The 10 Cheapest Grand Rapids, MI Neighborhoods To Live In For 2022


We used science and data to determine which neighborhoods in Grand Rapids are the cheapest of the cheap.

HomeSnacks is reader-supported. When you click through real estate links on our site, we earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.

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.

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:

The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Grand Rapids For 2022

1. Westside Connection

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

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

2. Cherry Run

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

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

3. Millbrook

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

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

4. Fuller Avenue

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

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

5. Midtown

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

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

6. Alger Heights

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

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

7. Roosevelt Park

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

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

8. Garfield Park

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

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

9. Fulton Heights

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

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

10. Eastgate

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

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:

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

Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2022. This is our third time ranking the cheapest neighborhoods to live in Grand Rapids.

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

 Affordable, Rankings