Finnish Population in Kent County, MI by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Finnish population in Kent County, MI is recorded at 2,557 residents, based on the latest U.S. Census estimates. Most cities in Kent County - including Grand Rapids, East Grand Rapids, Byron township, and others - report non-zero figures, reflecting a broad and distributed Finnish presence. However, the combined population across these cities exceeds the official county total - a likely result of rounding differences or sampling variations in small-population census data. The analysis below explores how Finnish communities are spread across Kent County, MI and comparable counties throughout Michigan.

Top 5 cities with the largest Finnish population in Kent County

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  • 1
    Grand Rapids
    Finnish population in Grand Rapids is 571
    0.29% of Grand Rapids population is Finnish
  • 2
    East Grand Rapids
    Finnish population in East Grand Rapids is 293
    2.57% of East Grand Rapids population is Finnish
  • 3
    Byron township
    Finnish population in Byron township is 193
    0.71% of Byron township population is Finnish
  • 4
    Ada township
    Finnish population in Ada township is 184
    1.28% of Ada township population is Finnish
  • 5
    Plainfield charter township
    Finnish population in Plainfield charter township is 168
    0.50% of Plainfield charter township population is Finnish

Overview of Finnish population in Kent County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data document Kent County with 2,557 Finnish residents (0.39% of 658,844 total county population), positioning the jurisdiction at the 98th percentile nationally among counties and 90th percentile within Michigan for Finnish population concentrations, despite absolute population figures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS data documents Kent County's Finnish demographic representation of 0.39%, exceeding the national average of 0.19% while remaining below Michigan's elevated state average of 0.86%, 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 2,557 Finnish residents, representing 2.9% of Michigan's total Finnish population of 86,869.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey shows Kent County maintains 3 Finnish Americans per square mile compared to Michigan's average of 1.5, indicating higher demographic concentration relative to state averages.
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33 Cities in Kent County Ranked by Finnish Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] show Finnish populations distributed across multiple cities in the county, led by Grand Rapids, East Grand Rapids, Byron township, and Ada township. The table below provides additional context, including total population, population density, and demographic distributions, based on current ACS data for 33 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Kent County, MI ranked by Finnish population count
Rank by Finnish Population
City
Finnish Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Kent County Finnish Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Grand Rapids 571 0.29% 22.33%
2 East Grand Rapids 293 2.57% 11.46%
3 Byron township 193 0.71% 7.55%
4 Ada township 184 1.28% 7.20%
5 Plainfield charter township 168 0.50% 6.57%
6 Wyoming 159 0.21% 6.22%
7 Walker 131 0.52% 5.12%
8 105 0.86% 4.11%
9 104 0.19% 4.07%
10 87 1.81% 3.40%
11 78 0.40% 3.05%
12 73 0.45% 2.85%
13 62 0.21% 2.42%
14 54 0.57% 2.11%
15 47 0.76% 1.84%
16 44 0.31% 1.72%
17 43 0.23% 1.68%
18 39 0.24% 1.53%
19 23 0.16% 0.90%
19 23 0.55% 0.90%
20 22 0.43% 0.86%
21 14 0.16% 0.55%
22 10 0.16% 0.39%
23 9 0.22% 0.35%
24 8 0.16% 0.31%
25 7 0.57% 0.27%
25 7 0.11% 0.27%
26 6 0.18% 0.23%
27 1 0.02% 0.04%
28 0 - -
28 0 - -
28 0 - -
28 0 - -
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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 Finnish population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Finnish 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 Finnish 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 Finnish alone, while others identify as Finnish along with another race (such as Finnish and German).
  • We’ve used the “Finnish alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Finnish population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Finnish alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Finnish .
  2. % of Total Kent County Finnish Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Finnish 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 Finnish 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 Finnish 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 Finnish populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.