2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Big Rapids, MI vs Grand Rapids, MI

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Highlights
- Household income in Grand Rapids, is 89% more than it is in Big Rapids and is 25% below the National Average.
- Big Rapids unemployment rate is 7.0%.
- Grand Rapids unemployment rate is 6.3%.
 Big Rapids, MIGrand Rapids, MIUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock6.3%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock2.0%1.6%
 Future Job Growth21.3%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes6.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock5.8%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$16,767  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$55,385$69,021
 Family Median Income$49,242  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Big Rapids, MIGrand Rapids, MIUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock12.5%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K8.1%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock9.0%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K5.5%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock9.3%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K7.7%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock10.2%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K8.3%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock14.3%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K0.9%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock3.9%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Big Rapids, MIGrand Rapids, MIUnited States
 Management, business, finance10.1%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock6.2%6.5%
 Community, social services1.6%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.1%1.2%
 Education, library6.9%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.8%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology7.7%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.4%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement2.4%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock7.5%5.4%
 Building maintenance3.3%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.9%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support24.8%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.8%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair5.0%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock17.3%13.1%
Reviews for Big Rapids    0 Reviews

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Reviews for Grand Rapids    62 Reviews

I've lived in Grand Rapids about 85% of my life and can confidently say it is a great place to live for anyone. I know countless people who dogged the city, moved  More

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Grand Rapids proper - the small city - is fairly OK. Nothing special stands out about it when judged against the nicer areas of the US, but it has some decent dining and  More

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Wow. “bland Rapids and everyone is Smug, uptight and part of the Christian Reformed Church. “ Someone is accurately describing Grand Rapids in 1985. Much has changed  More

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