Best PlacesHighland Park, Grand Rapids, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Highland Park, 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.
Highland Park, Grand Rapids ranks 3,800th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Highland Park, 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.
Highland Park, Grand Rapids' strengths and weaknesses
Where Highland Park, Grand Rapids ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Short commute16.8 minutes each way, better than 94% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$776 a month, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
Where Highland Park, Grand Rapids ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- School gradeD+, better than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 68 pleasant days a year, better than only 21% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 23% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Highland Park, Grand Rapids
A household needs to earn about $58,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Highland Park, Grand Rapids home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,076, 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 Highland Park, Grand Rapids' effective rate of 0.87%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Highland Park, Grand Rapids
Highland Park, Grand Rapids runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Highland Park, Grand Rapids.
Who works in Highland Park, Grand Rapids, and how
Work in Highland Park, Grand Rapids centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Highland Park, Grand Rapids
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Highland Park, Grand Rapids.
What the weather is like in Highland Park, Grand Rapids, month by month
Highland Park, 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 Highland Park, 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 114 miles away.
The best schools in and around Highland Park, Grand Rapids
Schools across Highland Park, Grand Rapids average a D+, better than 17% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- 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 Highland Park, Grand Rapids school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Highland Park, 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 Highland Park, Grand Rapids against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Highland Park, Grand Rapids
Is Highland Park, Grand Rapids a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Highland Park, Grand Rapids ranks 3,800th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on heat safety, short commutes, and affordable childcare, and lowest on a weak job market and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Highland Park, Grand Rapids expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $219,297. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $70,076 median income, cost of living beats 42% of neighborhoods.
Is Highland Park, Grand Rapids safe?
Yes, Highland Park, Grand Rapids is safer than 58% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $447 per resident a year.
Compare Highland Park, Grand Rapids with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Highland Park, Grand Rapids. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Highland Park, 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.
Highland Park, Grand Rapids detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Highland Park, Grand Rapids: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Highland Park, Grand Rapids: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Highland Park, Grand Rapids: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Highland Park, Grand Rapids: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Highland Park, 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.