Short answer
The Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood metro had 3,057 construction establishments with paid employees in 2023, employing 28,272 people with $2.13 billion in annual payroll, according to Census County Business Patterns. Kent County had 1,610 and Ottawa County 1,044. Most are small: 2,732 have fewer than 20 employees and 39 have 100 or more. To work in the city, a contractor must hold a State of Michigan license and register it with Grand Rapids, which publishes the registered list.
- 3,057 construction establishments and 28,272 employees in the Grand Rapids metro in 2023, averaging 9.2 employees and $75,461 in pay.
- Kent County has 52.7% of the establishments and 68.7% of the jobs; Ottawa County's 1,044 average 6.5 employees.
- Commercial builders (163) average 18.8 employees; plumbing and HVAC contractors (345) average 15.4.
- The metro permitted 4,267 housing units in 2025, up from 3,861 in 2024.
- The City of Grand Rapids publishes its registered contractor list, searchable by name, license type and status.
On this page
This page is for homeowners and businesses hiring a contractor in Grand Rapids and West Michigan, contractors looking for subs or partners, job seekers and B2B sellers covering the region. It uses the Census Bureau's business counts and housing permits, and the City of Grand Rapids's own contractor and permit tools.
West Michigan construction in numbers
County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023, construction sector (NAICS 23), Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI Metro Area (CBSA 24340):
| Measure | Grand Rapids metro, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Construction establishments | 3,057 |
| Employees | 28,272 |
| Annual payroll | $2,133,445,000 |
| Average employees per establishment | 9.2 |
| Average annual pay | $75,461 |
| Share of US construction establishments | 0.38% (of 814,557) |
Kent, Ottawa and three rural counties
| County | Establishments | Employees | Employees per establishment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent County, Michigan | 1,610 | 19,429 | 12.1 |
| Ottawa County, Michigan | 1,044 | 6,771 | 6.5 |
| Barry County, Michigan | 149 | 616 | 4.1 |
| Montcalm County, Michigan | 129 | 668 | 5.2 |
| Ionia County, Michigan | 125 | 788 | 6.3 |
Kent County, with Grand Rapids, Wyoming and Kentwood, holds 52.7% of the establishments and 68.7% of the jobs. Ottawa County has a third of the region's contractors, but they average 6.5 employees, and the three rural counties average 4 to 6.
Size
| Employees per establishment | Establishments |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 1,934 |
| 5 to 9 | 466 |
| 10 to 19 | 332 |
| 20 to 49 | 216 |
| 50 to 99 | 70 |
| 100 to 249 | 33 |
| 250 to 499 | 6 |
| 500 or more | Not published |
The Census Bureau doesn't publish the 500 to 999 and 1,000-or-more cells for this metro, but the published classes already add up to the 3,057 total, so the derived count above 499 is zero. Grouped more broadly, 2,732 establishments (89.4%) have 1 to 19 employees, 286 have 20 to 99 and 39 have 100 or more.
What the count covers. CBP counts establishments (locations) with paid employees in the pay period including March 12, 2023, not companies; a builder with offices in Grand Rapids and Holland counts twice. Sole proprietors with no payroll aren't counted.
Who builds what
| Type of work (NAICS) | Establishments | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Specialty trade contractors (238) | 1,926 | 19,453 |
| Plumbing, heating and air conditioning (238220) | 345 | 5,322 |
| Electrical (238210) | 252 | 3,634 |
| Site preparation (238910) | 180 | 1,618 |
| Poured concrete foundation and structure (238110) | 117 | 1,345 |
| Roofing (238160) | 82 | 719 |
| Masonry (238140) | 78 | 722 |
| Building construction (236) | 1,010 | 6,859 |
| Residential remodelers (236118) | 498 | 1,840 |
| New single-family general contractors (236115) | 236 | 1,070 |
| For-sale homebuilders (236117) | 78 | 578 |
| Commercial and institutional building (236220) | 163 | 3,069 |
| Heavy and civil engineering (237) | 121 | 1,960 |
The commercial builders average 18.8 employees, larger than the US average for that group (16.4), and the mechanical and electrical contractors average about 15. Residential remodelers average 3.7.
The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey counts 4,267 housing units authorized across the metro in 2025, up from 3,861 in 2024: 2,558 single-family homes and 1,571 in buildings of five or more units.
The city's registered contractor list
A contractor who wants to pull permits in Grand Rapids must hold a State of Michigan license and register it with the city's Development Center; registration cards arrive by mail about two weeks after the form is accepted. Underground contractors must also register with the Water Department before excavating or working on utilities. The city publishes the result:
- Registered contractor list. A public dashboard of every registered contractor, searchable by name, license type and registration status.
- Permit tracking. The city's AgencyCounter app and Building Eye permit map let you follow development projects across the city.
- Citizen Access portal. Where registered contractors apply for permits.
The registration covers permits in the City of Grand Rapids only; for a job elsewhere in the region, ask the city or township where the work is.
How to vet a Grand Rapids contractor
- Find the firm on the city's registered contractor list and confirm the license type fits your job and the registration is active.
- Confirm the state license with Michigan's Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), using the license number from the city list.
- Look up its recent projects in the city's permit tools and ask for two references from jobs like yours.
- Get insurance certificates and lien waivers, and a written schedule of payments.
Prospecting West Michigan contractors
| Size band | Establishments | Who usually decides |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 19 employees | 2,732 | The owner, who usually holds the state license |
| 20 to 99 employees | 286 | Owner, operations manager or controller |
| 100 or more | 39 | Project executives, safety, equipment and purchasing leads |
The city list is also a segmentation tool: filter by license type to separate builders from the mechanical, electrical and plumbing trades, then use permits to see who's active this season.
Illustrative example. The company and its assumptions are invented; the establishment counts are from CBP 2023.
Lakeshore Heat (lakeshoreheat.example) rents construction heaters and ground thaw equipment for winter work. Its targets are concrete (117 establishments), masonry (78), site preparation (180) and commercial builders (163): 538 in all. If 40% work through the winter and it wins a quarter of them at $9,000 a season, that's 54 customers and $486,000 a winter. The useful research is which of them have jobs starting in November; Bebop researches each account on a list like this and suggests the angle to open with.
Sources for names
| Source | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Grand Rapids registered contractors | Registration rules and the public list of registered contractors |
| Grand Rapids Development Center | Permits, fees and the city's permit tracking tools |
| AgencyCounter | Development projects across the city |
| ABC Western Michigan | Merit shop contractors in West Michigan |
| AGC of Michigan | General contractors and construction firms statewide |
| The Right Place | Greater Grand Rapids economic development and company expansions |
| Grand Rapids Chamber | The region's business chamber |
Next step: build the list with the construction companies industry guide, or compare a larger Midwest market in the Chicago construction companies report.
Sources
- County Business Patterns 2023, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Building Permits Survey, annual CBSA data for 2024 and 2025, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Registered Contractor, City of Grand Rapids Development Center, accessed 30 October 2026
- Development Center, City of Grand Rapids, accessed 30 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many construction companies are in Grand Rapids?
Census County Business Patterns counted 3,057 construction establishments with paid employees in the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood metro in 2023, employing 28,272 people. Kent County had 1,610 and Ottawa County 1,044. The count is of locations rather than companies and leaves out self-employed contractors with no employees. For the firms licensed to work inside the city itself, use the City of Grand Rapids's public registered contractor list.
How do I find a licensed contractor in Grand Rapids?
Use the City of Grand Rapids's public list of registered contractors, which you can search by name, license type and registration status. Every contractor registered there has a State of Michigan license, which the city requires before it will let a contractor apply for permits. Then ask for references and check recent permits in the city's permit tracking tools.
Do contractors have to register with the City of Grand Rapids?
Yes, to pull permits in the city. A contractor must hold a State of Michigan license and register it with the Development Center, which mails a registration card within about two weeks. Underground contractors must also register with the Water Department before excavation or utility work. For work outside the city, ask the local city or township.
What are the largest construction companies in Grand Rapids?
No SEC-listed construction company is headquartered in the Grand Rapids metro, so no public filing ranks local firms. Census figures show 39 construction establishments with 100 or more employees and none with 500 or more. Large private contractors don't publish revenue; trade associations such as ABC Western Michigan and AGC of Michigan list member firms.