Employment Statistics
Employment by Industry
Kent County has a rich history of industry, including agriculture, furniture crafting, and automobile manufacturing. Located just a few hours from Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, and Toledo, the County is within a day’s drive of half the country’s population, half its manufacturing base and nearly half its retail sales.
Manufacturing, educational services and business services, in terms of United States location quotient, are the most dominant in the County. The Manufacturing industry has an LQ of 1.63. In other words, the percent of total jobs in the Manufacturing sector is 1.63 times greater than the U.S. average, showing signs that Kent County produces more than its local requirement of products and/or services of Manufacturing.
Educational services is the industry that has grown the most in terms of employment from 2001-2005 in Kent County, moving a total of 42.6%. This is greater than the national sector change of 13.8%. The State of Michigan underwent an employment change in the industry of 32.7%, in the last 5 years.
Manufacturing between the years 2001 and 2005, saw the greatest loss in employment in Kent County. The sector dealt with a loss of 11,706 jobs during the period, or 15.2% of jobs in the industry. The losses in this industry made up 67.5% of all employment losses in the County.
The median income for a household in the County was $46,456, and the median income for a family was $57,310. Males had a median income of $42,144 versus $32,045 for females. The per capita income for the County was $21,629. Of the population for whom poverty status is determined, 12.1% is below the poverty level. Out of the total people living in poverty, 38.4% are under the age of 18 and 4.80% are 65 or older.
| Top Metropolitan Employers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum Health | 12,000 | Herman Miller Inc. | 2,545 |
| Meijer Inc. | 8,441 | St. Mary's Health Care | 2,500 |
| Steelcase Inc. | 5,000 | General Motors | 2,500 |
| Magna Donnelly | 4,225 | Perrigo Company | 2,500 |
| Alticor | 3,900 | Walmart | 2,230 |
| Grand Rapids Public Schools | 3,392 | Zeeland Chemicals | 2,216 |
| Spartan Stores | 3,040 | D & W Food Centers | 2,200 |
| Haworth Inc. | 3,000 | Lacks Enterprises | 2,100 |
| City of Grand Rapids | 2,688 | Gentex Corporation | 2,047 |
| Grand Valley State University | 2,492 | Fifth Third Bank | 2,037 |
Source: The Right Place Program
