Grand Haven, Michigan

Area Profile

10,996 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Grand Haven, in Ottawa County.

64out of 100
Area Score
Top 31% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity3,625th of 4,199 cities measured37
SchoolsTop 9% of 4,162 cities measured82
Growth2,542nd of 4,224 cities measured46
Housing affordabilityTop 37% of 4,218 cities measured71
Climate2,933rd of 4,225 cities measured64
Physical resilienceTop 3% of 4,226 cities measured95
Access3,284th of 4,226 cities measured81
Economic stability3,039th of 4,226 cities measured45
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 4.1% and the Opportunity signal places Grand Haven in the bottom 14%. The unemployment rate is published for Ottawa County, MI, which contains Grand Haven, rather than for Grand Haven alone.

Public schools test above most of the state: 59% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 9% of published profiles for schools.

Rent takes 30% of renter income here, at the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.2 times what its owners earn.

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

Population
10,996
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$60,669
Bottom 40% nationally
Density
1,921/sq mi
5.7 sq mi of land
Median age
46.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Michigan
Nearest major airport
GRR
37 mi · Gerald R Ford Intl
Median home value
$250,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Ottawa County, MI, which contains Grand Haven, is 4.1%, lower than in 58% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Ottawa County, MI, which contains Grand Haven, fell 6.2% over the past year, to 147,681 employed residents.

37% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 78% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsOttawa County, MI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$71,02247th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftOttawa County, MI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$64,77134th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$5,5232024 ACS 5-Year$60,669Bottom 40%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,9602024 ACS 5-Year$40,528Top 31%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year14.6%Bottom 36%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year18.6 minTop 13%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year36.7%Top 22%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year76.2%47th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentOttawa County, MI’s figureJuly 2026147,681Top 38%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Ottawa County, MI’s figureJuly 2026−7.5%Bottom 1%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Ottawa County, MI’s figureJuly 2026−6.2%Bottom 1%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceOttawa County, MI’s figureJuly 2026154,00663rd percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year74.6%Bottom 38%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageGrand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$60,660Bottom 17%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageGrand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$47,570Bottom 21%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%82nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Ottawa County, MI’s figureJuly 2026−0.7%Top 19%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateOttawa County, MI’s figureJuly 20264.1%Top 42%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year11.0%64th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202461k53k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $60,669 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators19,540$39,120
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand18,840$36,130
Registered Nurses13,740$83,920
Fast Food and Counter Workers13,190$28,240
Retail Salespersons12,600$34,800
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners11,490$35,890

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Ottawa County, MI, which contains this city.

59% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 69% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.5 students for every full-time teacher across 10 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
11
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.5
across 10 of them
Math proficiency
59.3%
Top 11% in Michigan
Reading proficiency
69.4%
Top 10% in Michigan
All 11 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Grand Haven High SchoolGrand Haven Area Public Schools1,63018.551%71%
White Pines Intermediate SchoolGrand Haven Area Public Schools74015.462%66%
Lakeshore Middle SchoolGrand Haven Area Public Schools73315.963%76%
Peach Plains SchoolGrand Haven Area Public Schools32814.372%77%
Griffin Elementary SchoolGrand Haven Area Public Schools30814.067%67%
Mary A White SchoolGrand Haven Area Public Schools26013.767%62%
Rosy Mound SchoolGrand Haven Area Public Schools24316.282%92%
Ferry SchoolGrand Haven Area Public Schools23211.057%47%
Robinson SchoolGrand Haven Area Public Schools22312.457%62%
Central High SchoolGrand Haven Area Public Schools8911.110%30%
Career Development SchoolGrand Haven Area Public Schools6———

35.9% 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 Michigan’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 5% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 95.0, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI Metro Area is up 50% over five years, and up 4.5% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $3,401 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.36% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,519, some 62% above the $939 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,519 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $60,800 a year, about equal to the median household income here of $60,669.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $939 a month.

A median home at $250,100 costs 3.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $78,728, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
95.0

Prices here run about 5% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
29.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,519
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$939
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$250,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Grand Haven’s median household income of $60,669, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI Metro Area’s figure202395.0Top 28%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+4.5%74th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+49.8%77th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+125.7%93rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year3.2Bottom 31%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year68.3%34th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4232024 ACS 5-Year6,07590th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,333Top 46%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,930Top 39%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,519Top 41%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$892024 ACS 5-Year$939Top 47%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$18,3652024 ACS 5-Year$250,10065th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2442024 ACS 5-Year$3,40177th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,0722024 ACS 5-Year$78,728Top 50%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.14%2024 ACS 5-Year1.36%72nd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year29.8%Bottom 42%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1772024 ACS 5-Year34896th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year5.7%82nd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.6%30th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2132024 ACS 5-Year56591st percentileof 32,3302024 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 and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

46/ 100
Ranks 2,542 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 been broadly flat since 2020, at 11,045 in 2024.

Federal tax returns show Ottawa County, which contains Grand Haven, gained about 0.4% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $71,022, above the $64,771 of households that moved out.

At 2.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
30
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.7
Top 49% nationally
Year over year
+15%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
33.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202411k11k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
27%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$71,022
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$64,771
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Kent County, MI 4,720 people · 35% of arrivals
  2. Allegan County, MI 1,244 people · 9.2% of arrivals
  3. Muskegon County, MI 1,227 people · 9.1% of arrivals
  4. Oakland County, MI 222 people · 1.6% of arrivals
  5. Cook County, IL 198 people · 1.5% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Kent County, MI 3,694 people · 30% of departures
  2. Allegan County, MI 1,618 people · 13% of departures
  3. Muskegon County, MI 1,568 people · 13% of departures
  4. Newaygo County, MI 182 people · 1.5% of departures
  5. Kalamazoo County, MI 162 people · 1.3% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Ottawa County, MI. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420254025
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−14%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 82°F and January a low of 21°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 35.1 inches, including 87.2 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 41, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MUSKEGON CO AP, 8.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year632024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals35.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals87.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals21°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year412024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
41
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
63
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

95 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and strong wind, with inland flooding alone responsible for 65% of it. Inland flooding and tornado 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 97% of measured US cities.

Strong windModerate
LightningModerate
Cold waveModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: inland flooding, tornado, hail, winter weather, ice storm, earthquake, landslide, coastal flooding, wildfire, hurricane, drought, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
217
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
715
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Grand Haven's police department reported 217 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 715.

Ottawa County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.1 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 7.3 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 4.9 per 100,000 residents in Ottawa County.

Homicide
2.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
7.3
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
4.9
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
10.5
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Grand Haven’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Grand Haven (Ottawa County) rather than Grand Haven itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

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.

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. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Gerald R Ford Intl at 37 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year86.8%Bottom 37%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle37 miBottom 21%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year10.8%Bottom 34%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Gerald R Ford IntlGRR37 mi10,001 ft
Battle Creek Exec At Kellogg FldBTL71 mi10,004 ft
Capital Region IntlLAN85 mi8,506 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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Area Score
64
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Other cities in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Grand RapidsKent County198,53559Grand Rapids vs Grand Haven
WyomingKent County77,35358Wyoming vs Grand Haven
KentwoodKent County54,29661Kentwood vs Grand Haven
Forest HillsKent County28,69572
AllendaleOttawa County26,67963
WalkerKent County25,38666
CutlervilleKent County18,78063
JenisonOttawa County17,58264
GrandvilleKent County16,35662
NorthviewKent County15,26867
IoniaIonia County12,75350
East Grand RapidsKent County11,44569

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Grand Haven side by side with a similar place.

Grand Haven vs MarquetteGrand Haven vs Wixom

Moving to Grand Haven from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA 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.

ZIP codes in Grand Haven

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Grand Haven with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
4941733,878$83,405$316,30066