Kalamazoo County, Michigan: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Michigan by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 25 deaths in 25 fatal crashes in Kalamazoo County in 2024.

FARS records 310 deaths in 285 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 11.8 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, Kalamazoo County was number 6 of 83 counties of Michigan.

Deaths in Kalamazoo County rose by 22.0% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (254) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (310).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 41.8% of the fatal crashes in Kalamazoo County with known light were in the dark, against 46.3% 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 Kalamazoo 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.Kalamazoo County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	25	25	3
2023	44	41	10
2022	32	31	10
2021	39	38	12
2020	21	20	9
2019	19	17	5
2018	30	28	6
2017	38	29	9
2016	35	31	9
2015	27	25	8
2015 to 2024	310	285	81

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 53 (1993)2024: 25

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

Table 2.Kalamazoo County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	25	25
2023	44	41
2022	32	31
2021	39	38
2020	21	20
2019	19	17
2018	30	28
2017	38	29
2016	35	31
2015	27	25
2014	16	14
2013	36	33
2012	29	26
2011	26	24
2010	20	20
2009	17	16
2008	31	28
2007	27	24
2006	25	23
2005	27	27
2004	25	24
2003	28	26
2002	23	22
2001	34	31
2000	35	32
1999	33	31
1998	23	21
1997	22	20
1996	44	35
1995	36	32
1994	33	30
1993	53	45
1992	31	30
1991	33	27
1990	34	30
1989	28	28
1988	35	33
1987	29	28
1986	33	31
1985	36	29
1984	26	23
1983	21	21
1982	21	21
1981	24	23
1980	43	41
1979	48	44
1978	44	40
1977	35	35
1976	30	27
1975	25	22

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.Kalamazoo County beside Michigan and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Kalamazoo County	Michigan	United States
2024	9.5	10.9	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	11.8	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. Kalamazoo County had 263,122 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Kalamazoo County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Michigan
A driver recorded as drinkingof 285 fatal crashes	81	285 fatal crashes	28.4%	28.1%
A speeding-related driverof 285 fatal crashes	85	285 fatal crashes	29.8%	25.4%
No restraint usedof 173 occupant deaths with restraint use known	62	173 occupant deathswith restraint use known	35.8%	39.4%
Pedestriansof 310 deaths	37	310 deaths	11.9%	15.2%
Bicyclistsof 310 deaths	16	310 deaths	5.2%	2.8%
Motorcyclistsof 310 deaths	39	310 deaths	12.6%	15.2%
On a rural roadof 284 fatal crashes with the condition reported	104	284 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	36.6%	40.6%
In the darkof 282 fatal crashes with the condition reported	118	282 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	41.8%	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.Kalamazoo 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	14	8	12	7	41
Monday	4	7	10	9	30
Tuesday	3	8	14	13	38
Wednesday	5	7	10	12	34
Thursday	5	11	10	17	43
Friday	8	8	18	17	51
Saturday	15	6	16	11	48
All days	54	55	90	86	285

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.Kalamazoo County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Michigan
Interstate	23	8.1%	9.0%
Other freeways and expressways	13	4.6%	4.0%
Other principal arterial	72	25.4%	27.7%
Minor arterial	103	36.4%	26.1%
Major collector	34	12.0%	18.4%
Minor collector	5	1.8%	1.7%
Local	33	11.7%	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.Kalamazoo County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	151
Dark, not lighted	74
Dark, lighted	43
Dawn	5
Dusk	8
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	3

Table 8.Kalamazoo County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	181
Cloudy	58
Rain	27
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	16
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Kalamazoo County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Kalamazoo	In all of Michigan
Interstate 94	Interstate	25	288
State Route 3	State highway	1 or 2	120
State Route 43	State highway	21	73
State Route 89	State highway	9	26
State Route 96	State highway	5	69
US Route 31	US highway	1 or 2	136
US Route 131	US highway	16	148

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.Kalamazoo 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
Kalamazoo County: 11.8

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 Kalamazoo County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Allegan County	Michigan	21	167	14.1
Barry County	Michigan	10	85	13.7
Calhoun County	Michigan	21	220	16.4
St. Joseph County	Michigan	11	116	19.1
Van Buren County	Michigan	11	146	19.3

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

FARS records 254 deaths in Kalamazoo County from 2005 to 2014. It records 310 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Kalamazoo in 2024?

The rate of Kalamazoo County in 2024 was 9.5 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 Kalamazoo had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 81 of 285 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 Kalamazoo?

7 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 79 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.