February 3rd, 2020

Grand Rapids ranked a top metro for millennials to live and work

Talent is a topic that's never far from the minds of employers. Currently, millennials make up the largest portion of the U.S. labor force, making this generation a critical component in building up a region's talent pool.

Greater Grand Rapids Kent County Talent Rankings

Talent is a topic that's never far from the minds of employers. Currently, millennials make up the largest portion of the U.S. labor force, making this generation a critical component in building up a region's talent pool.

Determining where millennials are relocating to and why is incredibly important for this objective, which is why COMMERCIALCafé published a deep-dive look at some of the top metros in the U.S. that millennials are moving to. The study, which compared U.S. metros across seven key indicators, was featured on the Real Estate section of the New York Times online and in print.

COMMERCIALCafé ranked metros based on millennial population growth (2014-2018), the proportion of millennials in the overall population, regional price parity, millennial unemployment rate, percentage of millennials in the labor force with a bachelor's degree, percentage of millennials with employer-based health insurance, and commuting times.

Grand Rapids was one of two Midwestern metros that made the list. Shorter commute times, low cost of living and a high percentage of millennials with employer-based health coverage helped Grand Rapids score a place in the top 10. Another study conducted by COMMERCIALCafé on 'Best Performing Rust Belt Cities' ranked Grand Rapids as No. 1 for a strong performance in poverty reduction and an increase in millennial residents.

Grand Rapids also stood out for high levels of investment in its healthcare and pharmaceutical industry, citing companies like Perrigo, Mercy Health and Spectrum Health, the latter of which employs 31,000 people in the region.

Best Metros for Millennials

  1. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo.
  2. Austin-Round Rock, Texas
  3. Raleigh, N.C.
  4. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.
  5. Columbus, Ohio
  6. Salt Lake City, Utah
  7. Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich.
  8. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn.
  9. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore.
  10. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.

See the full study on the COMMERCIALCafé website.