Best PlacesBelknap Lookout, Grand Rapids, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids ranks 3,663rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids' strengths and weaknesses
Where Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$776 a month, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
- Short commute19.6 minutes each way, better than 82% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 75% of neighborhoods
Where Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
- School gradeD+, better than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 68 pleasant days a year, better than only 21% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 24% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids
A household needs to earn about $65,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $71,928, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids' effective rate of 1.16%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids
Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids.
Who works in Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids, and how
Work in Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 64%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 19%
Life in Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids
Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 88% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids, month by month
Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 26° | 19° |
| April | 60° | 47° | 36° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 62° |
| October | 64° | 53° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids
The nearest airport, Gerald R Ford International, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 113 miles away.
The best schools in and around Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids
Schools across Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids average a D+, better than 17% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Congress ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- East Leonard ElementaryD · 17% proficient
- Coit Creative Arts AcademyD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- Grand Rapids Public Museum HighC · 34% proficient
- Innovation Central HighD− · 14% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids
Is Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids ranks 3,663rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on heat safety, affordable childcare, and low disaster risk, and lowest on car insurance costs and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $236,179. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $71,928 median income, cost of living beats 50% of neighborhoods.
Is Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids safe?
Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids is safer than 37% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $605 per resident a year.
Compare Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Belknap Lookout, Grand Rapids detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.