City · Kent County, Michigan

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids is a city in Kent County, Michigan, part of the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI metro area. It has 198,535 residents. Grand Rapids, Michigan has a quality-of-life score of 63 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,778 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Michigan it ranks #107 of 444 cities and towns. It ranks best on voter turnout (high), average commute time (low) and mental health providers (high). It ranks worst on median Air Quality Index (high), child poverty rate (high) and depression (high).

63High

Quality-of-life score: #5,778 of 15,651 cities and towns
Michigan: #107 of 444 in MI
Population: 198,535 (2020-2024)
Land area: 45 mi²
Density: 4,433.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 2634000

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety35#10,196/15,637
Economy37#9,891/15,631
Housing58#6,346/14,977
Health60#6,316/15,609
Healthcare80#3,204/15,650
Environment19#12,486/15,453
Education59#6,493/15,649
Infrastructure79#3,299/15,650
Community94#875/15,651
Leisure & amenities57#6,685/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Grand Rapids, Michigan ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Kent County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Voter turnout · high78.4%
94/100Michigan 74.6%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionKent County value
Average commute time · low19.0 min
91/100Michigan 24.2 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Mental health providers · high546 /100k
91/100Michigan 371 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteKent County value
Natural hazard risk · low6.3
90/100Michigan 10.32025Federal Emergency Management AgencyKent County value
Distance to an airport · low10 mi
89/100Michigan 44 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauKent County value
Public transit commuters · high3.0%
88/100Michigan 0.9%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301

Weaknesses

Median Air Quality Index · high52
12/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyKent County value
Child poverty rate · high23.0%
13/100Michigan 17.7%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Depression · high27.7%
14/100Michigan 26.5%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Violent crime rate · high430 /100k
14/100Michigan 416 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationKent County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high8.9 µg/m³
16/100Michigan 8.6 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyKent County value
Days with unhealthy air · high2.5%
16/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyKent County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedImproving
1.4 /1k (2021) → 4.3 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+200%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
82.5% (2015-2019) → 90.4% (2020-2024)
+7.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$50,103 (2015-2019) → $69,108 (2020-2024)
+38%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
28.9% (2015-2019) → 23.0% (2020-2024)
−5.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
36.4% (2015-2019) → 41.6% (2020-2024)
+5.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.9× (2015-2019) → 3.5× (2020-2024)
+24%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Grand Rapids, Michigan improved on 10 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 2 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved10

Child poverty−5.9 points28.9% → 23.0%
Poverty−3.5 points20.4% → 16.9%
Unemployment−1.2 points6.3% → 5.2%
Household income+38%$50,103 → $69,108
Bachelor's++5.2 points36.4% → 41.6%

Declined2

Price / income+0.7×2.9× → 3.5×
Transit use−0.7 points3.7% → 3.0%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Grand Rapids, Michigan between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.1 min2015-2019	19.0 min2020-2024	−0.1 min	Within the margin of error	49%
Bachelor's degree or higher	36.4%2015-2019	41.6%2020-2024	+5.2 points	Improved	69%
Broadband subscriptions	82.5%2015-2019	90.4%2020-2024	+7.8 points	Improved	48%
Child poverty rate	28.9%2015-2019	23.0%2020-2024	−5.9 points	Improved	72%
Effective property tax rate	1.36%2015-2019	0.99%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Little change	82%
High school diploma or higher	86.7%2015-2019	89.5%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Improved	66%
Home price to income ratio	2.9×2015-2019	3.5×2020-2024	+0.7×	Declined	37%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4502015-2019	0.4322020-2024	−0.017	Improved	65%
Median household income	$50,1032015-2019	$69,1082020-2024	+38%	Improved	71%
Poverty rate	20.4%2015-2019	16.9%2020-2024	−3.5 points	Improved	72%
Public transit commuters	3.7%2015-2019	3.0%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Declined	19%
Rent as share of income	31.1%2015-2019	29.6%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Improved	66%
Rent-burdened households	51.9%2015-2019	49.1%2020-2024	−2.8 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Unemployment rate	6.3%2015-2019	5.2%2020-2024	−1.2 points	Improved	71%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.5%2015-2019	8.1%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Improved	63%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Grand Rapids, Michigan five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Grand Rapids, Michigan in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Grand Rapids, Michigan itself moved +5 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

198,535 residents (±81)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

80,222 households (±1,115)

Grand Rapids, Michigan
Michigan share

Under $25k18%14,318
$25k–50k18%14,363
$50k–75k18%14,470

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

80,222 households (±1,115)

Grand Rapids, Michigan
Michigan share

Own54%43,351
Rent46%36,871

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−1.4 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

104,470 workers (±1,790)

Grand Rapids, Michigan
Michigan share

Drive alone69%71,733
Carpool8.1%8,466
Public transit3.0%3,100

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Kent County, the county holding most of Grand Rapids's residents.

Kent County has 17,799 employer establishments, 268 for every 10,000 residents (1.08× the US rate of 248; 1.18× Michigan's), with 384,635 paid employees at an average annual pay of $59,787. The Census Bureau also counts 58,452 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 17,799; 58,452 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 268; US 248 · Michigan 228
Paid employees: 384,635
Average annual pay: $59,787; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Kent County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	1,344	20.2	0.97×About typical	22,617	$75,707	2,728
Restaurants and other eating places	1,181	17.8	0.97×About typical	25,729	$22,006	227
Specialty trade contractors	1,003	15.1	0.98×About typical	13,345	$77,109	3,281
Lessors of real estate	701	10.6	0.86×About typical	3,100	$52,778	6,392
Limited-service restaurants	564	8.5	1.06×About typical	10,796	$18,758	91
Construction of buildings	548	8.3	1.09×About typical	4,720	$80,879	1,587
Religious organizations	538	8.1	1.46×More than typical	5,769	$32,866	—
Offices of other health practitioners	518	7.8	1.28×More than typical	2,505	$43,621	1,459
Services to buildings and dwellings	504	7.6	1.13×About typical	7,297	$35,040	2,621
Full-service restaurants	474	7.1	0.93×About typical	13,034	$25,272	93
Management, scientific and technical consulting	409	6.2	0.92×About typical	2,478	$83,933	2,279
Insurance agencies and brokerages	404	6.1	1.39×More than typical	3,999	$85,598	729

Rank places for an industry Open Kent County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 663,819 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $48.1M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Grand Rapids, Michigan: $242 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $48.1M; −43% vs FY2025
Per resident: $242; US $1,994
Sole-source: 11%; US 30%
Single offer: 13%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Defense Logistics Agency$11.2M23%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$10.2M21%
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management$6.9M14%
Department of the Air Force$5.3M11%
Department of Veterans Affairs$4.2M8.7%
Department of the Navy$2.8M5.9%
National Archives and Records Administration$2.8M5.9%
U.S. Coast Guard$1.5M3.0%

Top recipients

CHERRY STREET SERVICES INC$10.2M21%
ALLIANT ENTERPRISES, LLC$7.8M16%
HUMAN LEARNING SYSTEMS LLC$6.9M14%
BRAINGU LLC$5.7M12%
DOVER PUMPS & PROCESS SOLUTIONS SEGMENT INC$4M8.3%

Spending by fiscal year

56.1MFY2017
66.8MFY2018
73.4MFY2019
258MFY2020
124.2MFY2021
133.2MFY2022
135.2MFY2023
109.4M

Top industries (NAICS)

Other residential care facilities · 6239$10.2M21%
Professional and commercial equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers · 4234$7.6M16%
Technical and trade schools · 6115$6.9M14%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$5.9M12%
Other general purpose machinery manufacturing · 3339$2.4M4.9%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Grand Rapids, Michigan

OPERATION OF THE GERALD R. FORD JOB CORPS CENTER$40.7M
HUMAN LEARNING SYSTEMS LLC· Kent County, MI· Facilities & utilities· Jun 28, 2018 – May 20, 2026· 1630J518C0013
GERALD FORD JCC W/ OACTS$30M
HUMAN LEARNING SYSTEMS LLC· Kent County, MI· Education & social services· Sep 25, 2023 – Jul 22, 2026· 1605JW23C0010
ADVANCED BATTLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS$21.7M
BRAINGU LLC· Kent County, MI· Research & development· Jun 8, 2023 – Apr 23, 2026· FA861223FB017
ADVANCED BATTLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Grand Rapids, Michigan, so they do not add up across cities.

Grand Rapids, Michigan's figures are part of those of Kent County, MI ($136.1M in FY2026), never added to them: 35% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Grand Rapids is mostly in Kent County.

See federal money in Kent County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Grand Rapids, Michigan is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Kent County79100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI80

Other cities and towns in Kent County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2634000

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends