Metro Life Score
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C+, 32nd percentile of the national corpus.
- 45.5
- Life Score / 100
- C+
- Grade (curved)
- #263
- of 387 metros
- 32%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood is below-median composite Life Score — #263 of 387 (45.5/100, grade C+, 32nd percentile). Carried by childcare at 82/100; held back most by environment at 10/100.
- 32nd
- composite percentile
- #263
- of 387 peers
- 40th
- cost dimension percentile
- 55th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · LOWER · BALANCED · signature composite
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood: bottom-third composite — where the drag concentrates
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood sits in the bottom third of the metro corpus on composite (#263 of 387, 45.5/100, 32nd percentile). Stamps LOWER · BALANCED; Environment at 10/100 is the main drag; Childcare (82/100) keeps the floor. Cost/wage marks DEAR/MID. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI ranks #263 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #233 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 95.5 (rent-RPP 86.6). BLS median salary $64,968, 584,240 jobs (Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,334/mo (studio $1,010).
FBI UCR (MI): 431 violent, 1395 property/100K. NCES: 16.7:1 ratio, 10.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,444/yr. EPA: 90 Superfund sites (MI).
Where Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
46 32nd percentile higher than 32% of 387 US metros
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, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · August 2026
How the 45.5 is built
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are MI state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood With...
Ranking Context
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood outranks 32% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #260 | Spartanburg, SC | 45.7 | C+ |
| #261 | Morristown, TN | 45.7 | C+ |
| #262 | Bakersfield-Delano, CA | 45.7 | C+ |
| #263 | Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | 45.5 | C+ |
| #264 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 45.5 | C |
| #265 | Albany, OR | 45.4 | C |
| #266 | Eugene-Springfield, OR | 45.4 | C |
Quality vs. Affordability
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI's quality rank (bottom 32% lowest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 40% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
MI Metro Scores
Read with Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood (LOWER · BALANCED · DEAR/MID), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Memphis, TN-MS-AR
ABS(composite) peer at 45.5 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · BALANCED · DEAR/MID.
Albany, OR
ABS(composite) peer at 45.4 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · BALANCED · DEAR/MID.
Eugene-Springfield, OR
ABS(composite) peer at 45.4 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · BALANCED · DEAR/MID.
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
ABS(composite) peer at 45.4 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · BALANCED · DEAR/MID.
Albuquerque, NM (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 40/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's DEAR.
Salisbury, MD (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 40/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for LOWER · BALANCED · DEAR/MID - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood's bottom-third Life Score
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood scores 45.5/100 overall, but Childcare (81.8) and Environment (10.1) sit 71.7 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Childcare is the strongest of Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood's seven dimensions (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Environment is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Battle Creek is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Battle Creek
A low composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can still be strong.