Comstock Park is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Kent County in the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. The population was 10,500 at the 2020 census. The community is located within Alpine Township to the west and Plainfield Township to the east. The community is part of the

Grand Rapids metropolitan area The Grand Rapids metropolitan area is a triangular shaped Metro Triplex, in West Michigan, which fans out westward from the primary hub city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, to the other two metro hubs of Muskegon and Holland. The metropolitan are ...

, with the city of

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...

to the south and

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

just to the southeast. Comstock Park is the home of the

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpar ...

, an affiliate of the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

, who play their games at LMCU Ballpark. The Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park also passes through the community.

History

In 1838, a settlement known as North's Mill was established by Daniel North. The name changed to Mill Creek in 1848. The area became a major transportation hub, serving both the

Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad The Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad at its height provided passenger and freight railroad services between Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan, USA. The company was formed on January 18, 1854. Beginnings After grapp ...

and

Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad The Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad was the owner of Dearborn Station in Chicago and the trackage leading to it. It was owned equally by five of the railroads using it to reach the terminal, and kept those companies from needing their ow ...

, and set the tone for becoming the northern Grand Rapids-area crossroads it is today. It was renamed Comstock Park in 1906 after politician Charles C. Comstock, who served the district in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

for one term from 1885–1887.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the Comstock Park CDP has a total area of , of which is land and (0.26%) is water. The Grand River flows just east of the community.

Transportation

Bus

The Rapid The Rapid is the public transit operator serving Grand Rapids, Michigan and its surrounding suburbs. The Rapid operates local service in urban areas in Kent County, and regional service to Ferris State University and Grand Valley State Univers ...

operates one bus route in Comstock Park, Route 9, with service to Rapid Central Station via Alpine Avenue.

Major highways

* *

Education

Comstock Park Public Schools Comstock Park Public Schools (CPPS) is a school district in Michigan, headquartered in the Comstock Park census-designated place,Kenowa Hills Public Schools Kenowa Hills Public Schools is a school district headquartered in Alpine Township, Michigan in Greater Grand Rapids. It serves portions of Alpine Township, the City of Walker, and Wright Township (including Marne).

serves a smaller western portion of the community. The

Kent District Library The Kent District Library is a public library system located in Kent County, Michigan. With twenty branch locations and an annual circulation of more than 8.2 million items ''(2016 circulation data)'', the Kent District Library is one of the lar ...

KDL Service Center is near Comstock Park in Plainfield Township.KDL Branch Library
." Alpine Township, Michigan. Retrieved on December 27, 2012. "KDL Library Branch 5255 Alpine Ave NW Comstock Park, MI 49321"

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP had a population of 10,500 people. The racial makeup was 68.6%

Non-Hispanic White Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

, 10.5% Black or African American, 1.2% Asian, 0.2% Native American, and 5.1% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino people of any race were 14.3% of the population.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 10,674 people, 4,441 households, and 2,513 families residing in the community. The population density was . There were 4,654 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the community was 87.30%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 3.91%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.77% Native American, 1.92% Asian, 0.06%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 3.33% from other races, and 2.73% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 7.22% of the population. Of the 4,441 households, 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.4% were not families. About 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.98. In the community, the population was distributed as with 23.8% under the age of 18, 20.4% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 16.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.5 males. The median income for a household in the community was $40,202, and for a family was $47,154. Males had a median income of $36,076 versus $26,331 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the community was $19,911. About 7.9% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 12.7% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Comstock Park Downtown Development Authority
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Michigan Unincorporated communities in Kent County, Michigan Census-designated places in Michigan Census-designated places in Kent County, Michigan Grand Rapids metropolitan area Populated places established in 1838 1838 establishments in Michigan