November 19th, 2025
Beyond the Numbers: Key Insights from The Right Place’s 2025 Reports
The Right Place’s 2025 industry reports highlight the trends, challenges, and progress shaping our regional economy. Together, these insights take us beyond the numbers to better understand the forces driving our future.
Beyond the Numbers: Key Insights from The Right Place’s 2025 Reports
Every number tells a story. Behind each data point are the people, places, and industries shaping the future of the Greater Grand Rapids region.
Each year, The Right Place’s Business Intelligence team produces a series of in-depth industry reports to help our business community understand the region’s economic landscape and make informed, strategic decisions.
In 2025, those reports — covering development, manufacturing, and technology — reveal a region that continues to evolve with purpose. Together, they show how Greater Grand Rapids is growing by design, not by chance.
Development Report: Growth by Design
Our 2025 Development Report examines the shifting dynamics across the region’s industrial, commercial, office, retail, and housing sectors. While the market remains competitive and increasingly complex, the data tells a story of steady, intentional growth.
Industrial space remains limited, with a vacancy rate of 2.4%, well below the national average of 6.8%.
Office lease rates have stabilized at $21.37 per square foot, reflecting a market adapting to new workplace realities.
Key projects such as Bamboo Coworking, Benteler Automotive, RiverTown Crossings Mall, and 111 Lyon showcase ongoing investment in both new construction and adaptive reuse.
As the market adjusts to higher interest rates and evolving demand, developers across Greater Grand Rapids are finding new ways to move projects forward — balancing creativity, discipline, and community needs to prepare for what’s next.
Manufacturing Report: Resilience Through Reinvention
The 2025 Manufacturing Report highlights an industry that continues to define our regional economy, not by staying the same, but by adapting with intention.
116,528 manufacturing jobs across the region
$18.4B in gross regional product — up $2.3B in the past five years
13% fewer manufacturers reporting recruitment challenges
Manufacturers are embracing advanced technologies, improving talent pipelines, and investing in automation to boost productivity. While challenges remain, the data points to a sector finding strength through change, one that’s proving its resilience and continuing to anchor the region’s long-term prosperity.
Tech Report: Innovation Taking Root
In 2021, The Right Place convened more than 300 regional leaders to chart a strategy for positioning Greater Grand Rapids as a leading tech hub in the Midwest. Four years later, that vision is coming to life.
The 2025 Tech Report captures a growing ecosystem fueled by innovation, investment, and collaboration:
1,312 new tech jobs added in the past year
12 venture capital deals totaling $63.5 million raised
Median tech salary of $90,000
Greater Grand Rapids named LinkedIn’s #1 City on the Rise in 2025
Momentum continues to build as local startups, established firms, and educational partners work together to grow the region’s digital economy. The story beyond the numbers is one of transformation — innovation taking root and becoming part of Greater Grand Rapids’ economic identity.
Looking Ahead: Economic Outlook 2026
These insights will culminate at The Right Place’s Economic Outlook for 2026, happening December 4, 2025, at the JW Marriott Grand Rapids.
The event will feature the release of the 2025 State of the Region Report, offering a data-driven look at how the Greater Grand Rapids economy has performed over the past year, and what to expect next for the region, the state, and the nation.
To view the 2024 State of the Region Report, click here, and join us in December as we go beyond the numbers to connect data, insight, and the people shaping the future of our region.