English Population in Kent County, MI by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights
The English population in Kent County, MI is officially recorded at 62,721, with all of the county''s incorporated cities reporting residents of English ancestry. Among them, Grand Rapids (14,587), Wyoming (4,884), and Plainfield charter township (4,377) account for the largest shares. Interestingly, when adding up individual city estimates, the total surpasses the county-level figure - a difference that often arises from how city and county statistics are modeled separately. Below, we explore how English communities are distributed across Michigan''s more urbanized and fragmented counties.
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Top 5 cities with the largest English population in Kent County
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1Grand RapidsEnglish population in Grand Rapids is 14,5877.38% of Grand Rapids population is English
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2WyomingEnglish population in Wyoming is 4,8846.35% of Wyoming population is English
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3Plainfield charter townshipEnglish population in Plainfield charter township is 4,37712.97% of Plainfield charter township population is English
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4KentwoodEnglish population in Kentwood is 4,3328.01% of Kentwood population is English
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5Grand Rapids charter townshipEnglish population in Grand Rapids charter township is 3,18116.80% of Grand Rapids charter township population is English
Overview of English population in Kent County
- Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows Kent County contains 62,721 English residents (9.5% of 658,844 total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 97th percentile nationally among counties and 95th percentile within Michigan for English demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
- Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS data documents Kent County's English demographic representation of 9.5%, exceeding the national average of 9.1% while remaining below Michigan's elevated state average of 10.1%, placing the county above national concentration levels while below state demographic averages.
- Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey data documents Kent County with 62,721 English residents, representing 6.2% of Michigan's total English population of 1.0 million.
- Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey indicate Kent County's density of 73.9 English Americans per square mile exceeds Michigan's average of 17.9 per square mile by just over quadruple, establishing the county as a significant concentration center for English demographic communities.
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33 Cities in Kent County Ranked by English Population
ACS data [1] confirm English populations in every incorporated city in the county, with the largest counts in Grand Rapids, Wyoming, Plainfield charter township, and Kentwood. The table below provides detailed figures, including total population, density measures, and demographic distributions, based on the current ACS data for all 33 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
Methodology
This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Kent County, MI by their English population, using the most recent ACS data available.
How the Census defines English population
The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having English ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
- Some people identify as English alone, while others identify as English along with another race (such as English and German).
- We’ve used the “English alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the English population in each area.
How We Ranked the Data
This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as English alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
- % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as English .
- % of Total Kent County English Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. English population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.
Things to Keep in Mind
Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
- In places with very small English populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
- Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
- City that don’t have any reported English population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where English populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles 2023.
