Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 55/100
C−
Median home value$295,200
Grand Rapids $285,300
Median rent$1,202/mo
Grand Rapids $1,202/mo
Cost-burdened households22%
Grand Rapids 24%
Walker
Kent County25,386 residents2 school districts
65
C+
Suburbgrade score
7th of 15 Grand Rapids suburbs. Strong on cost of living and commute & transport, held back by amenities.
65
Grand Rapids median 64
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Walker yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 65 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 Walker is like to live in, by category
Bars show Walker against Grand Rapids. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 68/100
B−
Within-state proficiency73rd pct
Grand Rapids median 74th pct
Student–teacher ratio16.8
Grand Rapids median 16.7
Graduation rate90%
Grand Rapids median 88%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 80/100
B+
Housing cost index95
Grand Rapids 100
Eff. tax rate0.90%
Grand Rapids 1.03%
Local sales tax6.00%
Grand Rapids median 6.00%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 74/100
B
Mean commute20.2 min
Grand Rapids 22.0 min
Under 30 minutes83%
Grand Rapids 74%
Transit stops / sq mi2.2
Grand Rapids median 1.0 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 49/100
D+
Restaurants & cafés23
Grand Rapids median 38 · within 2 miles
Groceries1
Grand Rapids median 5 · within 2 miles
Parks22
Grand Rapids median 31 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 63/100
C+
Median household income$76,360
Grand Rapids $82,874
Unemployment2.9%
Grand Rapids 4.0%
Professional occupations42%
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 Walker 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 Walker on amenities
Walker's weakest grade is D+. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same six inputs.
SuburbAmenitiesOverall
Grand Rapids6 mi from WalkerA− 59 C Grandville7 mi from WalkerB 71 B− Holland23 mi from WalkerB− 66 C+ Grand Haven24 mi from WalkerC+ 64 C+ East Grand Rapids8 mi from WalkerC+ 76 B Kentwood11 mi from WalkerC+ 61 C Restaurants & cafés: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026 · Groceries: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026
Common questions about living in Walker
Is Walker, MI a good place to live?
Walker scores 65 out of 100, 7th of 15 Grand Rapids suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on amenities. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Walker expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B+. The median home is $295,200, 3% above the Grand Rapids median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.90%. $1,202/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Walker?
Schools grade B−. The districts serving Walker sit at the 73rd pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 90% graduation rate and a 16.8 student–teacher ratio. Walker is served by Kenowa Hills Public Schools and Grandville Public Schools. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Walker?
The mean commute is 20.2 min, with 83% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 10.0% working from home. Transit density is 2.2 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Walker?
Within two miles there are 1 groceries, 23 restaurants and cafés and 22 parks, which grades D+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Walker old or new?
The median home in Walker was built in 1984 — newer 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. 65% 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.