Best Places48861, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 48861, 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.
48861 ranks 7,992nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 48861
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.
48861's strengths and weaknesses
Where 48861 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 48861 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 31% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 48861
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 48861 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $94,863, 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 48861's effective rate of 1.21%, 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 48861
48861 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 48861.
Who works in 48861, and how
Work in 48861 centers on public administration and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 48861
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 48861.
What the weather is like in 48861, month by month
48861 sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 26° | 20° |
| April | 58° | 47° | 37° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 63° | 52° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 48861
The nearest airport, Capital Region International, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 87 miles away.
The best schools in and around 48861
Schools across 48861 average a C+, better than 44% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Parkview Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Westwood Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Tc Holbrook Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kenneth T Beagle Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Lakewood Middle SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Portland Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Portland High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Grand Ledge High SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Lakewood High SchoolC · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 48861 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
48861 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 48861 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 48861
Is 48861 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 48861 ranks 7,992nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, low crime, and a stable housing market, 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 48861 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $207,024. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $94,863 median income, cost of living beats 82% of zip codes.
Is 48861 safe?
Yes, 48861 is safer than 93% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $191 per resident a year.
Compare 48861 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 48861. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 48861 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.
48861 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 48861: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 48861: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 48861: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 48861: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
48861 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.