Best Places49004, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49004, 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.
49004 ranks 12,996th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Car insurance costs pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on transit.
The best neighborhoods in 49004
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.
49004's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49004 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 82% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 77% of zip codes
Where 49004 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49004
A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49004 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $76,952, 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 49004's effective rate of 1.43%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 49004
49004 runs younger 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 49004.
Who works in 49004, and how
Work in 49004 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 49004
49004 has more parkland per resident than 93% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 49004 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 49004, month by month
49004 sees roughly 79 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 27° | 20° |
| April | 62° | 49° | 37° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 62° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 49004
The nearest airport, Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 114 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49004
Schools across 49004 average a C, better than 38% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Stem AcademyB · 50% proficient
- Thomas M Ryan Intermediate SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Parchment Central Elem SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hillside Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Gull Lake Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Parchment Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- Kalamazoo Central High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Gull Lake High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Parchment High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49004 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49004 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 49004 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49004
Is 49004 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49004 ranks 12,996th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, few empty homes, and civic engagement, and lowest on car insurance costs and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 49004 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $207,647. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $76,952 median income, cost of living beats 77% of zip codes.
Is 49004 safe?
49004 is safer than 54% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $342 per resident a year.
Compare 49004 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49004. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49004 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.
49004 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49004: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49004: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49004: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49004: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49004 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.