Eaton County, Michigan: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Michigan by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 18 deaths in 15 fatal crashes in Eaton County in 2024.

FARS records 147 deaths in 123 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 13.5 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, Eaton County was number 20 of 83 counties of Michigan.

Deaths in Eaton County rose by 22.5% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (120) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (147).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 57.4% of the fatal crashes in Eaton 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 Eaton 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.Eaton County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	18	15	4
2023	13	10	3
2022	13	11	1 or 2
2021	14	12	4
2020	14	13	1 or 2
2019	13	9	3
2018	22	17	6
2017	14	12	4
2016	11	11	1 or 2
2015	15	13	1 or 2
2015 to 2024	147	123	31

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 30 (1996)2024: 18

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

Table 2.Eaton County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	18	15
2023	13	10
2022	13	11
2021	14	12
2020	14	13
2019	13	9
2018	22	17
2017	14	12
2016	11	11
2015	15	13
2014	11	11
2013	12	12
2012	12	10
2011	9	9
2010	9	8
2009	18	18
2008	12	12
2007	15	14
2006	12	12
2005	10	10
2004	14	13
2003	15	13
2002	17	16
2001	18	16
2000	11	11
1999	18	15
1998	19	18
1997	19	19
1996	30	26
1995	12	11
1994	14	11
1993	23	19
1992	15	13
1991	16	12
1990	20	17
1989	26	23
1988	18	15
1987	17	14
1986	18	18
1985	22	21
1984	18	18
1983	12	12
1982	13	12
1981	13	11
1980	19	15
1979	23	20
1978	27	21
1977	20	16
1976	18	17
1975	19	17

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.Eaton County beside Michigan and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Eaton County	Michigan	United States
2024	16.5	10.9	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	13.5	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. Eaton County had 109,180 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Eaton County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Michigan
A driver recorded as drinkingof 123 fatal crashes	31	123 fatal crashes	25.2%	28.1%
A speeding-related driverof 123 fatal crashes	36	123 fatal crashes	29.3%	25.4%
No restraint usedof 93 occupant deaths with restraint use known	31	93 occupant deathswith restraint use known	33.3%	39.4%
Pedestriansof 147 deaths	12	147 deaths	8.2%	15.2%
Bicyclistsof 147 deaths	5	147 deaths	3.4%	2.8%
Motorcyclistsof 147 deaths	18	147 deaths	12.2%	15.2%
On a rural roadof 122 fatal crashes with the condition reported	70	122 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	57.4%	40.6%
In the darkof 123 fatal crashes with the condition reported	48	123 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	39.0%	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.Eaton 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	5	0	11	4	20
Monday	3	5	5	5	18
Tuesday	0	4	1 or 2	1 or 2	8
Wednesday	0	5	4	9	18
Thursday	1 or 2	1 or 2	7	6	16
Friday	4	5	3	5	17
Saturday	1 or 2	5	10	9	26
All days	15	26	42	40	123

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.Eaton County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Michigan
Interstate	18	14.8%	9.0%
Other freeways and expressways	0	0.0%	4.0%
Other principal arterial	7	5.7%	27.7%
Minor arterial	54	44.3%	26.1%
Major collector	27	22.1%	18.4%
Minor collector	0	0.0%	1.7%
Local	16	13.1%	13.2%
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.Eaton County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	70
Dark, not lighted	41
Dark, lighted	7
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	4
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Eaton County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	87
Cloudy	22
Rain	8
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	5
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Eaton County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Eaton	In all of Michigan
Interstate 69	Interstate	8	62
Interstate 96	Interstate	6	173
State Route 5	State highway	1 or 2	28
State Route 43	State highway	9	73
State Route 50	State highway	12	40
State Route 99	State highway	10	44

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.Eaton 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
Eaton County: 13.5

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 Michigan

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Eaton County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Barry County	Michigan	10	85	13.7
Calhoun County	Michigan	21	220	16.4
Clinton County	Michigan	11	86	10.9
Ingham County	Michigan	21	228	8.0
Ionia County	Michigan	7	84	12.8
Jackson County	Michigan	23	206	12.9

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 Eaton 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. Eaton County, Michigan: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/mi/eaton/. 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 Eaton in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 120 deaths in Eaton County from 2005 to 2014. It records 147 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Eaton in 2024?

The rate of Eaton County in 2024 was 16.5 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 Eaton had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 31 of 123 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 Eaton?

6 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 46 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.