05
COMPARABLE MARKET UPDATES
As Greater Grand Rapids has moved up in weight class, we now compete against larger, in some cases stronger, regions. In 2021, The Right Place began benchmarking against a cluster of peer and aspirational markets to understand how Greater Grand Rapids competes and identify opportunities.
Four primary growth indicators are used to compare the region across these communities: population growth, employment growth, gross regional product growth, and concentration of tech workers.
The rebound from the pandemic produced mixed results for our region. While Greater Grand Rapids continued to grow across all four primary metrics, the pace of growth did not match those of our new competitors in several cases. For example, while Greater Grand Rapids' population grew 2.1% (compared to 2% across the country), it was slower than the 3.3% growth averaged across the comparable markets.
We scored better on employment growth, adding jobs at a 7.5% clip (compared to 6.6% nationally), while comparable metros grew 5.7% on average. This resulted in our ranking rising three places among our peers.
The data, with more details found at the end of this plan, show that Greater Grand Rapids must transition from good to great, focusing on population, job, GRP, and technology growth. For the people and businesses of our region to enjoy a prosperous environment, we must continue to climb these charts.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
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