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Compare towns

Grand Rapids vs Walker

Next-door neighbors. The biggest differences: size (7.8× in Grand Rapids) and street grid (3.7× in Grand Rapids).

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Grand Rapids, MIA history townMichigan · 198,535 people
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Walker, MIHomes around $359KMichigan · 25,386 people
Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

The biggest differences

Where they part ways

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

★ What stands out · Report cards

Walker places higher on 14 of 22 MI lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Michigan ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Monthly cost

A typical home costs $280 more a month in Walker

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Grand Rapids$1,870/mo
Typical home $307K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.02% · or rent about $1,266/mo · Housing →
Walker$2,150/mo
Typical home $359K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.91% · or rent about $1,202/mo · Housing →

The difference: $280 a month, about $3,400 a year, between Walker and Grand Rapids.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Where they are

Grand Rapids and Walker share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

Grand RapidsWalkerGrand RapidsWalker
Grand Rapids ↔ Walker5.6 miles apart · They share a border
Who commutes between them
3,616 Grand Rapids residents work in Walker (4.4% of its workers)
3,117 Walker residents work in Grand Rapids (27.6% of its workers)
Work & commute in Grand Rapids →
Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons
Grand RapidsWalker
Snow a year75″75″
January low17°F17°F
July high82°F82°F
Growing season (days)157d157d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)43rd8th
Outdoors & history
Grand RapidsWalker
Conserved land6.3%9.9%
Settled18261962
National Register places47—
Archive photos18—
Famous people born here531
Community
Grand RapidsWalker
Library hours a week69 hrs55 hrs
Colleges in town5—
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined00

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Grand RapidsWalker
People
Population 198,535Highest 25,386Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +5.8%Lowest MI: +2% +6.8%Highest MI: +2%
Median age 32.3±0.3Lowest 20% below MI 36.9±2.1Highest 8% below MI
Kids under 18 21%±0.7Highest MI: 21.2% 20.4%±2.2Lowest MI: 21.2%
Grand Rapids and Walker are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 12.9%±0.6Lowest MI: 18.6% 18.3%±2.2Highest MI: 18.6%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 41.6%Highest MI: 32.4% 38.6%Lowest MI: 32.4%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 8%±0.5Highest MI: 6.1% 6%±1.2Lowest MI: 6.1%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $69,108±$2kLowest 5% below MI $76,360±$5kHighest 5% above MI
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $244,500±$3kLowest 6% above MI $295,200±$14kHighest 27% above MI
Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,266±$35Highest 12% above MI $1,202±$40Lowest 6% above MI
Grand Rapids and Walker are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly $2,493Lowest 14% below MI $2,698Highest 7% below MI
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 49.1%±2.9Highest MI: 50.4% 43.4%±9.5Lowest MI: 50.4%
Grand Rapids and Walker are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 16.9%Highest MI: 13.2% 7.6%Lowest MI: 13.2%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 54%Lowest MI: 73.2% 65.2%Highest MI: 73.2%
Typical home builtmedian year 1953Lowest 19 yrs older than MI 1984Highest 12 yrs newer than MI
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 19 minLowest 21% below MI 20 minHighest 17% below MI
Work from home 13.9%±0.8Highest MI: 13.5% 10%±2.1Lowest MI: 13.5%
Work in townworking residents 33.8%Highest 10.8%Lowest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 6.3 miLowest 8.3 miHighest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.56Lowest 2.12Highest
Top workplaceoutside town Kentwood (8%)Grand Rapids (28%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others 4% work in Walker28% work in Grand Rapids
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 6.3%Lowest 9.9%Highest
Trailsmapped miles 43.2 miHighest 24.8 miLowest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.0 mi 1.0 mi
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 76Highest 12Lowest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 99.8Highest 27.0Lowest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #442 of 493 in MI#99 of 493 in MI
School district William C. Abney Academy · Grand Rapids Child Discovery CenterGrand Rapids Public Schools · Grandville Public Schools
High school in town City High Middle SchoolNone in town
Students per teacherat that high school 22.1 —
Michigan average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024
Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Grand Rapids neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Grand Rapids’s Town Square.

Walker neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Walker’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Bordering Grand Rapids

Towns like Grand Rapids

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

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