Best Places48651, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 48651, 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.
48651 ranks 29,154th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 48651
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.
48651's strengths and weaknesses
Where 48651 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$631 a month, better than 83% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 48651 ranks low
- Household income$41,581 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 48651
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 48651 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $41,581; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 48651's effective rate of 0.88%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 48651
48651 runs older 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 48651.
Who works in 48651, and how
Work in 48651 centers on retail trade 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 80%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 48651
48651 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 48651 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 48651, month by month
48651 sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 22° | 15° |
| April | 55° | 42° | 31° |
| July | 83° | 70° | 56° |
| October | 60° | 49° | 39° |
Flying in and out of 48651
The nearest airport, Cherry Capital, is about 55 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 158 miles away.
The best schools in and around 48651
Schools across 48651 average a D, better than 9% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Roscommon Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Collins Elementary SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top middle schools
- Roscommon Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Roscommon High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Houghton Lake Jrsr High SchoolD · 19% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 48651 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
48651 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 48651 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 48651
Is 48651 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 48651 ranks 29,154th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, low disaster risk, and quiet, and lowest on low incomes and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 48651 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $174,035. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $41,581 median income, cost of living beats 8% of zip codes.
Is 48651 safe?
Yes, 48651 is safer than 62% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $311 per resident a year.
Compare 48651 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 48651. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 48651 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.
48651 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 48651: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 48651: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 48651: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 48651: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
48651 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.