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Walker is a city 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, ...
. A suburb of Grand Rapids, Walker borders the city to the north and west. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 25,132. Walker was originally organized as Walker Township in 1837 and later incorporated as a city in 1962. It is home to the headquarters of
Meijer Meijer Inc. (, ) is an American supercenter chain that primarily operates throughout the Midwestern United States. Its corporate headquarters are in Walker, Michigan. Founded in 1934 as a supermarket chain, Meijer is credited with pioneering ...
and Bissell.


History

The area was first organized as Walker Township on December 30, 1837, the second to be organized in Kent County. It initially comprised all of the land in the county north of the Grand River. Shortly thereafter in 1838, part of the township was split off to form Ada Township. The earliest settlers of the township were Canadian immigrants. In 1867, a township hall was built. However, the area where the township hall was annexed into Grand Rapids in 1959. Walker was established as a city in 1962 to prevent further annexation of the area into Grand Rapids. At the time it was made a city, Walker had a population of 11,000. The city gained national attention when Gwendolyn Graham and Cathy Wood committed their murders as workers at a nursing home in Walker in 1987.


Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (2.27%) is water.


Major highways

* runs along the north side of the city. * passes briefly through the northeastern part of the city. * runs south–north through the western edge of the city. * enters from the north of the city and then runs concurrently with I-96. * runs west–east briefly through the center of the city.


Government

The city of Walker operates with a
City commission government City commission government is a form of local government in the United States. In a city commission government, voters elect a small commission, typically of five to seven members, typically on a plurality-at-large voting basis. These commission ...
, with six elected officials serving on a commission plus an appointed
city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city in the council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are referred to as the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief administ ...
. The city government is represented by three wards, each with two elected commissioners, which are overseen by an elected mayor. The city levies an income tax of 1% on residents and 0.5% on nonresidents.


Media


Newspaper

* ''
The Grand Rapids Press ''The Grand Rapids Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Grand Rapids, Michigan 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, 20 ...
'' had its printing and distribution facility in Walker. The facility closed October 5, 2020 and printing operations were consolidated to Cleveland, Ohio.


Television

* WZZM 13 is located in Walker. * WXSP-CD 15 broadcast tower is located in Walker.


Radio

* WTRV 100.5 MHz is licensed to Walker. However, the studio is located in downtown Grand Rapids.


Education


Public schools

School districts serving the City of Walker include Comstock Park Public Schools, Grand Rapids Public Schools, Grandville Public Schools, and Kenowa Hills Public Schools. Kenowa Hills schools in the Walker city limits include the Kenowa Hills Early Childhood Center/Day Care & Learning Center, (previously Walker Station Elementary School) Kenowa Hills Central Elementary School, (formerly Kenowa Hills Intermediate School) and Zinser Elementary School. The district previously operated Fairview Elementary School in Walker. Kenowa Hills district residents are zoned to Kenowa Hills Middle School and Kenowa Hills High School in Alpine Township. One Grandville school, Cummings Elementary, is in the city limits. One National Heritage Academies charter school, Walker Charter Academy, is in the city limits.


Private schools

Covenant Christian High School and Hope Protestant Reformed Christian School are located in Walker.


Public libraries

The Kent District Library Walker Branch is in Walker.


Sports

The DeltaPlex Arena was an event arena within Walker and was home to the Grand Rapids Gold of the
NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...
, which is an affiliate of the
Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...
. The Delta Plex closed and is now mixed use commercial facility and the Grand Rapids Gold play home games at the Van Andel Arena"Fans get first taste of Grand Rapids Drive atmosphere at DeltaPlex Arena"
/ref>


Demographics


2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a population of 25,139 people. The racial makeup of the city was 84.9%
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 ...
, 2.8% Black or African American, 3.2% Asian, 0.5% Native American, and 5.0% 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 5.2% of the population.


2010 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 2010, there were 23,537 people, 9,684 households, and 5,923 families living in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 10,432 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 91.3%
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 ...
, 2.8%
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 ...
, 0.5% Native American, 1.9% Asian, 1.4% from other races, and 2.1% 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 of any race were 4.1% of the population. There were 9,684 households, of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.8% 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, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.8% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.6% 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 3.05. The median age in the city was 34.6 years. 22.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 12.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.7% were from 25 to 44; 25.3% were from 45 to 64; and 12.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.7% male and 51.3% female.


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 21,842 people, 8,805 households, and 5,379 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 9,201 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.51%
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 ...
, 1.47%
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 ...
, 0.46% Native American, 0.98% Asian, 0.04%
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 ...
, 1.09% from other races, and 1.45% 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 of any race were 2.75% of the population. There were 8,805 households, out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% 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, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.9% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.14. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 12.4% from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $44,818, and the median income for a family was $58,912. Males had a median income of $37,438 versus $28,372 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 city was $21,198. About 3.1% of families and 6.1% 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 4.0% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.


Sister city

* Walker is the sister city of
Colac, Victoria Colac is a town in the Western District (Victoria), Western District of Victoria, Australia, approximately 150 kilometres south-west of Melbourne on the southern shore of Lake Colac. History For thousands of years clans of the Gulidjan people ...
in Australia.


Notes


References


External links


City of Walker official website
{{Authority control Cities in Kent County, Michigan Grand Rapids metropolitan area 1837 establishments in Michigan Populated places established in 1837