Best PlacesHeartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Heartside-Downtown, 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.
Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids ranks 4,348th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Heartside-Downtown, 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.
Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids' strengths and weaknesses
Where Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$776 a month, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Short commute18.1 minutes each way, better than 89% of neighborhoods
Where Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- School gradeD, better than only 15% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids
A household needs to earn about $119,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $50,610, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids' effective rate of 1.30%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids
Heartside-Downtown, 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 Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids.
Who works in Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids, and how
Work in Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 57%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 33%
Life in Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids
Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids has more restaurants and bars per resident than 96% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids, month by month
Heartside-Downtown, 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 Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids
The nearest airport, Gerald R Ford International, is about 9 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 Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids
Schools across Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids average a D, better than 15% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Coit Creative Arts AcademyD− · 15% proficient
- Shawmut Hills SchoolD− · 13% proficient
- Southwest Elementary Academia BilingueD− · 13% 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 Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Heartside-Downtown, 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 Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids
Is Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids ranks 4,348th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on walkability, affordable childcare, and transit, and lowest on noise 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 Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $426,165. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $50,610 median income, cost of living beats 25% of neighborhoods.
Is Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids safe?
Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids is safer than 32% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $671 per resident a year.
Compare Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Heartside-Downtown, 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.
Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Heartside-Downtown, Grand Rapids: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Heartside-Downtown, 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.