Arborlook
Arborlook Insights
Risk & Response

Mecosta County, MI

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 68.0 Relatively High

41,242
Population
12
Departments
16
Stations
13
Census Tracts

Natural Hazard Loss Profile

Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, not agriculture.

Natural Hazard Life Safety
0.22
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
52nd highest of 83
Life Safety per 100k
0.54
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
58th highest of 83
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$20.4M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
23rd highest of 83
Property Loss per Resident
$495
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
2nd highest of 83

These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not in the National Risk Index, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Mecosta County, the largest single contributor is Cold Wave, 43% of the life-safety total.

Mecosta County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $20.4M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 83 Michigan counties. Nationally, Mecosta County ranks 1827th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 2472nd for life safety per 100k residents, 879th for property loss, and 879th for property loss per resident. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.

Add fire mortality, cause, and loss

Natural hazard exposure is only part of the risk. Fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, and dollar loss per incident come from NERIS incident reporting, which grows as departments serving Mecosta County enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Mecosta County.

Talk to us about Mecosta County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

86%
13%
Property (buildings): $20.4M (86.0%)
Life safety: $3.1M (12.9%)
Agriculture: $271K (1.1%)

Total expected annual loss: $23,740,418 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.

Hazards Ranked Two Ways

The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.

By life-safety loss ($/yr)

Cold Wave
$1.3M
Tornado
$776K
Winter Weather
$414K
Strong Wind
$208K
Lightning
$196K
Heat Wave
$104K

By property loss ($/yr)

Strong Wind
$11.1M
Inland Flooding
$8.2M
Tornado
$855K
Hail
$115K
Ice Storm
$68K
Earthquake
$38K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Mecosta County. Gray tracts have no modeled loss or no resident population. Per-resident figures on this map use the National Risk Index 2020 tract population.

Fire Service Profile

17%
83%
Combination: 17% (2)
Volunteer: 83% (10)
Residents per Station
2,578
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
38.8
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 12 departments registered in NERIS Public for Mecosta County, MI. Departments that have not registered are not counted. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.

Department Rankings

Fire and EMS departments serving Mecosta County. Click column headers to sort.

NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.

Department boundaries and station counts are self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. Population and Life-Safety Loss reflect each department's full jurisdiction. County-level risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 12 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Nottawa-Sherman Township Fire Department 20,034 $1.6M Relatively Moderate 1
Big Rapids Department Of Public Safety 11,934 $842.3K Relatively High 3
Lakeview District Fire Department 10,674 $710.8K Relatively Moderate 2
Morton Township Fire & Rescue 6,234 $477.9K Relatively High 2
Morley Area Fire Department 4,345 $314.0K Very High 1
Big Rapids Township Fire Department 4,244 $304.7K Relatively Moderate 1
Mecosta Township Fire / Rescue 3,655 $273.4K Relatively High 1
Chippewa-Martiny Fire Department 2,939 $215.5K Relatively High 1
Colfax Township-Mecosta County 2,737 $199.9K Relatively High 1
Barryton Community Fire Department 2,405 $173.8K Relatively Moderate 1
Wheatland Township Fire Department 2,039 $152.2K Relatively High 1
Millbrook Rolland Fire Department 1,242 $83.1K Relatively Moderate 1
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

19.9%
Poverty Rate
20.4%
Age 65+
16.0%
Disability Rate
7.8%
Uninsured
51.5%
Pre-1980 Housing
14.5%
Mobile Homes
21.0%
Vacancy Rate
6.9%
Wood Heat
$58,924
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

3
Last 10 Years
6
Last 25 Years
Flood
Most Frequent

Every department in your region, on one briefing

Our Regional tier gives state fire marshals and county fire authorities one briefing across every department in the jurisdiction: priority tracts ranked by risk and demand, NERIS adoption by county, and a quarterly report with a page per department. Response times appear for the departments you sponsor. Free 90-day pilot.

Explore the Regional Tier See the Response Demo