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Grand Rapids, Michigan is the largest city in the Metropolitan Region that includes Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon counties. Kent County population is estimated at 596,841 and is part of a Combined Statistical Area (CSA) that includes Kent, Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Muskegon, Newaygo, and Ottawa counties. Population for the West Michigan CSA is approximately 1,311,364.

Population (year 2000): 197,800, Est. population in June 2006: 195,100 (-1.4% change)
Land area: 44.6 square miles
Zip codes: 49503, 49504, 49505, 49506, 49507, 49508, 49509, 49512, 49525, 49534, 49544, 49546, 49548.
Median resident age: 30.4 years
Median household income: $37,224 (year 2000)
Median house value: $91,400 (year 2000)
Mean travel time to work: 19.2 minutes

Ancestries:
Dutch (15.7%), German (13.8%), Irish (8.6%), Polish (7.8%), English (6.9%)
Current Racial Diversity:
White Non-Hispanic (62.5%)
Black (20.4%)
Hispanic (13.1%)
Other race (6.6%)
Two or more races (3.2%)
American Indian (1.5%)
Vietnamese (0.8%)
(Total can be greater than 100% because Hispanics could be counted in other races)
10.5% Foreign born (6.5% Latin America, 1.7% Europe, 1.6% Asia).

Education:
High school education or higher: 78.0%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 23.8%
Graduate or professional degree: 8.0%

Marital Status:
Never married: 36.7%
Now married: 44.2%
Separated: 1.8%
Widowed: 6.6%
Divorced: 10.6%


Grand Rapids Michigan is the second largest Michigan city and 48th in size among all U.S. cities. Grand Rapids is the largest city in the Metropolitan Region that encompasses Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon counties.

Grand Rapids is less than three hours from Chicago by car and approximately two hours from Detroit. The Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) is serviced by Northwest Airlines (NWA), American Airlines (AA), and receives daily flights from many major cities including Chicago, New York and Toronto (which allows it to be called an 'international airport"). Amtrak also provides service from Grand Rapids to Chicago, Detroit and other major Midwestern cities. Greyhound bus service is available from the downtown station. There are also two car ferries for crossing Lake Michigan to Wisconsin. Car ferries depart from Ludington and Grand Haven daily according to seasonal schedules.

It recently was named by the Governor of Michigan as one of the state's "cool cities" and has been featured in a PBS documentary on new and upcoming cities.

In 2004, the city of Grand Rapids Michigan, was ranked in the top 10 'most livable" and inviting mid-sized cities in the U.S. because of its vitality, public services, community amenities and growth.

There are an estimated 630 lakes and rivers around the Grand Rapids area to sail on, power boat, water ski or ride your personal water craft on. Nearly 100 marinas, charters, boat outlets and repair shops operate within a 25 mile radius of Grand Rapids.

The Grand Rapids area has something for everyone weather-wise. Temperatures can range from -10 degrees in winter to a scorching 100 degrees in summer. Usual summer temperatures come in at a respectable 72 to 80 degrees. Average winter snowfall measures up at about 52 inches per year. The best part of weather in Grand Rapids, is that it is influenced by Lake Michigan and change rapidly from sun, to thunder showers and back again to sun in a single afternoon.