Best PlacesSwan, Grand Rapids, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Swan, 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.
Swan, Grand Rapids ranks 3,451st 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 Swan, 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.
Swan, Grand Rapids' strengths and weaknesses
Where Swan, Grand Rapids ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$776 a month, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
Where Swan, Grand Rapids ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- School gradeD, better than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 68 pleasant days a year, better than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 26% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 28% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Swan, Grand Rapids
A household needs to earn about $65,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Swan, Grand Rapids home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $63,044; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Swan, 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 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 Swan, Grand Rapids
Swan, 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 Swan, Grand Rapids.
Who works in Swan, Grand Rapids, and how
Work in Swan, 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 71%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 18%
Life in Swan, Grand Rapids
Swan, Grand Rapids has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Swan, Grand Rapids and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Swan, Grand Rapids, month by month
Swan, 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 Swan, 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 112 miles away.
The best schools in and around Swan, Grand Rapids
Schools across Swan, Grand Rapids average a D, better than 15% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Coit Creative Arts AcademyD− · 15% proficient
- Shawmut Hills SchoolD− · 13% proficient
- Sibley SchoolD− · 12% proficient
Top middle schools
- Grand Rapids Public Museum MiddleD+ · 27% 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 Swan, Grand Rapids school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Swan, 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 Swan, Grand Rapids against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Swan, Grand Rapids
Is Swan, Grand Rapids a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Swan, Grand Rapids ranks 3,451st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on heat safety, biking, and cell coverage, and lowest on car insurance costs and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Swan, Grand Rapids expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $242,477. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $63,044 median income, cost of living beats 36% of neighborhoods.
Is Swan, Grand Rapids safe?
Swan, Grand Rapids is safer than 32% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $623 per resident a year.
Compare Swan, Grand Rapids with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Swan, Grand Rapids. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Swan, 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.
Swan, Grand Rapids detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Swan, Grand Rapids: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Swan, Grand Rapids: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Swan, Grand Rapids: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Swan, Grand Rapids: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Swan, 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.