At the Top of The List

West Michigan is not just a great place for business, it’s a great place to live. Here are just a few reasons why.

#1 — Green Building Capital in U.S.
West Michigan has more LEED-certified buildings per capita than any other region in the country, including the first LEED-rated art museum in the country.

The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System spells out in detail what constitutes a "green building" in five areas related to environmental protection and human health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, use of recycled or recyclable materials, and indoor environmental quality.

#1 — Home Ownership of all Regions
77.8% homeownership is the highest level for any
metropolitan area in the country.

#8 for Business Building Projects
With 24 business building projects in 2007, Grand Rapids ranks #8 among metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 to 1 million in Site Selection magazine’s annual "New and Expanded Facilities Survey."

Projects surveyed included $1 million or more private capital investment, and generated either 50 or more new jobs or 20,000 square feet in new or expanded capacity.
Source: Site Selection, March 2008, www.siteselection.com

#1 — Lowest Commuting Time
West Michigan’s average commute time of 21 minutes is below the national average, and the lowest among communities with populations over 1 million. All of which leaves you plenty of time for that drive-through coffee stop.

4-Star Quality of Life Metros
West Michigan is among America’s “Best Places to Live and Work” according to Expansion Magazine’s 2006 Quality of Life Quotient that measures nearly 50 indicators and compares them among the country’s 362 metropolitan areas.

4-Star Logistics Metros for 2006
The region was awarded a four-star designation in a 2006 logistics survey conducted by Expansion Magazine and Logistics Today.

36th Among U.S. Metros for European Expansion
Greater Grand Rapids ranks #36 in Expansion Magazine’s 4th annual survey of European capital investment in the U.S. manufacturing sector. 87 international companies are located in West Michigan, with 70 of those companies headquartered in Europe. Of those, 36 are German. In order to be included, a European company must complete a U.S. expansion that involves a capital investment of at least $1 million and creates at least 10 new jobs.

Best City for Teleworking
The Grand Rapids area ranked 19th among mid-sized metros as a best city for teleworking. Intel and Sperling Best Places identified the cities in 2006 based on typical commuting times, fuel prices, availability of broadband Internet access, and percentage of the population in telework-friendly jobs.

Best Place to Start and Grow a Company
Grand Rapids was selected by Entrepreneur and the National Policy Research Council as one of the best regions to start and grow a business. The 2006 ranking was based on business formation and growth.

Best Place to Live
Grand Rapids is one of “America’s Top 100 Places to Live” according to a 2006 survey by Relocate-America.com. Selections were made based on key data regarding education, employment, the economy, crime, parks, recreation, and housing.

Safest City
In “America’s Safest Cities” ranking, West Michigan is No. 7. Risk & Insurance magazine looked at the area's vulnerability to hurricanes, earthquakes, terrorism, winter storms, and severe thunderstorms. The point of the list is to emphasize that “businesses choose locations based on costs, which include the costs of insurance and the impact of closures forced by catastrophes.”