Best Places49050, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49050, 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.
49050 ranks 17,967th 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 49050
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.
49050's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49050 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$673 a month, better than 77% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 76% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 74% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 74% of zip codes
Where 49050 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49050
A household needs to earn about $68,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49050 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $86,348, 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 49050's effective rate of 0.91%, 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 49050
49050's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 49050.
Who works in 49050, and how
Work in 49050 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 49050
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 49050.
What the weather is like in 49050, month by month
49050 sees roughly 92 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 49050
The nearest airport, Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 99 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49050
Schools across 49050 average a C, better than 28% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Star Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Delton Kellogg Elem SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hastings Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Deltonkellogg Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Hastings High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Deltonkellogg High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49050 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49050 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 49050 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49050
Is 49050 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49050 ranks 17,967th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, affordable childcare, and low disaster risk, and lowest on car insurance costs and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 49050 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $254,498. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $86,348 median income, cost of living beats 65% of zip codes.
Is 49050 safe?
Yes, 49050 is safer than 74% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $266 per resident a year.
Compare 49050 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49050. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49050 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.
49050 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49050: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49050: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49050: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49050: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49050 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.