Best Places48836, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 48836, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
48836 ranks 14,119th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 48836
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.
48836's strengths and weaknesses
Where 48836 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 75% of zip codes
Where 48836 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Short commute32.2 minutes each way, better than only 19% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 48836
A household needs to earn about $75,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 48836 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $86,555, 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 48836's effective rate of 0.99%, 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 48836
48836's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 48836.
Who works in 48836, and how
Work in 48836 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 48836
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 48836.
What the weather is like in 48836, month by month
48836 sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 26° | 20° |
| April | 58° | 47° | 38° |
| July | 83° | 73° | 63° |
| October | 63° | 53° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 48836
The nearest airport, Capital Region International, is about 27 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 48 miles away.
The best schools in and around 48836
Schools across 48836 average a C+, better than 37% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Voyager Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Challenger Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Webberville Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Parker Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Highlander Way Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Fowlerville Junior High SchoolC− · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Howell High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Byron Area High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Fowlerville High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 48836 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
48836 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 48836 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 48836
Is 48836 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 48836 ranks 14,119th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, civic engagement, and low crime, and lowest on car insurance costs and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 48836 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $279,960. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $86,555 median income, cost of living beats 61% of zip codes.
Is 48836 safe?
Yes, 48836 is safer than 91% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $225 per resident a year.
Compare 48836 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 48836. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 48836 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.
48836 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 48836: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 48836: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 48836: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 48836: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
48836 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.