The 2024 State of the Region report offers a deep dive into the economic trends shaping the future of Greater Grand Rapids. Over the past year, our team at The Right Place has connected with more than 600 businesses, gaining firsthand insight into the opportunities and innovations driving our region forward. By blending qualitative insights from these conversations with quantitative data from our business intelligence team, we've created a comprehensive report that highlights our economy's strengths and growth opportunities.

While some findings show that our economy has softened slightly in some areas, it also revealed that our region has exciting opportunities and strong momentum moving forward:

• Population Growth: Our region's population grew by 6% over the past decade, driven largely by our increasingly diverse communities.

• Education Strengths: With 37% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher, our talent pool is expanding. We also maintain a stronger concentration of young professionals than the state and national averages.

• Industrial Strength: Industrial vacancy rates remain low at 2.5%, even as 825,000 square feet of new industrial space came online in 2024.

• Tech Job Growth: A record year for tech, with nearly 4,300 new tech jobs added since 2021.

As we reflect on this year's achievements and prepare for the opportunities ahead, one thing is clear: the future of our region is bright. Thank you for your ongoing partnership in building a thriving, dynamic community where businesses and people can flourish.

Steve Downing                                                                                                                       Randy Thelen

The Right Place, Inc. Board Chair                                              President & CEO, The Right Place, Inc.

President & CEO, Gentex Corporation

2025 Economic Outlook for Greater Grand Rapids Shared at The Right Place’s Annual Event

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. (Dec. 5, 2024) – Thursday, regional economic development organization The Right Place, Inc. hosted its 2025 Economic Outlook for the Greater Grand Rapids Region. The event featured a state of the region presentation by The Right Place, Inc. President and CEO Randy Thelen, a national forecast by Fifth Third Bank Managing Director and Chief Economist Jeff Korzenik,  a state forecast by W.E. Upjohn Institute President Michael Horrigan, and manufacturing insights from W.E. Upjohn Institute Senior Economist Susan N. Houseman. 

2024 Right Place Accomplishments
The Right Place’s Randy Thelen (left) provided an update on second-year progress against the 3-year strategic plan goals (2023-2025). Click here to read the entire strategic plan. In 2024, the organization’s work has resulted in: 

• 1,800 new and retained jobs against a 3-year goal of 4,000 new and retained jobs.
• $26.96 average hourly wage against a 3-year goal of $26.50 average wage.*
• $445m in new capital investment against a 3-year goal of $550m.
• $200m in community development against a 3-year goal of $100m.
• Hosting more than 16,000 Tech Week attendees.
• Hosting a sold-out Developer Day with 160 developers and construction firms.
• Hosting a sold-out Place Matters Summit.
• Supporting over 600 area interns at Hello West Michigan’s Intern Connect event.
• Facilitating 20 business expansion projects.
• Collaborating with our partner counties with events and job creation.
• Coordinating 600 business retention visits.
• Launching a comprehensive AI Roadmap to help local manufacturers navigate AI
• Publishing four custom research reports: State of the Region, Tech Report, Development Report and Talent Report.

(*This wage goal refers to the hourly rate of jobs created/retained within projects The Right Place directly works on in its 8-county coverage region.)

 During his presentation, Thelen also noted that Right Place staff coordinated 600 business retention visits. These meetings allowed staff to learn more about existing businesses and engage in dialogue to help ensure their prosperity in the region. The Right Place is often known for helping recruit businesses to the region, but as the figure shows, most of its work is helping existing businesses. 

State of the Region Report

After highlighting Right Place's accomplishments, Thelen walked the crowd through its third annual State of the Region report. This report is designed to inform the community of key trends impacting the region. It is the result of qualitative insights from The Right Place’s economic development work across its 8-county collaborative and quantitative economic research performed by its Business Intelligence team.  Key 2024 statistics from The Right Place’s State of the Region report include: 

People

• 6.1% population growth over the last decade.
• Nearly 40,000 tech sector workers.
• Two-thirds of the region’s population in the past decade comprised diverse communities.
• 37% have a bachelor’s degree or higher
• Higher concentration of young people as a share of the population compared to the nation.

Place

• 2.5% industrial vacancy rate.
• 9% increase in residential building permits from 2023 to 2024.
• The region’s cost of living is 8% below the national average.
• 348,000 more air travelers than in 2023.

Prosperity

• 591,00 regional employment in 2024. Faster growth than state and national levels since 2019.
• 53% of companies are planning expansions.
• 62% of companies report increasing sales.
• 45% of companies plan to increase hiring. 

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About The Right Place, Inc.
The Right Place, Inc., is a regional nonprofit founded in 1985 with the mission to drive sustainable economic growth and shared prosperity for all in the Greater Grand Rapids Region. The Right Place works to achieve this mission by focusing on three core areas: People, Place, and Prosperity. The Right Place is an Accredited Economic Development Organization (AEDO) as designated by The International Economic Development Council. Find out more by visiting www.rightplace.org, liking us on Facebook, and following us on Twitter @TheRightPlaceGR.

Speakers

Randy Thelen President & CEO The Right Place, Inc.

Jeff Korzenik Senior Vice President, Chief Economist Fifth Third Bank

Michael Horrigan President W.E. Upjohn Institute

Susan Houseman Senior Economist W.E. Upjohn Institute

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Recently Chris Holman welcomed back Andria Romkema, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications, The Right Place, Grand Rapids, MI.

Watch Andria and Chris discuss her recent recognition, Tech Week highlights, regional tech strategy, and upcoming events focused on placemaking and Western Michigan economic forecast in Grand Rapids in the YouTube video shared below:

Our promotional story on the economic forecast: https://www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/blog/the-right-places-economic-outlook-for-2025 

Some more details about December 5, 2024, 7:30AM–10:00AM
Location
JW Marriott Downtown Grand Rapids
235 Louis Street NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503

The Economic Outlook will provide critical perspective for what may lie ahead for the Greater Grand Rapids region, the State of Michigan, and the nation, so you can prepare yourself and your business for success.

Speakers
Randy Thelen, President & CEO, The Right Place, Inc.
Michael Horrigan, President, W.E. Upjohn Institute
Jeffrey Korzenik, Chief Economist, Fifth Third Bank
Susan N. Houseman, Senior Economist, W.E. Upjohn Institute

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