Best Places48879, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 48879, 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.
48879 ranks 12,764th 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 48879
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.
48879's strengths and weaknesses
Where 48879 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 78% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 77% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 74% of zip codes
Where 48879 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 69 pleasant days a year, better than only 24% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 48879
A household needs to earn about $63,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 48879 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $80,148, 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 48879's effective rate of 1.12%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 48879
48879 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 48879.
Who works in 48879, and how
Work in 48879 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 48879
48879 has more parkland per resident than 82% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 48879 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 48879, month by month
48879 sees roughly 69 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 48879
The nearest airport, Capital Region International, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 82 miles away.
The best schools in and around 48879
Schools across 48879 average a C+, better than 41% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Pewamowestphalia Elementary SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- David Scott Elementary SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Waldron Elementary And Middle SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dewitt Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Kenneth T Beagle Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Fulton Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Pewamowestphalia Middlehigh SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Laingsburg High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Dewitt High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 48879 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
48879 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 48879 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 48879
Is 48879 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 48879 ranks 12,764th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, low crime, and few empty homes, and lowest on car insurance costs and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 48879 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $231,160. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $80,148 median income, cost of living beats 59% of zip codes.
Is 48879 safe?
Yes, 48879 is safer than 78% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $285 per resident a year.
Compare 48879 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 48879. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 48879 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.
48879 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 48879: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 48879: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 48879: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 48879: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
48879 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.