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Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River and is approximately 30 miles from Lake Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 197,800, making it the 114th largest city in the United States. In 2009, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 778,009 and a Combined Statistical Area population of 1,327,336. It is the county seat of Kent County, Michigan, second largest city in Michigan (after Detroit), and the largest city in West Michigan. The major industry in Grand Rapids once having been furniture production, it is nicknamed the "Furniture City". However, the city and surrounding communities are more economically diverse today, and contribute heavily to the health care, automotive, and consumer goods manufacturing industries, among others.

Grand Rapids Cityscape
The city skyline shows the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel which reopened in 1981 after extensive renovations done by Marvin DeWinter & Associates including the addition of a 29 story glass tower. The Pantlind was fashioned after English Adams architecture by designers Warren & Westmore and in its prime was rated as one of the top ten hotels in the US. The hotel is home to several well-known restaurants in Grand Rapids, such as Cygnus and the 1913 Room, Michigan's only AAA Five Diamond Award restaurant.

The hotel is owned by Amway Hotel Collection, a subsidiary of Amway's holding company Alticor.

Other prominent skyscrapers include the JW Marriott Grand Rapids, the first JW Marriott Hotel in the Midwest. It is themed from the array of Grand Rapids Sister cities: Omihachiman, Japan; Bielsko-Biala, Poland; Perugia, Italy; Ga District, Ghana; and Zapopan, Mexico. When the hotel was first opened, Amway Hotel corporation hired photographer Dan Watts to travel to each of the sister cities and photograph them for the property. Each floor of the hotel features photography from one of the cities and is unique to that floor. The cities repeat themselves up the 23 floors.

Grand Rapids Economy
Grand Rapids has long been a center for furniture and automobile manufacturing; however, the presence of both industries has declined in the region along with manufacturing in general. American Seating, Steelcase, Haworth and Herman Miller, major manufacturers of office furniture, are based in the Grand Rapids area.

In 1880, Sligh Furniture Company started manufacturing furniture. In 1881, the Furniture Manufacturers Association (FMA) was organized in Grand Rapids, it was apparently the first furniture manufacturing advocacy group in the country. Also since 1912, Kindel Furniture Company, and since 1922, the Hekman/Woodmark Furniture Company, have been designing and manufacturing traditional American furniture in Grand Rapids. All of these companies are still producing furniture today.

More recently the city has had some success in developing and attracting businesses focusing on the health sciences, with facilities such as the Van Andel Research Institute (primarily focused on cancer research), Grand Valley State University's Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences (undergraduate and graduate health-related programs, doctorate program in Physical Therapy, Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP)), and Michigan State University's new Grand Rapids based Medical School. Nearly a billion dollars has been spent on new and expanded facilities (including the Spectrum Health Cancer Pavilion, the Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children's Hospital and an addition to the Van Andel Institute, which will more than double its space. Most of these buildings are located in the Michigan Street medical corridor, and is commonly known as "Medical Mile." Employment opportunities thrive and the growth has developed specialized health science employment groups to facilitate the influx, such as the Medical Mile Group.

The Grand Rapids area is also home to a number of well known companies that include; Alticor/Amway (a consumer goods manufacturer and distributor), Highlight Industries (an industry leader in stretch wrap equipment), Spartan Stores (a food distributor and grocery store chain), Foremost Insurance Company (a specialty lines insurance company), Meijer (a regional supercenter chain), GE Aviation (formerly Smiths Industries, an aerospace products company), Wolverine World Wide (a designer and manufacturer of shoes, boots and clothing), MC Sports, Inc. (a regional sports retail chain), Universal Forest Products (a building materials company), and Schuler Books & Music, one of the largest independent bookstores in the country.

The city is also known as a center of Christian publishing, home to Zondervan, Baker Books, Kregel Publications, and Eerdmans Publishing.

The surrounding area is noted for its fruit production. Due to its close proximity to Lake Michigan the climate is considered prime for apple, peach, and blueberry farming.

In recent years, the convention business has seen an increase following the construction of the DeVos Place Convention Center.

In 2010 Grand Rapids was named the "most sustainable midsize city in the U.S." by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Civic Leadership Center and Siemens Corp. Grand Rapids was chosen over finalist cities Davenport, Iowa and Hoover, Alabama.

Grand Rapids Education
Grand Rapids is home to several colleges and universities. Aquinas College, Calvin College, Cornerstone University, Grace Bible College, and Kuyper College are private, religious schools, each with a campus within the city. Grand Rapids Community College maintains a campus downtown and facilities in other parts of the city and surrounding region. Grand Valley State University with its main campus located in nearby Allendale, continues to develop its presence in the city with its expanding downtown Pew campus, begun in the 1980s on the west bank of the Grand River. GVSU's downtown campus currently consists of 33 acres in two locations and is home to 11 buildings and three leased spaces. ITT Technical Institute offers a variety of technical programs. Ferris State University has a growing campus downtown, including the Applied Technology Center (operated with GRCC) and the Kendall College of Art and Design. Thomas M. Cooley Law School, a private institution, has a campus in Grand Rapids. Davenport University, a state-wide educational institution, has its main campus in Grand Rapids as well as several satellite locations. Western Michigan University has a long-standing graduate program in the city, with facilities downtown and in the southeast. Clinical Pastoral Education is also offered at Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services in nearby Cutlerville, Michigan. Northwood University a private university has a satellite campus located in downtown near the "medical mile" Northwood's main campus is located in Midland, MI.

K-12 public education is provided by the Grand Rapids Public Schools as well as a number of charter schools. Grand Rapids is home of the oldest co-educational Catholic high school in the United States, Catholic Central High School.

In 2006, there was an active movement among community leaders to have Michigan State University open a new medical school in Grand Rapids. Michigan State University College of Human Medicine expanded into downtown Grand Rapids. The College of Human Medicine is one of three fully accredited four-year medical schools at MSU, along with the College of Osteopathic Medicine and College of Veterinary Medicine. On April 21, 2008, the Secchia Center medical education building, a $90 million, seven-story, 180,000-square-foot facility, began construction at Michigan Street hill and Division Avenue. The facility will open in the summer of 2010.

Grand Rapids MI Area Information

Grand Rapids MI Community Characteristics and Facts

Total Crime Risk: 146.0 (100 = National Average)
Population: 192,371
Population Growth Since 2000: -2.74%
Annual Max Avg. Temperature: 57 F
Annual Min Avg. Temperature: 38 F
Male Median Age: 29.3 years
Female Median Age: 32.3 years
Median Household Income: $46,005
Highest Education Level Attained: High School 26.37%, Bachelors 18.41%, Grad School 9.77%

Community Demographics

Grand Rapids MI Demographics Summary

Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Demographic Information FAQ

Grand Rapids MI Crime Rate Indexes

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2010 Population Growth and Population Statistics	Grand Rapids, MI		Michigan
Total Population	192,371		9,957,837
Square Miles	59.51		56,803.82
Population Density	3,232.80		175.30
Population Change Since 1990	4.85%		7.14%
Population Change Since 2000	-2.74%		0.20%
Forecasted Population Change by 2014	-1.11%		-1.34%
Population Male	94,614	49.18%	4,925,999	49.47%
Population Female	97,757	50.82%	5,031,838	50.53%
Median Age	30.80		36.10

Grand Rapids MI Population Growth and Population Statistics

Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Demographic Information FAQ

2010 Weather Summary	Grand Rapids, MI	Michigan
Weather Index	10	13
Annual Maximum Avg. Temperature	57.0 °F	54.0 °F
Annual Minimum Avg. Temperature	38.0 °F	35.0 °F
Annual Avg. Temperature	47.2 °F	44.2 °F
Annual Heating Degree Days (Tot Degrees < 65)	6,973	7,909
Annual Cooling Degree Days (Tot Degrees > 65)	534	358
Percent of Possible Sunshine	46	49
Mean Sky Cover (Sunrise to Sunset - Out of 10)	7	7
Mean Number of Days Clear (Out of 365 Days)	64	68
Mean Number of Days Rain (Out of 365 Days)	145	149
Mean Number of Days Snow (Out of 365 Days)	23	28
Avg. Annual Precipitation (Total Inches)	34.00"	32.00"
Avg. Annual Snowfall (Total Inches)	72.00"	85.00"