Best Places49006, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49006, 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.
49006 ranks 18,271st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 49006
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.
49006's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49006 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 91% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Short commute18.8 minutes each way, better than 89% of zip codes
Where 49006 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Household income$53,035 median, better than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49006
A household needs to earn about $70,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49006 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $53,035, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 49006'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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 49006
49006 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 49006.
Who works in 49006, and how
Work in 49006 centers on education and hospitality & food. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 15%
Life in 49006
49006 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 68% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 49006 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 49006, month by month
49006 sees roughly 80 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 49006
The nearest airport, Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago Midway International, about 114 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49006
Schools across 49006 average a B, better than 70% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Kingwestwood Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Woodland Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Maple Street Magnet School For The ArtsA− · 58% proficient
- Hillside Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Linden Grove Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Loy Norrix High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Kalamazoo Central High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Portage Northern High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49006 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49006 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 49006 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 49006 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 49006
Is 49006 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49006 ranks 18,271st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, biking, and heat safety, 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 49006 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $241,968. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $53,035 median income, cost of living beats 31% of zip codes.
Is 49006 safe?
49006 is safer than 36% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $416 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 49006?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 35 with lows near 20. That works out to about 80 pleasant days a year, more than 44% of zip codes.
Is 49006 good for families?
Schools beat 70% of zip codes, crime safety beats 36%, and childcare runs $732 a month.
Compare 49006 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49006. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49006 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.
49006 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49006: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49006: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49006: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49006: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49006 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.