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This article is about the Western Michigan region. For the university, see Western Michigan University.

Map of the regions of the Lower Peninsula, employing a broad definition of West Michigan.

Map of the region, employing a narrow definition.

West Michigan, also known as Western Michigan, is a region in the U.S. state of Michigan in its Lower Peninsula.

[edit] Definition

Definitions of the boundaries of the region vary widely; in many contexts, the term "West Michigan" is applied only to the counties of Allegan, Kent, Muskegon, and Ottawa, which comprise the Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland SMSA. Other definitions include the Benton Harbor-St. Joseph and Kalamazoo-Battle Creek regions, which are often considered distinct regions or parts of other regions such as Michiana or Southwestern Michigan^[1]^[2]^[3], 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 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 Mid-Michigan.

[edit] Geography

See also List of Michigan state parks and geography of Michigan.
The area is considered to be part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids.^[4]
In northwest Kent County is Fruit Ridge, which is a prime fruit-growing region; that accounts for 65% of all Michigan apple production.

[edit] Cities and villages

The following table contains the 10 largest incorporated cities of West Michigan according to the 2000 Census. This list holds for nearly every geographic definition of West Michigan. If Battle Creek were included, it would be ranked fourth.

Rank	City	County	Population
1	Grand Rapids	Kent	197,800
2	Kalamazoo	Kalamazoo	77,145
3	Wyoming	Kent	69,368
4	Kentwood	Kent	45,255
5	Portage	Kalamazoo	44,897
6	Muskegon	Muskegon	40,105
7	Holland	Ottawa/Allegan	35,048
8	Norton Shores	Muskegon	22,527
9	Walker	Kent	24,812
10	Grandville	Kent	16,263

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.