Missoula County, Montana: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Montana by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 15 deaths in 14 fatal crashes in Missoula County in 2024.

FARS records 165 deaths in 147 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 13.9 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Montana in the same years is 18.9.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Missoula County was number 3 of 56 counties of Montana.

Deaths in Missoula County rose by 1.2% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (163) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (165).

In the counties of Montana the deaths fell by 9.7% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 60.3% of the fatal crashes in Missoula County with a known setting were rural, against 83.5% in Montana.

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 Missoula 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.Missoula County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	15	14	6
2023	23	21	7
2022	24	18	5
2021	18	17	9
2020	16	14	4
2019	9	9	4
2018	8	8	3
2017	17	16	5
2016	20	15	4
2015	15	15	6
2015 to 2024	165	147	53

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 28 (1979)2024: 15

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

Table 2.Missoula County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	15	14
2023	23	21
2022	24	18
2021	18	17
2020	16	14
2019	9	9
2018	8	8
2017	17	16
2016	20	15
2015	15	15
2014	15	13
2013	15	15
2012	10	7
2011	17	15
2010	13	13
2009	14	13
2008	20	18
2007	23	23
2006	16	13
2005	20	17
2004	13	13
2003	15	15
2002	12	12
2001	16	14
2000	25	20
1999	16	16
1998	15	13
1997	21	16
1996	15	11
1995	11	11
1994	10	10
1993	9	8
1992	11	11
1991	11	10
1990	14	12
1989	22	20
1988	15	15
1987	12	10
1986	8	8
1985	22	21
1984	14	11
1983	17	15
1982	20	19
1981	16	14
1980	28	23
1979	28	20
1978	21	17
1977	18	18
1976	21	19
1975	23	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.Missoula County beside Montana and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Missoula County	Montana	United States
2024	12.2	18.1	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	13.9	18.9	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. Missoula County had 122,471 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Missoula County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Montana
A driver recorded as drinkingof 147 fatal crashes	53	147 fatal crashes	36.1%	43.9%
A speeding-related driverof 147 fatal crashes	50	147 fatal crashes	34.0%	35.8%
No restraint usedof 115 occupant deaths with restraint use known	62	115 occupant deathswith restraint use known	53.9%	63.3%
Pedestriansof 165 deaths	25	165 deaths	15.2%	7.5%
Bicyclistsof 165 deaths	1 or 2	165 deaths	1.2%	1.0%
Motorcyclistsof 165 deaths	19	165 deaths	11.5%	13.0%
On a rural roadof 146 fatal crashes with the condition reported	88	146 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	60.3%	83.5%
In the darkof 147 fatal crashes with the condition reported	74	147 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	50.3%	41.8%

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.Missoula 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	1 or 2	1 or 2	4	8	15
Monday	5	3	6	11	25
Tuesday	1 or 2	3	4	6	15
Wednesday	4	0	4	7	15
Thursday	3	5	6	11	25
Friday	1 or 2	3	8	15	28
Saturday	3	5	9	7	24
All days	21	20	41	65	147

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.Missoula County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Montana
Interstate	29	19.9%	16.6%
Other freeways and expressways	0	0.0%	0.2%
Other principal arterial	66	45.2%	32.9%
Minor arterial	19	13.0%	15.2%
Major collector	14	9.6%	15.2%
Minor collector	1 or 2	0.7%	4.1%
Local	17	11.6%	15.8%
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.Missoula County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	68
Dark, not lighted	55
Dark, lighted	19
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	3
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Missoula County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	68
Cloudy	34
Rain	9
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	8
Fog, smog or smoke	7
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	21

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Missoula County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Missoula	In all of Montana
Interstate 90	Interstate	27	203
State Route 200	State highway	10	53
US Route 12	US highway	5	45
US Route 93	US highway	31	121

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 Montana

Adjacent counties

These lists are for navigation. They are in name order.

Figure 3.Missoula County on the county map of Montana

Deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year, 2015 to 2024

Fewer than 102 counties
10 to 14.911 counties
15 to 19.96 counties
20 to 29.97 counties
30 or more27 counties
Count of 1 or 2, no rate shown3 counties
Missoula County: 13.9

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 Montana

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Missoula County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Clearwater County	Idaho	1 or 2	18	20.4
Idaho County	Idaho	15	82	48.5
Flathead County	Montana	23	178	16.9
Granite County	Montana	1 or 2	22	65.0
Lake County	Montana	9	90	28.7
Mineral County	Montana	1 or 2	25	54.2
Powell County	Montana	0	31	44.6
Ravalli County	Montana	4	46	10.3
Sanders County	Montana	3	43	34.5

Source of the list: Census Bureau county adjacency file, 2026 edition.

Counties of similar population

These counties of Montana have a population nearest to that of Missoula 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.
Governors Highway Safety Association: State Highway Safety OfficesThe list of the highway safety offices of the states.

These links go to the sites of the agencies. They were checked on 2 Oct 2026.

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Missoula County, Montana: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/mt/missoula/. 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 Missoula in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 163 deaths in Missoula County from 2005 to 2014. It records 165 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Missoula in 2024?

The rate of Missoula County in 2024 was 12.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Montana was 18.1. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

How many fatal crashes in Missoula had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 53 of 147 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 Missoula?

4 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 73 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.