Big Rapids, MI Micro Area

The Big Rapids, MI micro area is one county in Michigan: Mecosta County. About 42,320 people lived there on July 1, 2025 (Census estimate), 4.9% more than in April 2020.

Mecosta County, centralBig Rapids
Mecosta County in Michigan
Population, July 2025
42,320 4.9% more than in April 2020
Type
Micropolitan statistical area
County
Mecosta County
Land area
555 sq mi (1,438 km²)
Time zone
Eastern TimeUTC-05:00 in January; UTC-04:00 in July
State
Michigan
Combined statistical area
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI
CBSA code
13660

The county in the Big Rapids, MI micro area

CountyRolePopulation, July 2025
Mecosta CountyCentral42,320

A central county holds the area’s core, an urban area of 10,000 to 49,999 people. This area has no outlying counties: no neighboring county sends enough commuters to join it. A county belongs to one metro or micro area at most, and it counts whole, countryside included.

Principal city

  1. Big Rapids8,477 people

OMB names the area after its largest principal cities. A principal city is the area’s largest city, plus any other city that is very large or a big job center, and smaller ones with at least as many jobs as working residents (2020 Census and commuting figures). People counts are American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates.

Part of the Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI combined statistical area

OMB joins neighboring metro and micro areas into a combined statistical area when enough people commute between them. The other 3 areas in this one, largest first:

  1. Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI Metro Area1,183,645 people
  2. Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI Metro Area177,901 people
  3. Holland, MI Micro Area123,188 people

Bordering metro and micro areas, nearest first

Areas with a county on this area’s edge. Distances are straight lines between the areas’ largest cities.

  1. Mount Pleasant, MI Micro Area36 mi east
  2. Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI Metro Area52 mi south

Before using this answer on a form

A metro or micro area is a statistical area that OMB draws for federal statistics. It is not a city, a local government or a mailing address, and it is not a measure of urban and rural: whole counties count, rural parts included. Programs that use metro areas, such as housing income limits or wage rates, can use their own version of these lists; check the program’s own list for an address.

Find the metro area where you are now, find your county, or see every metro and micro area by population.

See this area on Census.gov ↗