Kent County, Michigan: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Michigan by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 63 deaths in 61 fatal crashes in Kent County in 2024.

FARS records 607 deaths in 576 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 9.3 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, Kent County was number 3 of 83 counties of Michigan.

Deaths in Kent County rose by 11.6% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (544) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (607).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 21.3% of the fatal crashes in Kent 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 Kent 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.Kent County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	63	61	11
2023	64	60	21
2022	55	50	14
2021	66	61	18
2020	55	55	20
2019	49	47	16
2018	65	61	18
2017	69	65	19
2016	57	55	15
2015	64	61	14
2015 to 2024	607	576	166

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 106 (1988)2024: 63

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

Table 2.Kent County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	63	61
2023	64	60
2022	55	50
2021	66	61
2020	55	55
2019	49	47
2018	65	61
2017	69	65
2016	57	55
2015	64	61
2014	55	54
2013	48	43
2012	46	42
2011	40	37
2010	63	56
2009	58	55
2008	56	51
2007	68	62
2006	58	52
2005	52	49
2004	60	58
2003	76	71
2002	81	75
2001	58	54
2000	66	64
1999	67	57
1998	55	44
1997	57	51
1996	70	60
1995	54	51
1994	85	71
1993	51	46
1992	61	51
1991	46	41
1990	86	76
1989	76	74
1988	106	86
1987	80	75
1986	62	56
1985	73	67
1984	63	59
1983	67	59
1982	62	60
1981	67	63
1980	72	68
1979	64	56
1978	81	70
1977	61	55
1976	69	65
1975	55	47

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.Kent County beside Michigan and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Kent County	Michigan	United States
2024	9.4	10.9	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	9.3	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. Kent County had 670,412 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Kent County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Michigan
A driver recorded as drinkingof 576 fatal crashes	166	576 fatal crashes	28.8%	28.1%
A speeding-related driverof 576 fatal crashes	122	576 fatal crashes	21.2%	25.4%
No restraint usedof 331 occupant deaths with restraint use known	105	331 occupant deathswith restraint use known	31.7%	39.4%
Pedestriansof 607 deaths	108	607 deaths	17.8%	15.2%
Bicyclistsof 607 deaths	21	607 deaths	3.5%	2.8%
Motorcyclistsof 607 deaths	85	607 deaths	14.0%	15.2%
On a rural roadof 573 fatal crashes with the condition reported	122	573 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	21.3%	40.6%
In the darkof 575 fatal crashes with the condition reported	260	575 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	45.2%	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.Kent 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	34	12	21	23	90
Monday	9	16	30	13	68
Tuesday	7	21	32	15	75
Wednesday	15	18	25	22	80
Thursday	12	15	23	35	85
Friday	19	15	25	28	87
Saturday	18	13	21	38	90
All days	114	110	177	174	575

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.Kent County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Michigan
Interstate	28	4.9%	9.0%
Other freeways and expressways	45	7.9%	4.0%
Other principal arterial	185	32.3%	27.7%
Minor arterial	171	29.9%	26.1%
Major collector	80	14.0%	18.4%
Minor collector	6	1.0%	1.7%
Local	57	10.0%	13.2%
Not reported	4	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.Kent County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	288
Dark, not lighted	122
Dark, lighted	138
Dawn	7
Dusk	20
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Kent County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	341
Cloudy	151
Rain	49
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	20
Fog, smog or smoke	9
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	4

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Kent County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Kent	In all of Michigan
Interstate 96	Interstate	14	173
Interstate 196	Interstate	6	28
State Route 11	State highway	50	52
State Route 21	State highway	6	40
State Route 37	State highway	27	68
State Route 46	State highway	3	65
State Route 50	State highway	1 or 2	40
State Route 57	State highway	23	50
US Route 31	US highway	1 or 2	136
US Route 131	US highway	45	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.Kent 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
Kent County: 9.3

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 Kent 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
Ionia County	Michigan	7	84	12.8
Montcalm County	Michigan	14	130	19.8
Muskegon County	Michigan	21	203	11.6
Newaygo County	Michigan	14	97	19.6
Ottawa County	Michigan	17	210	7.1

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

FARS records 544 deaths in Kent County from 2005 to 2014. It records 607 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Kent in 2024?

The rate of Kent County in 2024 was 9.4 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 Kent had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 166 of 576 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 Kent?

10 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 178 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.