Grand Rapids, MN
Micro Area Profile
45,275 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Grand Rapids, MN micropolitan area.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 9 sourcesEmployment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 6.1% and the Opportunity signal places Grand Rapids in the bottom 15%.
In the public schools here, 47% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.8 students for every teacher.
Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 297 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 168% on the prior year.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 6.1% — higher than in all but 7% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.
Employment fell 2.6% over the past year, to 19,864 employed residents.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income ±$4,0972024 ACS 5-Year | $68,603 | Top 44%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$1,3662024 ACS 5-Year | $37,533 | Top 40%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 11.8% | Top 41%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±0.8 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 25.2 min | Bottom 37%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 25.9% | Top 47%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 76.3% | 42nd percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJuly 2026 | 19,864 | Bottom 24%of 835 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)July 2026 | −0.5% | Bottom 46%of 835 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)July 2026 | −2.6% | Bottom 15%of 835 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJuly 2026 | 21,162 | 25th percentileof 835 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 75.3% | Bottom 42%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.0% | 82nd percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026 | +0.4% | Bottom 19%of 835 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJuly 2026 | 6.1% | Bottom 7%of 835 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 9.5% | 58th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Unemployment rate
47% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 61% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 14.8 students for every full-time teacher across 20 public schools, more than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Rapids Senior High | GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT | 1,091 | 19.8 | 47% | 66% |
| Robert J. Elkington Middle School | GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT | 764 | 17.4 | 55% | 64% |
| East Rapids Elementary | GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT | 639 | 16.8 | — | — |
| West Rapids Elementary | GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT | 612 | 17.5 | — | — |
| Deer River Secondary | DEER RIVER PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT | 425 | 10.9 | 33% | 52% |
| King Elementary | DEER RIVER PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT | 390 | 8.7 | 52% | 57% |
| Vandyke Elementary | GREENWAY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT | 377 | 13.0 | 67% | 57% |
| Keewatin-Nashwauk Elementary School | NASHWAUK-KEEWATIN SCHOOL DISTRICT | 313 | 12.5 | 47% | 52% |
| Cohasset Elementary | GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT | 312 | 18.4 | 67% | 62% |
| Greenway Senior High | GREENWAY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT | 271 | 13.6 | 22% | 72% |
| Greenway Middle | GREENWAY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT | 244 | 16.3 | 49% | 61% |
| Nashwauk Secondary | NASHWAUK-KEEWATIN SCHOOL DISTRICT | 228 | 13.4 | 42% | 52% |
48.0% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Minnesota’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,945 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.86% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,074, some 9% above the $988 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,074 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $43,000 a year, about 63% of the median household income here of $68,603.
The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $988 a month.
A median home at $225,200 costs 3.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $76,116, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.
The figures above are measured against Grand Rapids’s median household income of $68,603, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year | 3.0 | Bottom 35%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 83.0% | 99th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±1152024 ACS 5-Year | 25,679 | 39th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $860 | Top 42%of 818 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,401 | Top 45%of 818 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,074 | Top 44%of 818 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$482024 ACS 5-Year | $988 | Bottom 48%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$6,2152024 ACS 5-Year | $225,200 | 55th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$662024 ACS 5-Year | $1,945 | 49th percentileof 933 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$3,5542024 ACS 5-Year | $76,116 | Bottom 35%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.86% | 55th percentileof 932 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 33.2% | Bottom 9%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±3532024 ACS 5-Year | 6,021 | 85th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 23.4% | 97th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 4.3% | 10th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±3802024 ACS 5-Year | 7,138 | 65th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
Population has grown 1% since 2020, reaching 45,442 in 2024.
At 6.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metro and micro areas.
Population, annual estimates
Weather & climate
4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 77°F and January a low of -5°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 31.1 inches, including 64.1 inches of snow.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 31.1" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals | 64.1" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | -5°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 77°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 4 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 61°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and strong wind, with inland flooding alone responsible for 45% of it. Cold wave and strong wind are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.
Overall hazard risk is lower than 88% of measured US metro and micro areas.
Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, strong wind, landslide, heat wave, lightning, winter weather, hail, wildfire, drought, tornado, ice storm, earthquake, avalanche, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, hurricane.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Reported crime
- Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
- Cost of living
- Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
- Death-certificate rates
- The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
- Air quality
- The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Duluth Intl at 80 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 88.5% | Bottom 48%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 80 mi | Bottom 12%of 835 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 1 | Bottom 4%of 835 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year | 8.6% | Bottom 49%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duluth Intl | DLH | 80 mi | 10,591 ft |
| Hector Intl | FAR | 155 mi | 9,001 ft |
| Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-Chamberlain | MSP | 181 mi | 11,006 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyData & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.