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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.
The Cheapest Neighborhoods In Grand Rapids For 2022
What's the cheapest neighborhood to live in Grand Rapids for 2022? According to the most recent census data, Westside Connection 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
- Cheapest Places To Live In Michigan
- Cheapest Cities To Live In America
- Cheapest States To Live In America
The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Grand Rapids For 2022
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Population: 11,538
Cost Of Living Index: 84 (5th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.3 (11th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.006 (3rd cheapest)
More on Westside Connection: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 665
Cost Of Living Index: 87 (14th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.1 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.004 (2nd cheapest)
More on Cherry Run: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 5,914
Cost Of Living Index: 84 (5th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.4 (13th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.011 (5th cheapest)
More on Millbrook: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 2,004
Cost Of Living Index: 85 (8th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.4 (12th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.012 (6th cheapest)
More on Fuller Avenue: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 3,926
Cost Of Living Index: 86 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.0 (3rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.018 (16th cheapest)
More on Midtown: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 4,188
Cost Of Living Index: 87 (14th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.1 (5th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.013 (11th cheapest)
More on Alger Heights: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 6,573
Cost Of Living Index: 83 (2nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.8 (cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.026 (28th cheapest)
More on Roosevelt Park: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 16,114
Cost Of Living Index: 85 (8th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.0 (2nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.024 (27th cheapest)
More on Garfield Park: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 1,169
Cost Of Living Index: 90 (22nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.2 (8th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.013 (9th cheapest)
More on Fulton Heights: Homes For Sale | Data
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Population: 1,783
Cost Of Living Index: 88 (16th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.4 (14th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.013 (10th cheapest)
More on Eastgate: Homes For Sale | Data
Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest Grand Rapids Hoods In 2022
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 32 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, Westside Connection.
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.
Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live 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:
- Most Dangerous Places 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 2022
Rank | Neighborhood | Cost Of Living Index |
---|---|---|
1 | Westside Connection | 84 |
2 | Cherry Run | 87 |
3 | Millbrook | 84 |
4 | Fuller Avenue | 85 |
5 | Midtown | 86 |
6 | Alger Heights | 87 |
7 | Roosevelt Park | 83 |
8 | Garfield Park | 85 |
9 | Fulton Heights | 90 |
10 | Eastgate | 88 |
11 | South Hill | 87 |
12 | Creston | 90 |
13 | Highland Park | 87 |
14 | Oakdale | 86 |
15 | West Grand | 86 |
16 | South East Community | 83 |
17 | South East End | 88 |
18 | John Ball Park | 89 |
19 | Auburn Hill | 89 |
20 | Madison Area | 84 |
21 | Michgan Oaks | 96 |
22 | Black Hills | 83 |
23 | Norteast Citizens Action | 94 |
24 | Ottawa Hills | 94 |
25 | Swan | 89 |
26 | Eastown | 96 |
27 | Ridgemoor | 101 |
28 | Belknap Lookout | 94 |
29 | Heritage Hill | 96 |
30 | East Hills | 91 |
31 | Baxter | 89 |
32 | Heartside | 102 |