These Are The 10 Best Neighborhoods In Grand Rapids, MI For 2018

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Do you like your neighborhood? Is it friendly, and where everyone knows their neighbors? No matter if you live in the sticks or in an apartment building in downtown Grand Rapids, you have a little pocket that you can call home. And each neighborhood is different.

Smaller neighborhoods usually have obvious benefits — less crime, a slower pace of life, and a lower cost of living. But not all Grand Rapids neighborhoods are created equal. Some are better than others. But which ones?

Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and find out which neighborhoods in Grand Rapids are the best. If you’re in one of the places we’re about to highlight, odds are you know you’ve got it made.

Here are the best neighborhoods in Grand Rapids for 2018:

Read on to see how we determined the places around Grand Rapids that deserve a little bragging rights or maybe you’re interested in the worst neighborhoods in Grand Rapids.

If you’re thinking of moving to elsewhere in Michigan check out:

How do you determine the top neighborhoods in Grand Rapids for 2018?

In order to rank the best neighborhoods in Grand Rapids, we had to determine what criteria defines a ‘best’.

Using crime, census, and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:

High incomes
Low unemployment rates
Low crime
High home prices
High population densities (A proxy for things to do)

10 Most Dangerous Places in Michigan

We limited the analysis to neighborhoods with over 1,000 people.

We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 27 in each category, where 1 was the best.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a best neighborhood index.

And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest best neighborhood index the ‘Best City Neighborhood In Grand Rapids.’ We’re lookin’ at you, Ridgemoor.

Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in the best places Grand Rapids has to offer. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city from best to worst.

1. Ridgemoor

Population: 2,586
Median Income: $70,660
Median Home Value: $168,400

More on Ridgemoor: Real Estate | Data

2. Eastown

Source: Public domain

Population: 5,254
Median Income: $57,108
Median Home Value: $145,125

Eastown is a 70 square block area of Grand Rapids, Michigan. It has been described by some as the Greenwich Village of Grand Rapids. It is considered by many in the Grand Rapids area as somewhat of a liberal oasis in a rather conservative area.
More on Eastown: Real Estate | Data

3. East Hills

Population: 3,441
Median Income: $41,754
Median Home Value: $127,950

More on East Hills: Real Estate | Data

4. Michgan Oaks

Population: 1,625
Median Income: $56,875
Median Home Value: $173,700

More on Michgan Oaks: Real Estate | Data

5. Westside Connection

Population: 12,009
Median Income: $53,025
Median Home Value: $126,533

More on Westside Connection: Real Estate | Data

6. Heartside

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 2,847
Median Income: $28,175
Median Home Value: $159,883

Heartside is a neighborhood located near downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. Heartside district is a developing area in the city known for its art. It has restaurants, a park with a playground and splash-pad, and a recently opened farmer’s market. However, it also has experienced much urban decay, features numerous abandoned buildings, and contains a large presence of homelessness.
More on Heartside: Real Estate | Data

7. Norteast Citizens Action

Population: 10,830
Median Income: $51,769
Median Home Value: $147,625

More on Norteast Citizens Action: Real Estate | Data

8. Millbrook

Population: 5,378
Median Income: $43,321
Median Home Value: $101,380

More on Millbrook: Real Estate | Data

9. Heritage Hill

Source: Public domain

Population: 3,295
Median Income: $35,529
Median Home Value: $155,350

Heritage Hill is a neighborhood in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is one of the largest urban historic districts in the United States. It is bound by Crescent Street, Union Avenue, Pleasant Street, and Lafayette Avenue. Its 1,300 homes date from 1843 and represent Michigan’s largest and finest concentration of nineteenth and early twentieth-century houses. Nearly every style of American architecture, from Greek Revival to Prairie is represented. These were the homes of lumber barons, teachers, judges, and legislators who shaped the citys future. Heritage Hill was designated by the American Planning Association as one of 2012’s Great Places in America.
More on Heritage Hill: Real Estate | Data

10. Belknap Lookout

Source: Flickr User docksidepress | CC BY 2.0

Population: 5,120
Median Income: $37,780
Median Home Value: $136,100

The name ‘Belknap Lookout’ has two separate derivations. The word Belknap comes from the surname of Charles E. Belknap. Belknap was a Grand Rapids resident who came home from the Civil War in 1871 to serve Grand Rapids as the first commissioner of the Boy Scouts of America, as mayor in 1884 and as a U.S. congressman in 1888. The word Lookout comes from what is perhaps the neighborhood’s most prominent feature, Belknap Hill: a 160 ft high bluff overlooking the downtown of the City of Grand Rapids.
More on Belknap Lookout: Real Estate | Data

Putting A Bow On Our Analysis Of Grand Rapids

If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Grand Rapids where crime is low and everyone wants to live, this is an accurate list.

If you’re curious, here are the worst places in Grand Rapids:

Oakdale
South East Community
John Ball Park

For more reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Neighborhoods In Grand Rapids

Rank	Neighborhood	Population	Home Prices	Crimes Per 100k	Unemployment Rate
1	Ridgemoor	2,586	$168,400	1,215	4.5%
2	Eastown	5,254	$145,125	2,287	8.7%
3	East Hills	3,441	$127,950	2,495	5.7%
4	Michgan Oaks	1,625	$173,700	1,279	4.7%
5	Westside Connection	12,009	$126,533	2,333	3.5%
6	Heartside	2,847	$159,883	1,876	10.0%
7	Norteast Citizens Action	10,830	$147,625	2,071	5.4%
8	Millbrook	5,378	$101,380	2,561	3.3%
9	Heritage Hill	3,295	$155,350	2,219	5.8%
10	Belknap Lookout	5,120	$136,100	2,059	7.6%
11	Fulton Heights	1,146	$118,500	2,312	6.4%
12	West Grand	15,784	$90,344	3,226	10.5%
13	Midtown	3,968	$94,750	3,140	4.3%
14	Creston	24,483	$105,833	2,914	6.5%
15	Alger Heights	3,984	$102,750	3,014	6.3%
16	Fuller Avenue	1,998	$93,825	3,529	13.1%
17	Eastgate	1,903	$114,933	2,752	9.1%
18	Garfield Park	15,811	$70,556	3,968	10.2%
19	Swan	4,806	$93,314	2,935	9.6%
20	Highland Park	3,539	$80,500	3,432	7.6%
21	Roosevelt Park	6,095	$55,280	4,379	10.3%
22	Madison Area	3,359	$68,600	3,941	11.9%
23	South East End	5,170	$93,214	3,308	9.5%
24	Baxter	2,652	$90,067	3,749	6.6%
25	John Ball Park	3,813	$86,700	3,291	7.2%
26	South East Community	3,730	$69,633	4,012	14.9%
27	Oakdale	2,069	$80,075	3,674	9.9%