Everything else equal, I think we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.
I’d much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I’d rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.
And while every neighbhorhood in Grand Rapids might be more expensive than living in rural Michigan, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.
So what exactly are those Grand Rapids neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further — you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?
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 cheapest.
Here are the cheapest neighborhoods in Grand Rapids for 2020:
What’s the cheapest neighborhood to live in Grand Rapids for 2020? According to the most recent census data, Cherry Run looks to be the cheaptest Grand Rapids neighborhood to live in.
At this point we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for — some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Grand Rapids. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates in return for more space and cheaper groceries.
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.
Once you’re done, you can look at the bottom of the story for a complete chart of every neighborhood we looked at from cheapest to most expensive.
For more Michigan reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Michigan
- Best Counties To Live In Michigan
- Cheapest Cities To Live In America
- Cheapest States To Live In America
How We Determined The Cheapest Grand Rapids Hoods In 2020
In order to rank the cheapest places to live in Grand Rapids, we had to determine what criteria defines “cheap”.
Using census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:
- Overall Cost Of Living
- Rent To Income Ratio
- Median Home Value To Income Ratio
We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 31 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.
And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index the “Cheapest City Neighborhood In Grand Rapids.” We’re lookin’ at you, Cherry Run.
Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in the cheapest places Grand Rapids. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city from cheapest to most expensive.
The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Grand Rapids For 2020
/10
Population: 665
Cost Of Living Index: 86 (11th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.1 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.004 (1st cheapest)
More on Cherry Run: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Cherry Run comes in at $66,020 and the median home value is $137,000 for 2020.
/10
Population: 2,004
Cost Of Living Index: 84 (5th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.4 (12th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.012 (5th cheapest)
More on Fuller Avenue: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Fuller Avenue comes in at $42,868 and the median home value is $103,225 for 2020.
/10
Population: 11,538
Cost Of Living Index: 86 (11th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.3 (11th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.006 (2nd cheapest)
More on Westside Connection: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Westside Connection comes in at $56,785 and the median home value is $131,722 for 2020.
/10
Population: 4,188
Cost Of Living Index: 86 (11th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.1 (5th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.013 (10th cheapest)
More on Alger Heights: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Alger Heights comes in at $49,986 and the median home value is $103,900 for 2020.
/10
Population: 5,914
Cost Of Living Index: 86 (11th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.4 (13th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.011 (4th cheapest)
More on Millbrook: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Millbrook comes in at $47,338 and the median home value is $115,040 for 2020.
/10
Population: 6,573
Cost Of Living Index: 82 (2nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.8 (1st cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.026 (27th cheapest)
More on Roosevelt Park: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Roosevelt Park comes in at $30,715 and the median home value is $55,380 for 2020.
/10
Population: 3,926
Cost Of Living Index: 87 (15th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.0 (3rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.018 (15th cheapest)
More on Midtown: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Midtown comes in at $47,443 and the median home value is $96,925 for 2020.
/10
Population: 16,114
Cost Of Living Index: 84 (5th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.0 (2nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.024 (26th cheapest)
More on Garfield Park: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Garfield Park comes in at $35,081 and the median home value is $69,967 for 2020.
/10
Population: 1,169
Cost Of Living Index: 91 (22nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.2 (8th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.013 (8th cheapest)
More on Fulton Heights: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Fulton Heights comes in at $61,838 and the median home value is $136,800 for 2020.
/10
Population: 25,177
Cost Of Living Index: 88 (18th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.3 (10th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.016 (11th cheapest)
More on Creston: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Creston comes in at $48,193 and the median home value is $110,833 for 2020.
Summing Up The Cheapest Places In Grand Rapids
If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Grand Rapids where prices are low and it’s cheap to live, this is an accurate list.
As we mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Grand Rapids aren’t all cheap. Heartside takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Grand Rapids.
We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.
For more Michigan reading, check out:
- Cheapest Places To Live In Michigan
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Michigan
- Best Places To Retire In Michigan
- Richest Cities In Michigan
- Safest Places In Michigan
- Worst Places To Live In Michigan
Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Grand Rapids For 2020
| Rank | Neighborhood | Cost Of Living Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cherry Run | 86 |
| 2 | Fuller Avenue | 84 |
| 3 | Westside Connection | 86 |
| 4 | Alger Heights | 86 |
| 5 | Millbrook | 86 |
| 6 | Roosevelt Park | 82 |
| 7 | Midtown | 87 |
| 8 | Garfield Park | 84 |
| 9 | Fulton Heights | 91 |
| 10 | Creston | 88 |
| 11 | Oakdale | 84 |
| 12 | South Hill | 87 |
| 13 | Highland Park | 86 |
| 14 | Eastgate | 90 |
| 15 | West Grand | 85 |
| 16 | South East End | 87 |
| 17 | John Ball Park | 88 |
| 18 | South East Community | 84 |
| 19 | Michgan Oaks | 94 |
| 20 | Madison Area | 84 |
| 21 | Black Hills | 80 |
| 22 | Ottawa Hills | 93 |
| 23 | Norteast Citizens Action | 94 |
| 24 | Swan | 88 |
| 25 | Eastown | 96 |
| 26 | Ridgemoor | 100 |
| 27 | Belknap Lookout | 94 |
| 28 | East Hills | 92 |
| 29 | Heritage Hill | 95 |
| 30 | Baxter | 88 |
| 31 | Heartside | 101 |
