Kalkaska County, Michigan: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Michigan by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 5 deaths in 5 fatal crashes in Kalkaska County in 2024.

FARS records 36 deaths in 35 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 20.1 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, Kalkaska County was number 55 of 83 counties of Michigan.

Deaths in Kalkaska County fell by 21.7% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (46) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (36).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 100.0% of the fatal crashes in Kalkaska 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 Kalkaska 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.Kalkaska County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	5	5	1 or 2
2023	4	4	1 or 2
2022	4	4	0
2021	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2
2020	4	3	1 or 2
2019	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2
2018	5	5	0
2017	3	3	1 or 2
2016	4	4	1 or 2
2015	3	3	0
2015 to 2024	36	35	11

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 11 (2004)2024: 5

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

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

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.Kalkaska County beside Michigan and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Kalkaska County	Michigan	United States
2024	26.8	10.9	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	20.1	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. Kalkaska County had 18,640 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Kalkaska County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Michigan
A driver recorded as drinkingof 35 fatal crashes	11	35 fatal crashes	31.4%	28.1%
A speeding-related driverof 35 fatal crashes	15	35 fatal crashes	42.9%	25.4%
No restraint usedof 26 occupant deaths with restraint use known	10	26 occupant deathswith restraint use known	38.5%	39.4%
Pedestriansof 36 deaths	1 or 2	36 deaths	5.6%	15.2%
Bicyclistsof 36 deaths	0	36 deaths	0.0%	2.8%
Motorcyclistsof 36 deaths	5	36 deaths	13.9%	15.2%
On a rural roadof 35 fatal crashes with the condition reported	35	35 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	100.0%	40.6%
In the darkof 35 fatal crashes with the condition reported	8	35 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	22.9%	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.Kalkaska County: fatal crashes by weekday and time of day, 2015 to 2024
Weekday	6 a.m. to noon	Noon to 6 p.m.	6 p.m. to midnight	All
Sunday	1 or 2	1 or 2	0	1 or 2
Monday	1 or 2	3	1 or 2	5
Tuesday	1 or 2	5	1 or 2	8
Wednesday	1 or 2	1 or 2	3	5
Thursday	1 or 2	1 or 2	4	7
Friday	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	3
Saturday	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	5
All days	7	15	13	35

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.Kalkaska County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Michigan
Interstate	0	0.0%	9.0%
Other freeways and expressways	0	0.0%	4.0%
Other principal arterial	15	42.9%	27.7%
Minor arterial	1 or 2	5.7%	26.1%
Major collector	11	31.4%	18.4%
Minor collector	1 or 2	2.9%	1.7%
Local	6	17.1%	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.Kalkaska County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	23
Dark, not lighted	6
Dark, lighted	1 or 2
Dawn	0
Dusk	4
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Kalkaska County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	22
Cloudy	4
Rain	3
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 Kalkaska County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Kalkaska	In all of Michigan
State Route 72	State highway	7	30
US Route 31	US highway	1 or 2	136
US Route 131	US highway	7	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.Kalkaska 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
Kalkaska County: 20.1

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 Kalkaska County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Antrim County	Michigan	4	33	13.9
Crawford County	Michigan	1 or 2	17	12.5
Grand Traverse County	Michigan	10	111	11.8
Missaukee County	Michigan	0	21	13.9

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

FARS records 46 deaths in Kalkaska County from 2005 to 2014. It records 36 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Kalkaska in 2024?

The rate of Kalkaska County in 2024 was 26.8 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 Kalkaska had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 11 of 35 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 Kalkaska?

FARS records 7 fatal crashes on State Route 72 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 1 or 2 fatal crashes on US Route 31 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 7 fatal crashes on US Route 131 in the county from 2015 to 2024.