Best Places49012, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49012, 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.
49012 ranks 5,642nd 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 49012
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.
49012's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49012 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Household income$100,351 median, better than 80% of zip codes
Where 49012 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49012
A household needs to earn about $82,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49012 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $100,351, 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 49012's effective rate of 0.98%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 49012
49012's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 49012.
Who works in 49012, and how
Work in 49012 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 80%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 49012
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 49012.
What the weather is like in 49012, month by month
49012 sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 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° | 27° | 19° |
| April | 61° | 48° | 36° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 62° |
| October | 65° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 49012
The nearest airport, Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 103 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49012
Schools across 49012 average a C+, better than 44% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Thomas M Ryan Intermediate SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Galesburgaugusta Primary SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Gull Lake Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Galesburgaugusta Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Gull Lake High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Galesburgaugusta High SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49012 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49012 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 49012 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49012
Is 49012 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49012 ranks 5,642nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, health care access, and what local pay buys, and lowest on car insurance costs and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 49012 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $307,008. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $100,351 median income, cost of living beats 92% of zip codes.
Is 49012 safe?
Yes, 49012 is safer than 89% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $223 per resident a year.
Compare 49012 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49012. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49012 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.
49012 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49012: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49012: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49012: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49012: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49012 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.