What is the cost of living in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood?

Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 95.5, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 86.6, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,334/month.

What is the median salary in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood?

The median salary in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood is $64,968 annually (mean: $69,160). Top occupations include Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Registered Nurses.

How safe is Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood?

The violent crime rate in the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood area is 431 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1395 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood?

The state of MI has 3,399 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 17.5:1. Charter schools make up 10.9% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood?

Infant center-based childcare in the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood area averages $7,444 per year. Preschool averages $7,221/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood a good place to relocate?

Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood has a Life Score of 46.7/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood ranks #325 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI

LiveAbility 40/100 places Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood #325 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

95.5
Cost index (US=100): $1,334
2BR rent / mo: $64,968
Median salary: 40
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood ranks #325 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (40/100), with its strongest marks in low hazard and job market.

#325
of 387 US metros · Below median: 10,140,459
metro-area population: 431
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 3,399
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: climate (17/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood ranks #325 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 95.5 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,334/mo, median salary $64,968; LiveAbility Score 40/100, strongest in low hazard and job market.

Signature: LiveAbility 40/100 places Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood #325 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 95.5 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,334/mo.

LiveAbility 40/100 puts Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood in the bottom third (#325 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood area is 584,240.

Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

40 Top 84% higher than 16% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood MSA; housing RPP 86.6 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,334/mo.

Studio

$1,010

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,017

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,334

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,735

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,013

/month

Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood wages and employment

Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood posts 584,240 total employment with median salary $64,968.

Median Salary

$64,968

Mean Salary

$69,160

Total Employment

584,240

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators	$39,120
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$36,130
Registered Nurses	$83,920
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$28,240
Retail Salespersons	$34,800

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood area from NCES.

Schools

3,399

Enrollment

1,376,868

Student:Teacher

17.5:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$7,444

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,636

per year

Preschool (Center)

$7,221

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood's composite Life Score is 46.7/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

40/100

Below average

Wages

60/100

Above average

Rent

47/100

Average

Crime

19/100

Bottom decile

Schools

76/100

Strong

Childcare

82/100

Elite

Environment

10/100

Bottom decile

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood ranks #325 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 40/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Low hazard (83/100)

Low hazard

83
Job market

60
Housing

47
Cost of living

40
Schools

24
Safety

19
Air quality

19
Climate

17

What this shows Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood's strongest dimensions are low hazard and job market; its weakest among scored dims is climate at 17/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood to

Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Pinehurst-Southern Pines Pittsburgh Pittsfield Pocatello Port St. Lucie

Metros near Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood?

Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood runs a $64,968 median salary at a 95.5 cost index, ranking #325 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.