West Michigan


West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland area, or more broadly to most of the region along the Lake Michigan shoreline of the Lower Peninsula, but there is no official definition for it.

Definition

In general, "West Michigan" often refers to the area bounded by the cities of Muskegon, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo-Battle Creek and St.Joseph-Benton Harbor. However, definitions of the boundaries of the region vary widely; in some contexts, the term "West Michigan" is applied only to the counties of Allegan, Kent, Muskegon, and Ottawa, which together compose the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Muskegon SMSA. Other definitions include the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek and Benton Harbor-St. Joseph regions, which can be considered distinct regions or parts of other regions such as Michiana, Southern Michigan, or Southwest Michigan, in the case of Benton Harbor-St. Joseph.
The northern boundary of the region is also poorly defined; the population density, land use, economic and cultural character, and physical geography most often associated with West Michigan fades in northern Muskegon and Kent Counties, however areas as far north as Ludington and White Cloud may be included because of their close economic ties to the cities to the south. Other areas, such as Montcalm County in the northeast corner of the region, are transitional areas that straddle Michigan regions but are sometimes included for classification purposes. In the case of Montcalm County, the area around Greenville in the county's southwest corner is closely tied economically with Grand Rapids, while the area around Vestaburg and Edmore in the northeastern corner of county are more closely associated with the cities of Mount Pleasant and Alma, which are included in almost any definition of Central Michigan.

Geography

The following table contains the largest municipalities of West Michigan according to the 2010 Census. This defines the region fairly broadly, but not at its most broadly; if Battle Creek were included, it would be ranked fourth.
RankMunicipalityCountyPopulation
1Grand RapidsKent188,040
2KalamazooKalamazoo74,262
3WyomingKent72,125
4KentwoodKent48,707
5Georgetown Charter TownshipOttawa46,985
6PortageKalamazoo46,292
7MuskegonMuskegon38,401
8Holland Charter TownshipOttawa35,636
9HollandOttawa/Allegan33,051
10Plainfield Charter TownshipKent30,952
11Gaines Charter TownshipKent25,146
12Norton ShoresMuskegon23,994
13WalkerKent23,537
14Kalamazoo Charter TownshipKalamazoo21,918
15Oshtemo Charter TownshipKalamazoo21,705
16Allendale Charter TownshipOttawa20,708
17Byron TownshipKent20,317
18Muskegon Charter TownshipMuskegon17,840
19Park TownshipOttawa17,802
20Cascade Charter TownshipKent17,134
21Grand Rapids Charter TownshipKent16,661
22GrandvilleKent15,378
23Grand Haven Charter TownshipOttawa15,178

Five of the above cities, Wyoming, Kentwood, Portage, Norton Shores, and Walker, are former suburban townships that incorporated in the 1960s in order to prevent annexation by an adjacent city. The presence of these cities in the top ten reflects both the large geographic area of these cities, as well as the long and continuing growth of suburban areas in West Michigan.

Events

Prominent West Michigan corporations include:

Major airports

Interstate highways

More comprehensive lists are available at individual cities, villages, etc.