Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 31/100
F
Median home value$164,800
Grand Rapids $285,300
Median rent$852/mo
Grand Rapids $1,202/mo
Cost-burdened households28%
Grand Rapids 24%
Ionia
Ionia County12,753 residentsIonia Public Schools
49
D+
Suburbgrade score
15th of 15 Grand Rapids suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by housing & affordability.
49
Grand Rapids median 64
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Ionia yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 49 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Ionia is like to live in, by category
Bars show Ionia against Grand Rapids. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 44/100
D
Within-state proficiency49th pct
Grand Rapids median 74th pct
Student–teacher ratio18.4
Grand Rapids median 16.7
Graduation rate80%
Grand Rapids median 88%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 85/100
A−
Housing cost index76
Grand Rapids 100
Eff. tax rate1.00%
Grand Rapids 1.03%
Local sales tax6.00%
Grand Rapids median 6.00%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 56/100
C−
Mean commute22.2 min
Grand Rapids 22.0 min
Under 30 minutes66%
Grand Rapids 74%
Transit stops / sq mi0.0
Grand Rapids median 1.0 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 42/100
D−
Restaurants & cafés13
Grand Rapids median 38 · within 2 miles
Groceries1
Grand Rapids median 5 · within 2 miles
Parks36
Grand Rapids median 31 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 45/100
D
Median household income$63,978
Grand Rapids $82,874
Unemployment1.9%
Grand Rapids 4.0%
Professional occupations25%
Grand Rapids 41%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Ionia yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Ionia on housing & affordability
Ionia's weakest grade is F. One suburb is within 25 miles and scores higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Forest Hills21 mi from IoniaA 72 B− Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Ionia
Is Ionia, MI a good place to live?
Ionia scores 49 out of 100, 15th of 15 Grand Rapids suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Ionia expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades A−. The median home is $164,800, 42% below the Grand Rapids median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.00%. $852/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Ionia?
Schools grade D. The districts serving Ionia sit at the 49th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 80% graduation rate and a 18.4 student–teacher ratio. Ionia is served by Ionia Public Schools. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Ionia?
The mean commute is 22.2 min, with 66% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 5.9% working from home. Transit density is 0.0 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Ionia?
Within two miles there are 1 groceries, 13 restaurants and cafés and 36 parks, which grades D− on amenities.
Are the homes in Ionia old or new?
The median home in Ionia was built in 1947 — older than the Grand Rapids median of 1979. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 66% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.
Six Grand Rapids lists
Best Grand Rapids suburbs for familiesMost affordable Grand Rapids suburbsBest Grand Rapids suburbs for schoolsShortest commutes to Downtown Grand RapidsMost walkable Grand Rapids suburbsBest Grand Rapids suburbs for young professionalsCompare Ionia
Every Grand Rapids suburb, side by side