Best Places48840, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 48840, 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.
48840 ranks 7,334th 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 48840
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.
48840's strengths and weaknesses
Where 48840 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 91% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 48840 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 68 pleasant days a year, better than only 21% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 48840
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 48840 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $83,575, 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 48840's effective rate of 1.83%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 48840
48840 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 48840.
Who works in 48840, and how
Work in 48840 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 48840
48840 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 73% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 48840 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 48840, month by month
48840 sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 26° | 19° |
| April | 61° | 47° | 35° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 61° |
| October | 65° | 53° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 48840
The nearest airport, Capital Region International, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 65 miles away.
The best schools in and around 48840
Schools across 48840 average a B+, better than 70% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Okemos Public MontessoricentralA · 65% proficient
- Williamston Explorer Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Murphy Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kinawa SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Haslett Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
- Williamston Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Okemos High SchoolA− · 64% proficient
- Haslett High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- Williamston High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 48840 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
48840 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 48840 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 48840
Is 48840 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 48840 ranks 7,334th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, few empty homes, and health care access, 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 48840 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $265,113. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $83,575 median income, cost of living beats 72% of zip codes.
Is 48840 safe?
Yes, 48840 is safer than 78% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $246 per resident a year.
Compare 48840 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 48840. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 48840 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.
48840 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 48840: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 48840: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 48840: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 48840: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
48840 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.