Best Places48617, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 48617, 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.
48617 ranks 26,197th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Car insurance costs pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on affordable childcare.
The best neighborhoods in 48617
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.
48617's strengths and weaknesses
Where 48617 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$656 a month, better than 80% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 77% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 76% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 74% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 71% of zip codes
Where 48617 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Household income$58,736 median, better than only 22% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 48617
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 48617 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,736, 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 48617's effective rate of 1.06%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 48617
48617's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 48617.
Who works in 48617, and how
Work in 48617 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 48617
48617 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 93% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 48617 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 48617, month by month
48617 sees roughly 75 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 25° | 20° |
| April | 57° | 45° | 36° |
| July | 84° | 72° | 61° |
| October | 62° | 51° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 48617
The nearest airport, MBS International, is about 39 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 132 miles away.
The best schools in and around 48617
Schools across 48617 average a C, better than 32% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Gladwin Intermediate SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Farwell Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Beaverton Elementary SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top middle schools
- Gladwin Junior High SchoolB− · 39% proficient
- Clare Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Farwell Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- Clare High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Shepherd High SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Coleman Juniorsenior High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 48617 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
48617 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 48617 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 48617
Is 48617 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 48617 ranks 26,197th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, clean air, and civic engagement, and lowest on car insurance costs and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 48617 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $163,912. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $58,736 median income, cost of living beats 26% of zip codes.
Is 48617 safe?
Yes, 48617 is safer than 55% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $347 per resident a year.
Compare 48617 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 48617. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 48617 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.
48617 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 48617: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 48617: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 48617: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 48617: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
48617 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.