Grand Rapids, MI: Wages, Rent, Taxes & Livability by the Numbers

Grand Rapids makes its strongest value case through specialist pay, not through a uniformly high income base. BLS May 2025 metro means annualize to about $127.1K in management, $98.8K in healthcare technical work, and $96.3K in computer and math occupations; the all-occupations mean is about $60.7K. 1

The tax picture is readable, but the rates are not a personal tax estimate: Michigan's flat income-tax rate is 4.25%; Grand Rapids lists 1.50% for residents and 0.75% for nonresidents; Michigan sales tax is 6.00%; and SmartAsset puts Kent County's effective property-tax rate at 1.03%. Your filing status, exemptions, school district, and assessed value can change the result. 2345

Housing is where the headline needs the most fine print. Apartment List's pages, accessed August 17, 2026, show current monthly averages ranging from $1,544 for a one-bedroom in Creston to $1,975 in Belknap Lookout; the card also shows two-bedroom figures and approximate straight-line distances from downtown. These are live listing averages, not medians, and they fall outside the channel's requested 2024-25 data window. 67891011

Mobility is a corridor story. The U.S. News profile reports a 16.75-minute average commute, with 79.1% of commuters driving and 3.6% using public transportation. Walk Score's live city snapshot shows Walk 56, Transit 37, and Bike 52, while naming East Hills, Midtown, and Heritage Hill among the more walkable neighborhoods. Walk Score does not expose a visible 2024-25 vintage, so those scores are labeled as an August 2026 snapshot. 1213

The livability signal is mixed rather than definitive. The Numbeo snapshot shows quality of life at 195.99, purchasing power at 150.69, healthcare at 84.96, and safety at 54.78. It was updated February 6, 2026 and had only 20-39 contributors, so it is a small, live perception sample, not an administrative safety or livability score. U.S. News adds context: Grand Rapids' median household income is $69,462 and its median home value is $258,392, both below the national comparison figures shown in its profile; it also flags a weaker job market. Scores from different publishers are not directly comparable. 1214

Bottom line: Grand Rapids can work well for a mover whose job pays at the specialist end of the local market and whose home-to-work corridor fits the city's car-first reality. The low-rent story is real in some neighborhoods, but current listing mix, local taxes, safety perceptions, and the job-market signal deserve a closer look before the move. Next in the rotation: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The cards identify the dataset or live-page vintage in each panel. BLS and tax references are from 2025 where available; Apartment List rents, Walk Score, and Numbeo are explicitly labeled 2026 exceptions rather than presented as 2024-25 data.