Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Spectrum Health is the largest employer in West Michigan, with 25,600 staff and 1,700 physicians in 2017. Spectrum Health's Meijer Heart Center, Lemmen-Holton Cancer Pavilion, and Butterworth Hospital, a level I trauma center, are located on the Grand Rapids Medical Mile, which has world-class facilities focusing on the health sciences. These facilities include the Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Valley State University's Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences, and the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine medical school's Secchia Center, along with Ferris State University's College of Pharmacy. Nearly a billion dollars has been invested in the Spectrum Health Cancer Pavilion, the Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children's Hospital, and the expansion to the Van Andel Institute. These facilities have attracted numerous health science businesses to the area.

The Grand Rapids area is home to a number of well-known companies that include: Alticor/Amway (a consumer goods manufacturer and distributor), Bissell (a privately owned vacuum cleaner and floor care product manufacturer), Highlight Industries (an industry leader in stretch wrap equipment), SpartanNash (a food distributor and grocery store chain), Foremost Insurance Company (a specialty lines insurance company), Meijer (a regional supercenter chain), GE Aviation (formerly Smiths Industries, an aerospace products company), Wolverine World Wide (a designer and manufacturer of shoes, boots and clothing), MC Sports, Inc. (a regional sports retail chain), Universal Forest Products (a building materials company), and Schuler Books & Music, one of the largest independent bookstores in the country.