673,002 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.2% since 2020)
849 square miles of land · 793 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
44 active community water systems list Kent County in the area they serve, reporting 571,446 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| GRAND RAPIDS surface water · local government · MI0002790 | 306,901 served |
| WYOMING surface water · local government · MI0007220 | 76,501 served |
| PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP groundwater (surface-influenced) · local government · MI0005370 | 42,271 served |
| BYRON-GAINES UTILITY AUTHORITY buys surface water · local government · MI0001023 | 37,464 served |
| KENTWOOD buys surface water · local government · MI0003620 | 36,072 served |
| GRANDVILLE buys surface water · local government · MI0002820 | 15,948 served |
| EAST GRAND RAPIDS buys surface water · local government · MI0001960 | 11,637 served |
| ADA TOWNSHIP buys surface water · local government · MI0000012 | 7,584 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 939 people were held in Kent County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 217 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 1,097.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
20 school districts have their office in Kent County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $304.7 million — $242.2 million to run schools, about $17,565 per student, plus $32.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $110.8 million local (mostly property tax), $137.5 million state, $63.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $184.8 million.
Spent $187.2 million — $140 million to run schools, about $14,957 per student, plus $35.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $59.8 million local (mostly property tax), $95.4 million state, $22.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $80 million.
Spent $173.2 million — $132.8 million to run schools, about $14,433 per student, plus $26.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $72.8 million local (mostly property tax), $90 million state, $7.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $127.5 million.
Spent $153.1 million — $105.8 million to run schools, about $13,705 per student, plus $32.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $47.2 million local (mostly property tax), $85.8 million state, $6.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $143.9 million.
Spent $112.6 million — $79.2 million to run schools, about $14,353 per student, plus $22.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $41.3 million local (mostly property tax), $52.5 million state, $5.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $121.4 million.
Spent $98.8 million — $67 million to run schools, about $14,535 per student, plus $21.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $38.6 million local (mostly property tax), $46.8 million state, $4.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $171.1 million.
Spent $95.3 million — $60.1 million to run schools, about $13,529 per student, plus $23 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $33.9 million local (mostly property tax), $44.1 million state, $4.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $179.9 million.
Spent $87.4 million — $60.2 million to run schools, about $15,370 per student, plus $19.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $26.2 million local (mostly property tax), $41.7 million state, $11.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $78.2 million.
And 12 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Kent County about $147.1 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Very Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
524 bridges in Kent County: 178 in good condition, 317 fair, and 29 poor (5.5%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| I-196 M-21 WB over CONRAIL (NO TRACKS)(ABN) · built 1963 | 57,075 vehicles a day |
| I-296 SB (US-131S) over 6TH AVE · built 1963 | 50,972 vehicles a day |
| I-296 NB (US-131N) over 6TH AVE · built 1963 | 50,972 vehicles a day |
| I-296 (US-131) NB over US-131 BR (LEONARD) · built 1961 | 50,972 vehicles a day |
| I-296 (US-131) SB over US-131 BR (LEONARD) · built 1961 | 50,972 vehicles a day |
| M-37 (E BELT LINE) over I-96 · built 1961 | 42,978 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $184.2 million of work in Kent County in fiscal 2025, about $280 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Michigan are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Kent County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Kent County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Michigan: the state government and every county in Michigan.
Nearby counties: Ionia County (25 mi) · Montcalm County (28 mi) · Barry County (33 mi) · Ottawa County (34 mi) · Newaygo County (39 mi) · Mecosta County (43 mi).