Montcalm County, Michigan: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Michigan by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 14 deaths in 14 fatal crashes in Montcalm County in 2024.

FARS records 130 deaths in 116 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 19.8 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, Montcalm County was number 22 of 83 counties of Michigan.

Deaths in Montcalm County rose by 27.5% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (102) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (130).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 87.7% of the fatal crashes in Montcalm 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 Montcalm 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.Montcalm County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	14	14	4
2023	11	9	6
2022	17	15	3
2021	13	13	4
2020	11	9	5
2019	15	13	6
2018	14	13	3
2017	23	19	5
2016	6	5	1 or 2
2015	6	6	1 or 2
2015 to 2024	130	116	38

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 27 (1980)2024: 14

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

Table 2.Montcalm County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	14	14
2023	11	9
2022	17	15
2021	13	13
2020	11	9
2019	15	13
2018	14	13
2017	23	19
2016	6	5
2015	6	6
2014	10	9
2013	6	5
2012	15	13
2011	6	6
2010	12	9
2009	3	3
2008	6	6
2007	19	15
2006	8	8
2005	17	14
2004	13	12
2003	13	13
2002	18	17
2001	18	15
2000	22	19
1999	19	14
1998	19	15
1997	20	17
1996	12	10
1995	18	15
1994	13	12
1993	19	14
1992	12	10
1991	12	10
1990	17	12
1989	14	13
1988	20	17
1987	16	15
1986	17	14
1985	9	7
1984	15	14
1983	12	11
1982	12	10
1981	17	14
1980	27	17
1979	11	11
1978	18	15
1977	22	20
1976	17	12
1975	18	16

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.Montcalm County beside Michigan and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Montcalm County	Michigan	United States
2024	20.3	10.9	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	19.8	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. Montcalm County had 69,072 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Montcalm County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Michigan
A driver recorded as drinkingof 116 fatal crashes	38	116 fatal crashes	32.8%	28.1%
A speeding-related driverof 116 fatal crashes	23	116 fatal crashes	19.8%	25.4%
No restraint usedof 85 occupant deaths with restraint use known	33	85 occupant deathswith restraint use known	38.8%	39.4%
Pedestriansof 130 deaths	12	130 deaths	9.2%	15.2%
Bicyclistsof 130 deaths	1 or 2	130 deaths	1.5%	2.8%
Motorcyclistsof 130 deaths	15	130 deaths	11.5%	15.2%
On a rural roadof 114 fatal crashes with the condition reported	100	114 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	87.7%	40.6%
In the darkof 115 fatal crashes with the condition reported	47	115 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	40.9%	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.Montcalm 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	4	3	8	4	19
Monday	0	6	6	3	15
Tuesday	1 or 2	1 or 2	0	8	11
Wednesday	1 or 2	4	6	1 or 2	13
Thursday	3	4	6	5	18
Friday	1 or 2	3	8	8	21
Saturday	5	1 or 2	6	7	19
All days	17	22	40	37	116

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.Montcalm 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	6	5.3%	4.0%
Other principal arterial	17	14.9%	27.7%
Minor arterial	26	22.8%	26.1%
Major collector	39	34.2%	18.4%
Minor collector	3	2.6%	1.7%
Local	23	20.2%	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.Montcalm County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	60
Dark, not lighted	38
Dark, lighted	9
Dawn	4
Dusk	4
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Montcalm County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	77
Cloudy	24
Rain	7
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	4
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Montcalm County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Montcalm	In all of Michigan
State Route 46	State highway	17	65
State Route 57	State highway	8	50
State Route 66	State highway	7	60
US Route 131	US highway	6	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.Montcalm 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
Montcalm County: 19.8

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 Montcalm County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Gratiot County	Michigan	12	61	14.8
Ionia County	Michigan	7	84	12.8
Isabella County	Michigan	14	107	15.8
Kent County	Michigan	63	607	9.3
Mecosta County	Michigan	8	48	11.4
Newaygo County	Michigan	14	97	19.6

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

FARS records 102 deaths in Montcalm County from 2005 to 2014. It records 130 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Montcalm in 2024?

The rate of Montcalm County in 2024 was 20.3 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 Montcalm had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 38 of 116 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 Montcalm?

4 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 38 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.