Best Places49017, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49017, 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.
49017 ranks 21,383rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Car insurance costs pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on short commutes.
The best neighborhoods in 49017
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.
49017's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49017 ranks high
- Short commute18.8 minutes each way, better than 89% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$652 a month, better than 80% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 79% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 76% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 74% of zip codes
Where 49017 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 23% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49017
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49017 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,194, 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 49017's effective rate of 1.39%, 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 49017
49017 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 49017.
Who works in 49017, and how
Work in 49017 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 49017
49017 has more parkland per resident than 88% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 49017 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 49017, month by month
49017 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 49017
The nearest airport, Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 94 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49017
Schools across 49017 average a D, better than 8% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Thomas M Ryan Intermediate SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Star Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Delton Kellogg Elem SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
Top middle schools
- Gull Lake Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Hastings Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Deltonkellogg Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Gull Lake High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Lakeview High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Hastings High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49017 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49017 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 49017 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 49017 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 7% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 49017
Is 49017 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49017 ranks 21,383rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, affordable childcare, and biking, 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 49017 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $150,944. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $63,194 median income, cost of living beats 46% of zip codes.
Is 49017 safe?
49017 is safer than 50% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $361 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 49017?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 34 with lows near 19. That works out to about 91 pleasant days a year, more than 57% of zip codes.
Is 49017 good for families?
Schools beat 8% of zip codes, crime safety beats 50%, and childcare runs $652 a month.
Compare 49017 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49017. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49017 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.
49017 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49017: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49017: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49017: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49017: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49017 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.