Best Places49071, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49071, 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.
49071 ranks 3,971st 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 49071
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.
49071's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49071 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 49071 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 29% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49071
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49071 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $103,179, 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 49071's effective rate of 1.10%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 49071
49071'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 49071.
Who works in 49071, and how
Work in 49071 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 49071
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 49071.
What the weather is like in 49071, month by month
49071 sees roughly 79 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 27° | 20° |
| April | 62° | 49° | 37° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 62° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 49071
The nearest airport, Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago Midway International, about 106 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49071
Schools across 49071 average a B, better than 66% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mattawan Later Elem SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Gobles Elementary SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Lawton Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mattawan Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Lawton Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Mattawan High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Paw Paw High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Lawton High SchoolC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49071 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49071 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 49071 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49071
Is 49071 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49071 ranks 3,971st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, low crime, and heat safety, 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 49071 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $290,886. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $103,179 median income, cost of living beats 91% of zip codes.
Is 49071 safe?
Yes, 49071 is safer than 97% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $171 per resident a year.
Compare 49071 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49071. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49071 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.
49071 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49071: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49071: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49071: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49071: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49071 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.