West Michigan Surges While Detroit Stagnates

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Grand Rapids and Kent County led Michigan in raw population growth from 2020-2025, according to newly released U.S. Census figures. The data reveals a stark contrast between West Michigan's booming demographics and Southeast Michigan's stagnation, with both Wayne County and the Metro Detroit area losing population over that five-year period.

While former Mayor Mike Duggan has criticized the Census Bureau's methodology for these estimates, the numbers paint a clear picture: West Michigan is thriving while other parts of the state struggle.

"The promising growth of West Michigan counties has been going on for quite a while," said Kurt Metzger, founder and director emeritus of Data Driven Detroit.

The state has added approximately 50,000 residents since 2020, though Michigan's 0.5% growth rate ranks 41st among U.S. states and trails the 1% growth rate across the Midwest region.

Grand Rapids Leads Metro Growth

Grand Rapids has been Michigan's fastest-growing metropolitan area since 2020, adding about 33,600 residents, a 3% increase. The growth came from two main sources: positive migration and natural change, both accounting for roughly half of the total population change.

From 2020-2025, just over 16,000 more people were born in the Grand Rapids metro than died, while more than 17,000 people moved to the area from other countries. However, domestic migration was slightly negative, as about 800 more people left Grand Rapids than moved there from within the U.S.

"I think it's a story of amenities mostly," said Brian Asquith, a research economist at the Upjohn Institute, a nonprofit employment research center based in Kalamazoo.

Asquith noted that places with vacation homes and second homes before the pandemic became major winners during the work-from-home surge. The stability and diversity of Grand Rapids' economy is one major reason for growth.

"Grand Rapids, sort of uniquely for the Great Lakes region, kept its manufacturing base," Asquith said.

Major companies like Steelcase and Amway maintain a large industrial presence in Grand Rapids. Steelcase, which was acquired by Iowa-based HNI Corp. last August for $2.2 billion, is expected to move some of its operations to Iowa over the next few years.

Another factor attracting residents to the west side of the state is that Grand Rapids is what Asquith describes as "a little slice of the sunbelt in the Midwest."

Like parts of the southeast U.S. where population growth has been strong in recent years, areas like the Ottawa County suburbs are more business-friendly and culturally conservative than other parts of the state.

"If you have a lot of suburban amenities, if you sort of like that sunbelt culture or that vibe, and then you also want access to the Lake Michigan amenities, I do think it's a big part of the draw of Grand Rapids," Asquith said.

Which Counties Grew the Fastest?

Michigan counties followed three distinct population growth patterns from 2020-2025: Southeast Michigan was dependent on international migration, rural counties mostly grew through domestic migration and several West Michigan counties had far more births than deaths.

The top counties for raw population growth were Kent County, home to Grand Rapids, and Oakland County, with its fast-growing suburbs.

Oakland County added about 14,000 people over five years, bringing its total population from 1,274,375 in April 2020 to 1,288,337 in July 2025. It remained the second most populous county in the state after Wayne County.

But the key factors in Kent and Oakland County's growth were different. While Kent County had more births than deaths from 2020-2025, and some international migration, Oakland County relied almost entirely on international migration for its net population growth.

Both Kent and Oakland County experienced negative domestic migration, meaning fewer people moved into those counties from other places in the U.S.

Several of Michigan's small, rural counties, on the other hand, drew most of their growth from domestic migration. Lake County, Montmorency County and Keweenaw County all exceeded 6% population growth from 2020-2025, boosted by remote workers who left urban areas during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Census Bureau Overestimated Immigration to Michigan

The methodology used by the Census Bureau to estimate state and county populations presents a challenge each year, because past totals are revised, according to Metzger.

In recent years, he said those revisions have almost always meant decreasing Michigan's estimated population. The Census Bureau used new data sources to calculate immigration totals in recent years, which resulted in higher estimates for Michigan's population.

"But I think what this shows is somehow they have figured out that they have overestimated immigration numbers in the past and they've backed them off," Metzger said.

As a result, while the estimated population of Michigan for 2025 is higher than the revised 2024 estimates, the 2025 estimates are actually lower than last year's 2024 figures.

The same dynamic applies to county populations too, because the sum of the county totals must be equal to the estimated state population. In practice, that means even though the latest data shows Wayne County gained about 3,500 people between 2024 and 2025, the state's 2025 estimate for the county is actually lower than the original 2024 estimate.

"The methodology for county estimates and state estimates is new. Every year you go back and you've got better birth data, updated death data and better data on migration and so you adjust the numbers each year," Metzger said.

Almost all of the downward revisions were related to international immigration, according to Metzger.

"If we know nothing more, these adjustments downward should be a sign that we're going to be losing population in the future if immigration trends continue," Metzger said.

The Eds and Meds Strategy

Metzger also credited Kent County's "eds and meds" strategy, which has invested heavily in education and medicine. He said this approach has helped create economic stability and diversification that has protected the region from some of the challenges faced elsewhere in the state.

The success of West Michigan's growth model offers lessons for other areas of the state struggling with population decline. The combination of manufacturing, education, healthcare, and business-friendly policies has created a resilient economy that continues to attract new residents.

As Michigan continues to grapple with population trends across the state, Grand Rapids and Kent County stand as a model for what a thriving regional economy looks like in the Midwest.