2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Grand Rapids, MI vs Rochester, NY

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Highlights
- Household income in Rochester, is 28% less than it is in Grand Rapids and is 72% below the National Average.
- Grand Rapids unemployment rate is 6.3%.
- Rochester unemployment rate is 9.8%.
 Grand Rapids, MIRochester, NYUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock9.8%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock0.8%1.6%
 Future Job Growth35.8%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes6.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock6.2%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$29,060  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$40,083$69,021
 Family Median Income$70,070  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Grand Rapids, MIRochester, NYUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock20.0%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K4.8%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock13.0%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K9.0%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock8.4%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K8.8%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock8.7%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K14.1%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock9.4%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K4.1%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock3.0%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Grand Rapids, MIRochester, NYUnited States
 Management, business, finance14.2%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock6.7%6.5%
 Community, social services2.2%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.5%1.2%
 Education, library5.4%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.6%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology6.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock6.7%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.3%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock6.7%5.4%
 Building maintenance3.5%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.8%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support19.9%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.2%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair5.3%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock12.8%13.1%
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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Reviews for Rochester    79 Reviews

Stay out of the rougher patches, and you'll find a pretty solid city. I live within close proximity to it, and the crime from it DOES rub off on us (auto theft), but  More

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Rochester isn't perfect (I'll detail pros and cons), but it's certainly perfect for me and my husband. We've lived here for 4 years and are getting ready to purchase our  More

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Rochester is a scenic city with so much to offer in terms of things to do and having 4 seasons, except the summer is more like a long spring!! It's a relatively unknown  More

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