Best Places48642, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 48642, 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.
48642 ranks 7,066th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 48642
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.
48642's strengths and weaknesses
Where 48642 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 48642 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 48642
A household needs to earn about $63,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 48642 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $83,953, 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 48642's effective rate of 1.42%, 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 48642
48642's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 48642.
Who works in 48642, and how
Work in 48642 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 48642
48642 has more parkland per resident than 84% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 48642 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 48642, month by month
48642 sees roughly 85 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 25° | 19° |
| April | 57° | 45° | 35° |
| July | 84° | 72° | 60° |
| October | 63° | 52° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 48642
The nearest airport, MBS International, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 108 miles away.
The best schools in and around 48642
Schools across 48642 average a B, better than 69% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Adams Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Siebert Elementary SchoolA− · 59% proficient
- Woodcrest Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Jefferson Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Northeast Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
- Western Middle SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Hh Dow High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Midland High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Meridian Early College High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 48642 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
48642 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 48642 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 48642 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 76% of zip codes and 13% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 48642
Is 48642 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 48642 ranks 7,066th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, health care access, and low crime, and lowest on car insurance costs and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 48642 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $220,551. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $83,953 median income, cost of living beats 76% of zip codes.
Is 48642 safe?
Yes, 48642 is safer than 89% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $227 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 48642?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 32 with lows near 19. That works out to about 85 pleasant days a year, more than 50% of zip codes.
Is 48642 good for families?
Schools beat 69% of zip codes, crime safety beats 89%, and childcare runs $698 a month.
Compare 48642 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 48642. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 48642 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.
48642 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 48642: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 48642: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 48642: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 48642: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
48642 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.