Branch County, Michigan: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Michigan by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 6 deaths in 6 fatal crashes in Branch County in 2024.

FARS records 54 deaths in 47 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 12.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Michigan in the same years is 10.6.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Branch County was number 43 of 83 counties of Michigan.

Deaths in Branch County fell by 26.0% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (73) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (54).

In the counties of Michigan the deaths rose by 8.1% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 85.1% of the fatal crashes in Branch County with a known setting were rural, against 40.6% in Michigan.

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 Branch County by year, 2015 to 2024

1 or 2

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.Branch County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	6	6	3
2023	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2
2022	9	6	1 or 2
2021	8	8	0
2020	3	3	1 or 2
2019	5	3	1 or 2
2018	3	3	0
2017	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2
2016	9	8	3
2015	8	7	3
2015 to 2024	54	47	14

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 16 (1999)2024: 6

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

Table 2.Branch County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	6	6
2023	1 or 2	1 or 2
2022	9	6
2021	8	8
2020	3	3
2019	5	3
2018	3	3
2017	1 or 2	1 or 2
2016	9	8
2015	8	7
2014	7	7
2013	4	4
2012	8	6
2011	4	3
2010	6	4
2009	9	9
2008	5	5
2007	8	8
2006	12	12
2005	10	9
2004	9	8
2003	4	4
2002	9	9
2001	7	7
2000	4	4
1999	16	13
1998	12	11
1997	8	8
1996	8	8
1995	11	10
1994	11	11
1993	7	6
1992	6	5
1991	3	3
1990	6	6
1989	9	8
1988	1 or 2	1 or 2
1987	10	7
1986	10	9
1985	8	8
1984	7	7
1983	15	14
1982	6	5
1981	6	6
1980	9	8
1979	12	10
1978	10	10
1977	14	13
1976	10	9
1975	6	6

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.Branch County beside Michigan and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Branch County	Michigan	United States
2024	13.0	10.9	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	12.2	10.6	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. Branch County had 46,024 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Branch County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Michigan
A driver recorded as drinkingof 47 fatal crashes	14	47 fatal crashes	29.8%	28.1%
A speeding-related driverof 47 fatal crashes	6	47 fatal crashes	12.8%	25.4%
No restraint usedof 32 occupant deaths with restraint use known	13	32 occupant deathswith restraint use known	40.6%	39.4%
Pedestriansof 54 deaths	1 or 2	54 deaths	3.7%	15.2%
Bicyclistsof 54 deaths	4	54 deaths	7.4%	2.8%
Motorcyclistsof 54 deaths	10	54 deaths	18.5%	15.2%
On a rural roadof 47 fatal crashes with the condition reported	40	47 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	85.1%	40.6%
In the darkof 47 fatal crashes with the condition reported	11	47 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	23.4%	46.3%

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.Branch 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	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	4
Monday	0	1 or 2	4	1 or 2	6
Tuesday	0	1 or 2	3	1 or 2	6
Wednesday	1 or 2	0	1 or 2	1 or 2	5
Thursday	0	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	4
Friday	0	1 or 2	7	5	14
Saturday	3	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	8
All days	6	7	21	13	47

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.Branch County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Michigan
Interstate	4	8.5%	9.0%
Other freeways and expressways	0	0.0%	4.0%
Other principal arterial	8	17.0%	27.7%
Minor arterial	10	21.3%	26.1%
Major collector	11	23.4%	18.4%
Minor collector	3	6.4%	1.7%
Local	11	23.4%	13.2%
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.Branch County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	36
Dark, not lighted	8
Dark, lighted	3
Dawn	0
Dusk	0
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Branch County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	31
Cloudy	14
Rain	1 or 2
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 Branch County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Branch	In all of Michigan
Interstate 69	Interstate	4	62
State Route 60	State highway	3	27
US Route 12	US highway	8	143

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 Michigan

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Branch County on the county map of Michigan

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

Fewer than 1012 counties
10 to 14.943 counties
15 to 19.919 counties
20 to 29.98 counties
30 or more1 county
Branch County: 12.2

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 Michigan

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Branch County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
LaGrange County	Indiana	9	71	17.7
Steuben County	Indiana	6	73	21.1
Calhoun County	Michigan	21	220	16.4
Hillsdale County	Michigan	5	60	13.1
St. Joseph County	Michigan	11	116	19.1

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Michigan have a population nearest to that of Branch 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.
Michigan Office of Highway Safety PlanningThe highway safety office of Michigan.

These links go to the sites of the agencies. They were checked on 2 Oct 2026.

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Branch County, Michigan: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/mi/branch/. 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.

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 Branch in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 73 deaths in Branch County from 2005 to 2014. It records 54 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Branch in 2024?

The rate of Branch County in 2024 was 13.0 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Michigan was 10.9. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 14 of 47 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 Branch?

FARS records 4 fatal crashes on Interstate 69 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 3 fatal crashes on State Route 60 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 8 fatal crashes on US Route 12 in the county from 2015 to 2024.