Best Places49037, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49037, 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.
49037 ranks 29,551st 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 49037
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.
49037's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49037 ranks high
- Short commute18.7 minutes each way, better than 89% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 81% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$650 a month, better than 80% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 49037 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- School gradeD−, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Household income$46,660 median, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49037
A household needs to earn about $29,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49037 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $46,660, 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 49037's effective rate of 1.35%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 49037
49037 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 49037.
Who works in 49037, and how
Work in 49037 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 87%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 49037
49037 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 65% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 49037 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 49037, month by month
49037 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 49037
The nearest airport, Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 96 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49037
Schools across 49037 average a D−, better than 4% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Thomas M Ryan Intermediate SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Galesburgaugusta Primary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Westlake Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Gull Lake Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Galesburgaugusta Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
- Lakeview Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Gull Lake High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Lakeview High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Battle Creek Area Learning CenterD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49037 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49037 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 49037 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 49037 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 6% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 49037
Is 49037 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49037 ranks 29,551st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, walkability, and biking, and lowest on car insurance costs and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 49037 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $103,089. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $46,660 median income, cost of living beats 12% of zip codes.
Is 49037 safe?
49037 is safer than 29% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $479 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 49037?
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 56% of zip codes.
Is 49037 good for families?
Schools beat 4% of zip codes, crime safety beats 29%, and childcare runs $650 a month.
Compare 49037 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49037. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49037 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.
49037 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49037: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49037: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49037: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49037: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49037 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.