Best Places49007, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49007, 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.
49007 ranks 28,080th 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 49007
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.
49007's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49007 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 98% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Short commute18.5 minutes each way, better than 90% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 49007 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Household income$45,337 median, better than only 7% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49007
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49007 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $45,337; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 49007's effective rate of 1.52%, 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 49007
49007 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 49007.
Who works in 49007, and how
Work in 49007 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 19%
Life in 49007
49007 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 49007 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 49007, month by month
49007 sees roughly 78 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 49007
The nearest airport, Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 115 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49007
Schools across 49007 average a B−, better than 61% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Kingwestwood Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Parchment Central Elem SchoolC− · 30% 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
- Parchment High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49007 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49007 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 49007 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49007
Is 49007 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49007 ranks 28,080th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, walkability, and transit, 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 49007 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $171,983. The overall cost of living runs about 26% below the national average. Set against a $45,337 median income, cost of living beats 15% of zip codes.
Is 49007 safe?
49007 is safer than 5% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $873 per resident a year.
Compare 49007 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49007. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49007 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.
49007 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49007: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49007: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49007: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49007: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49007 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.