counties
  • 10 to 14.93 counties
  • 15 to 19.913 counties
  • 20 to 29.913 counties
  • 30 or more17 counties

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.

In words: 0 counties have a rate of fewer than 10; 3 counties have a rate of 10 to 14.9; 13 counties have a rate of 15 to 19.9; 13 counties have a rate of 20 to 29.9; 17 counties have a rate of 30 or more. Table 1 has the rate of each county.

Counties

Table 1.South Carolina: deaths and rate of each county, in name order
CountyResidentsDeaths, 2024Deaths, 2015 to 2024For each 100,000 residents in a year
Abbeville County24,67944819.5
Aiken County178,3632932118.8
Allendale County7,5311 or 22833.6
Anderson County217,3904543521.3
Bamberg County12,83633525.5
Barnwell County20,51284722.4
Beaufort County203,0062722511.8
Berkeley County265,9923741017.7
Calhoun County14,18666746.5
Charleston County433,2576168216.6
Cherokee County57,8742016028.2
Chester County32,547813541.8
Chesterfield County44,4401011826.3
Clarendon County31,053914644.9
Colleton County39,4291721556.2
Darlington County62,6832221332.8
Dillon County27,5811411238.3
Dorchester County174,8393824515.0
Edgefield County29,24765219.1
Fairfield County20,4781011352.3
Florence County138,3172834925.3
Georgetown County66,1322015023.6
Greenville County573,8709483115.7
Greenwood County70,180512417.7
Hampton County18,18456433.8
Horry County414,3075871419.9
Jasper County36,3381717858.2
Kershaw County71,9121016725.0
Lancaster County111,2992016717.0
Laurens County70,5081723835.1
Lee County15,87346438.2
Lexington County314,0845450116.8
Marion County28,5041410133.7
Marlboro County25,544910339.1
McCormick County9,97743233.2
Newberry County39,32189524.8
Oconee County82,5661414218.0
Orangeburg County83,1714838745.3
Pickens County137,8592120315.7
Richland County430,8006358514.0
Saluda County19,56984221.3
Spartanburg County369,9346667220.5
Sumter County104,7882323422.1
Union County26,794107126.1
Williamsburg County29,801911437.0
York County302,7613433812.1

Note: the rate is for the ten years 2015 to 2024. Residents: Census Bureau estimates, vintage 2025. A count of 1 or 2 is written "1 or 2", and no rate is given for it.

Download: the deaths and fatal crashes of each county by year, 1975 to 2024 (CSV)

Each year

Figure 3.Deaths in South Carolina by year, 1975 to 2024

Tallest column: 1,198 (2021)2024: 1,038

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

Table 2.South Carolina: deaths, fatal crashes and rates by year, 1975 to 2024
YearDeathsFatal crashesFor each 100,000 residentsFor each 100 million vehicle-miles
20241,03894818.91.67
20231,04797619.41.72
20221,0941,01920.71.85
20211,1981,11223.12.08
20201,06696420.81.98
20191,00692719.51.74
20181,03696920.31.82
201798992519.71.78
20161,02094120.61.87
201597991120.01.89
201482375617.1n/a
201376771916.1n/a
201286380618.3n/a
201182876717.7n/a
201080975017.5n/a
200989481719.5n/a
200892184120.3n/a
20071,07798524.2n/a
20061,04597324.0n/a
20051,09498125.6n/a
20041,04694624.8n/a
200396990523.3n/a
20021,05394925.6n/a
20011,06096226.1n/a
20001,06594826.5n/a
19991,065944n/an/a
19981,002912n/an/a
1997903798n/an/a
1996930821n/an/a
1995881782n/an/a
1994847753n/an/a
1993846776n/an/a
1992807718n/an/a
1991890789n/an/a
1990979884n/an/a
1989996895n/an/a
19881,031908n/an/a
19871,086968n/an/a
19861,059944n/an/a
1985951847n/an/a
1984916820n/an/a
1983844739n/an/a
1982730667n/an/a
1981846768n/an/a
1980852747n/an/a
1979900795n/an/a
1978883778n/an/a
1977927807n/an/a
1976806694n/an/a
1975820711n/an/a

Note: each year is a link to the page of that year. The rate for residents starts in 2000. The rate for vehicle-miles starts in 2015.

Two rates

One rate divides the deaths by the residents. The other rate divides the deaths by the miles that vehicles travel in the state.

Table 3.South Carolina beside the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents and for each 100 million vehicle-miles
RatePeriodSouth CarolinaUnited States
For each 100,000 residents202418.911.5
For each 100,000 residents2015 to 2024, in a year20.311.8
For each 100 million vehicle-miles20241.671.19
For each 100 million vehicle-miles2015 to 20241.841.23

Residents: Census Bureau estimates, vintage 2025. South Carolina had 5,490,316 residents in 2024.

Vehicle-miles: Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics, table VM-2. South Carolina had 62,042 million vehicle-miles in 2024. Table VM-2 of 2024

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.South Carolina: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
FactorCountCounted amongShareShare in the United States
A driver recorded as drinkingof 9,692 fatal crashes3,1209,692 fatal crashes26.3%
A speeding-related driverof 9,692 fatal crashes3,9019,692 fatal crashes27.2%
No restraint usedof 6,562 occupant deaths with restraint use known3,4946,562 occupant deathswith restraint use known49.0%
Pedestriansof 10,473 deaths1,64310,473 deaths17.1%
Bicyclistsof 10,473 deaths22810,473 deaths2.4%
Motorcyclistsof 10,473 deaths1,60810,473 deaths14.5%
On a rural roadof 9,692 fatal crashes with the condition reported5,6679,692 fatal crasheswith the condition reported42.7%
In the darkof 9,689 fatal crashes with the condition reported5,0159,689 fatal crasheswith the condition reported49.2%

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 .

Weekday, time and road class

Table 5.South Carolina: fatal crashes by weekday and time of day, 2015 to 2024
WeekdayMidnight to 6 a.m.6 a.m. to noonNoon to 6 p.m.6 p.m. to midnightAll
Sunday5011843014651,451
Monday2062533474141,220
Tuesday1642483664011,179
Wednesday2092423524661,269
Thursday1992373734601,269
Friday2522853715881,496
Saturday4852383866991,808
All days2,0161,6872,4963,4939,692

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.South Carolina: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function classFatal crashesShareShare in the United States
Interstate1,04410.8%12.6%
Other freeways and expressways1551.6%4.4%
Other principal arterial3,05331.5%29.8%
Minor arterial3,28333.9%22.1%
Major collector1,11111.5%15.5%
Minor collector1391.4%3.4%
Local9079.4%12.2%
Not reported0n/an/a

Note: the classes are those of the Federal Highway Administration. The shares are of the crashes with a reported class. Road function classes

Routes

106 signed routes in South Carolina have a page. A route page needs 20 or more fatal crashes from 2015 to 2024.

All routes in South Carolina

Interstate routes

Official channels

These links go to the sites of the agencies. They were checked on .

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. South Carolina fatal crash statistics by county. https://fatalroads.com/state/south-carolina/. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, FARS 2024 annual file. Data to .

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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. Vehicle-miles: Federal Highway Administration, table VM-2. Map: Census Bureau cartographic boundary file, 2021 edition. Data to .

How the figures are made. Data sources and licences. Corrections. All states by year (CSV).

Questions

How many deaths did FARS record in South Carolina in ten years?

FARS records 10,473 deaths in 9,692 fatal crashes in South Carolina from 2015 to 2024. It records 9,121 deaths from 2005 to 2014.

What part of the deaths in the United States was in South Carolina?

South Carolina had 1,038 of the 39,254 deaths in the United States in 2024. That is 2.6 percent.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 3,120 of 9,692 fatal crashes from 2015 to 2024. It records a speeding-related driver in 3,901 of them.

How many pages does South Carolina have?

South Carolina has 46 county pages, 106 route pages and one page for each year from 1975 to 2024.