Best Places48917, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 48917, 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.
48917 ranks 12,396th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 48917
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.
48917's strengths and weaknesses
Where 48917 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Short commute18.7 minutes each way, better than 89% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 48917 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 68 pleasant days a year, better than only 21% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 48917
A household needs to earn about $65,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 48917 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $75,232, 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 48917's effective rate of 1.58%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 48917
48917 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 48917.
Who works in 48917, and how
Work in 48917 centers on education and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 48917
48917 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 82% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 48917 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 48917, month by month
48917 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 48917
The nearest airport, Capital Region International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 75 miles away.
The best schools in and around 48917
Schools across 48917 average a C, better than 35% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Paulding Elementary SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Willow Ridge Elementary SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Delta Center Elementary SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
Top middle schools
- Paulding Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Kenneth T Beagle Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Waverly Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Paulding High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Grand Ledge High SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Waverly Senior High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 48917 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
48917 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 48917 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 48917 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 19% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 48917
Is 48917 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 48917 ranks 12,396th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, short commutes, and few empty homes, 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 48917 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $225,162. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $75,232 median income, cost of living beats 67% of zip codes.
Is 48917 safe?
48917 is safer than 49% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $359 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 48917?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 34 with lows near 19. That works out to about 68 pleasant days a year, more than 21% of zip codes.
Is 48917 good for families?
Schools beat 35% of zip codes, crime safety beats 49%, and childcare runs $735 a month.
Compare 48917 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 48917. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 48917 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.
48917 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 48917: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 48917: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 48917: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 48917: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
48917 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.