Best Places48503, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 48503, 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.
48503 ranks 31,792nd 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 48503
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.
48503's strengths and weaknesses
Where 48503 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 96% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Short commute20.1 minutes each way, better than 84% of zip codes
Where 48503 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 48503
A household needs to earn about $26,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 48503 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $45,569, 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 48503's effective rate of 1.74%, 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 48503
48503 runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 48503.
Who works in 48503, and how
Work in 48503 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 48503
48503 has more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 48503 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 48503, month by month
48503 sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 26° | 18° |
| April | 61° | 47° | 35° |
| July | 86° | 73° | 60° |
| October | 65° | 53° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 48503
The nearest airport, Bishop International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 58 miles away.
The best schools in and around 48503
Schools across 48503 average a D, better than 6% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Pierce SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Eisenhower SchoolD− · 13% proficient
- Doyleryder SchoolD− · 12% proficient
Top middle schools
- Holmes Stem Middle School AcademyD− · 19% proficient
- Carmanainsworth Middle SchoolD− · 14% proficient
- Bendle Middle SchoolF · 12% proficient
Top high schools
- Genesee Early CollegeB+ · 56% proficient
- Way Academy Flint Flint CampusD+ · 25% proficient
- Mott Middle College High SchoolD− · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 48503 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
48503 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 48503 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 48503 suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 48503
Is 48503 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 48503 ranks 31,792nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, walkability, and biking, and lowest on car insurance costs and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 48503 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $87,855. The overall cost of living runs about 25% below the national average. Set against a $45,569 median income, cost of living beats 13% of zip codes.
Is 48503 safe?
48503 is safer than 2% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,130 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 48503?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 34 with lows near 18. That works out to about 73 pleasant days a year, more than 32% of zip codes.
Is 48503 good for families?
Schools beat 6% of zip codes, crime safety beats 2%, and childcare runs $745 a month.
Compare 48503 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 48503. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 48503 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.
48503 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 48503: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 48503: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 48503: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 48503: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
48503 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.