Best Places49046, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49046, 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.
49046 ranks 15,665th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 49046
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.
49046's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49046 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$673 a month, better than 77% of zip codes
Where 49046 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Short commute34.8 minutes each way, better than only 11% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49046
A household needs to earn about $72,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49046 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $86,949, 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 49046's effective rate of 0.81%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 49046
49046 runs older 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 49046.
Who works in 49046, and how
Work in 49046 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 49046
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 49046.
What the weather is like in 49046, month by month
49046 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 49046
The nearest airport, Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International, is about 21 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 106 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49046
Schools across 49046 average a C−, better than 23% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Thomas M Ryan Intermediate SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Pine Street ElementaryB− · 44% proficient
- Rj Steeby SchoolB− · 40% 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
- Wayland High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Martin High SchoolC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49046 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49046 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 49046 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49046
Is 49046 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49046 ranks 15,665th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, civic engagement, and health care access, and lowest on car insurance costs and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 49046 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $274,482. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $86,949 median income, cost of living beats 71% of zip codes.
Is 49046 safe?
Yes, 49046 is safer than 77% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $264 per resident a year.
Compare 49046 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49046. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49046 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.
49046 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49046: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49046: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49046: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49046: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49046 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.