Best PlacesGrand Rapids, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Grand Rapids, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Grand Rapids ranks 11,487th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 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.
Grand Rapids' strengths and weaknesses
Where Grand Rapids ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
- BikingBetter than 92% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of towns
- Short commute19.7 minutes each way, better than 89% of towns
Where Grand Rapids ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 10% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of towns
- Cheap childcare$989 a month, better than only 25% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 28% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 31% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Grand Rapids
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Grand Rapids home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,573, 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 Grand Rapids' effective rate of 1.04%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids runs older 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 Grand Rapids.
Who works in Grand Rapids, and how
Work in Grand Rapids centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of towns and more parkland per resident than 88% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Grand Rapids and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Grand Rapids, month by month
Grand Rapids sees roughly 124 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 80 degrees. January highs sit near 21, with lows near 3. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21° | 12° | 3° |
| April | 50° | 39° | 29° |
| July | 80° | 68° | 57° |
| October | 54° | 45° | 37° |
Flying in and out of Grand Rapids
The nearest airport, Range Regional, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 162 miles away.
The best schools in and around Grand Rapids
Schools across Grand Rapids average a B+, better than 76% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Cohasset ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
- East Rapids ElementaryB+ · 51% proficient
- Vandyke ElementaryB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Robert J. Elkington Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Greenway MiddleC+ · 35% proficient
- Middle Area Learning CenterF · 8% proficient
Top high schools
- Grand Rapids Senior HighA− · 63% proficient
- Greenway Senior HighB · 47% proficient
- Nashwauk SecondaryC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Grand Rapids school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
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 Grand Rapids against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Grand Rapids
Is Grand Rapids a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Grand Rapids ranks 11,487th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low disaster risk, state infrastructure, and biking, and lowest on distance from a big city and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Grand Rapids expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $243,198. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $69,573 median income, cost of living beats 49% of towns.
Is Grand Rapids safe?
Grand Rapids is safer than 48% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $330 per resident a year.
Compare Grand Rapids with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Grand Rapids. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 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.
Grand Rapids detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Grand Rapids: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Grand Rapids: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Grand Rapids: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Grand Rapids: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
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.