$100k salary, packing up from Des Moines
changea dispatch from
grand rapids
MI
42.96°N
85.67°W
Grand Rapids has won Beer City USA multiple times, hosts ArtPrize (one of the world's largest open art competitions every fall), and built itself on furniture (Steelcase, Herman Miller). The Frederik Meijer Sculpture Park is a sleeper world-class attraction. Downtown is walkable, the surrounding farmland is gorgeous in autumn, and Lake Michigan beaches are 30 minutes west. Quietly excellent.
the verdict
more each month than Des Moines ran you
Grand Rapids costs meaningfully more. Whether it earns that back in the day-to-day is the actual question.
a quick ledger.
$1,620/mo
28% more expensive than Des Moines(vs $1,268/mo)
4.25%
$146/mo less in state tax than Des Moines
vs 6% in Des Moines
$6,359/mo
$206 less than Des Moines
gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.
$353k
18% more expensive than Des Moines
vs $300k in Des Moines
1.2M
vs 737k in Des Moines
field notes, weather & such.
151
pleasant days a year, in grand rapids.
Des Moines keeps to 151 pleasant days a year.
50% more happening than in Des Moines.
56/100
2% higher than Des Moines
vs 55/100 in Des Moines
Closest outdoor draw: White Pine Trail State Park, 5.4 mi.
97/100
24% higher than Des Moines
vs 78/100 in Des Moines
20
18% more than Des Moines
vs 17 nonstops in Des Moines
neighbors of grand rapids on the map of tradeoffs:
