Best Places48021, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 48021, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
48021 ranks 27,348th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 48021
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
48021's strengths and weaknesses
Where 48021 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 94% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 48021 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- School gradeF, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 48021
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 48021 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,456, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 48021's effective rate of 1.60%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 48021
48021 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 48021.
Who works in 48021, and how
Work in 48021 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 48021
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 48021.
What the weather is like in 48021, month by month
48021 sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 28° | 21° |
| April | 61° | 49° | 38° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 65° |
| October | 66° | 56° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 48021
Detroit Metro Wayne County sits about 27 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 16.3 million passengers in 2025, with 168 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 48021
Schools across 48021 average an F, better than 2% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Harmon Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Bellview Elementary SchoolF · 5% proficient
- Pleasantview Elementary SchoolF · 5% proficient
Top middle schools
- Jefferson Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Fisher Magnet Upper AcademyD+ · 25% proficient
- Roseville Middle SchoolD− · 14% proficient
Top high schools
- Lakeview High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Eastpointe Virtual AcademyD+ · 25% proficient
- South Lake High SchoolD− · 11% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 48021 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
48021 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 48021 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 48021 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 48021
Is 48021 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 48021 ranks 27,348th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, walkability, and cell coverage, and lowest on car insurance costs and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 48021 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $140,202. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $67,456 median income, cost of living beats 38% of zip codes.
Is 48021 safe?
48021 is safer than 8% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $707 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 48021?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 36 with lows near 21. That works out to about 80 pleasant days a year, more than 44% of zip codes.
Is 48021 good for families?
Schools beat 2% of zip codes, crime safety beats 8%, and childcare runs $860 a month.
Compare 48021 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 48021. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 48021 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
48021 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 48021: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 48021: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 48021: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 48021: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
48021 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.