How serious are America’s mayors? · Incorporated city
Grand Rapids, MI
200,117 people, 2024 · Census GEOID 2634000 · Census profile · mayors: being verified
Overall in 2023, Grand Rapids ranked #264 of 340 cities and 11th of 14 in its peer group, on 8 of 9 measures. Weigh the measures yourself · how ranks are made
Its peer group is Grand Rapids and the 13 cities most like it in 2005 (size, income, poverty, industry, growth, density, place), fixed since: Worcester MA, Akron OH, Waterbury CT, Kansas City KS, Rockford IL, Bridgeport CT, St. Paul MN, Pittsburgh PA, Peoria IL, Durham NC, Winston-Salem NC, Toledo OH, Augusta GA · on the map, and why
| Topline | 2005–2024 | Latest rank | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rankamong all cities with a score that year | #264 of 340 cities · 11th of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | #226 | #304 | #268 | #238 | #268 | #320 | #278 | #288 | #258 | #254 | #248 | #195 | #249 | #155 | #239 | #250 | #207 | #226 | #264 | #216 | |
| people · size, not ranked | 193,780 | 192,863 | 191,868 | 190,285 | 189,090 | 188,007 | 189,104 | 190,821 | 192,982 | 194,335 | 195,056 | 196,556 | 199,135 | 200,136 | 201,013 | 198,735 | 197,757 | 197,694 | 198,270 | 200,117 | ||
| net movers per 100 residents · estimate · higher is better | #145 of 340 cities · 5th of 14 in its peer group | -0.5 | -0.5 | -0.5 | -0.7 | -0.5 | — | -0.0 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.1 | -0.0 | -0.1 | -0.2 | -0.1 | -0.4 | -0.5 | -0.4 | -0.1 | |
| new homes per 1,000 residents · higher is better | #107 of 271 cities with data · 4th of 10 in its peer group with data | — | — | — | 0.2 | 0.2 | — | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 7.1 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 4.3 | |
| rent as % of income · lower is better | #127 of 340 cities · 6th of 14 in its peer group | 20.1% | 22.3% | 20.7% | 21.0% | 22.8% | 24.4% | 24.2% | 22.6% | 22.7% | 24.5% | 23.8% | 22.2% | 22.5% | 21.6% | 23.0% | — | 21.4% | 23.3% | 22.1% | 23.2% | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #163 of 304 cities with data · 1st of 14 in its peer group | 6.2 | 11.4 | 10.4 | 7.9 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 8.4 | 8.8 | 3.6 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 6.0 | 2.5 | 4.0 | 16.1 | 9.1 | 10.1 | 11.6 | 6.0 | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #222 of 295 cities with data · 5th of 13 in its peer group with data | 89.3 | 91.3 | 117.3 | 111.9 | 80.9 | 110.1 | 89.4 | 96.9 | 76.2 | 74.6 | 61.5 | 63.1 | 75.3 | 75.4 | 64.2 | 138.9 | 189.1 | 191.7 | 158.9 | 121.9 | |
| jobs · size, not ranked | 131,506 | 128,381 | 125,990 | 131,262 | 121,727 | 119,274 | 125,521 | 124,201 | 126,818 | 129,514 | 130,329 | 138,020 | 126,664 | 132,897 | 134,531 | 124,659 | 133,712 | — | — | — | ||
| points ahead of the metro · higher is better | #30 of 336 cities with data · 1st of 14 in its peer group · 2021 | -1.3 | -1.9 | -0.5 | +4.1 | +1.0 | -6.9 | +2.5 | -4.4 | -0.1 | -0.9 | -1.5 | -1.9 | -9.4 | +2.9 | -0.4 | +2.4 | +4.7 | — | — | — | |
| people · size, not ranked | — | — | — | — | — | — | 84,787 | 87,116 | 89,342 | 93,996 | 97,967 | 97,326 | 105,232 | 102,939 | 104,498 | — | 103,173 | 111,148 | 107,952 | 111,193 | ||
| % of workforce · lower is better | #229 of 340 cities · 6th of 14 in its peer group | — | — | — | — | — | — | 14.5% | 12.5% | 10.2% | 8.2% | 6.7% | 6.0% | 6.0% | 7.0% | 5.3% | — | 6.6% | 3.6% | 5.6% | 5.7% | |
| % of promises funded · not ranked: 38 cities report | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| surplus as % of revenue · higher is better | #220 of 314 cities with data · 9th of 14 in its peer group | 13% | 11% | -4% | 9% | 4% | 8% | 10% | 9% | 10% | 12% | 13% | 12% | 9% | 15% | 10% | 9% | 9% | 14% | 10% | 13% | |
| dollars per resident · lower is better | #157 of 314 cities with data · 6th of 14 in its peer group | $3,783 | $4,217 | $4,271 | $3,904 | $4,579 | $4,390 | $4,232 | $5,140 | $5,014 | $4,606 | $4,613 | $4,414 | $4,345 | $4,189 | $4,086 | $4,246 | $3,792 | $2,728 | $2,474 | $2,719 |
Click a row for its source and its rank in every year. 1st is best whichever way the measure points. A rank is out of all 340 cities, or out of its peer group of 14; where some had no value that year it says “with data” and counts only those. An em dash is a year the source does not hold for Grand Rapids. A greyed homicide figure is a year the FBI holds as a transition year for this department. What each row is, and is not, is on the main page, with a link to every source in Sources.