Best Places49096, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49096, 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.
49096 ranks 14,579th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 49096
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.
49096's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49096 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 49096 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Short commute34.2 minutes each way, better than only 13% of zip codes
- School gradeC−, better than only 19% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49096
A household needs to earn about $54,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49096 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $76,206, 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 49096's effective rate of 1.14%, 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 49096
49096 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 49096.
Who works in 49096, and how
Work in 49096 centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 49096
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 49096.
What the weather is like in 49096, month by month
49096 sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 26° | 20° |
| April | 58° | 47° | 37° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 63° | 52° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 49096
The nearest airport, Capital Region International, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 90 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49096
Schools across 49096 average a C−, better than 19% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Parkview Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Maplewood SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
- Bellevue Elementary SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lakewood Middle SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Charlotte Upper Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Olivet High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Lakewood High SchoolC · 30% proficient
- Charlotte Senior High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49096 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49096 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 49096 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49096
Is 49096 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49096 ranks 14,579th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, quiet, and heat safety, 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 49096 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $195,867. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $76,206 median income, cost of living beats 53% of zip codes.
Is 49096 safe?
Yes, 49096 is safer than 96% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $168 per resident a year.
Compare 49096 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49096. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49096 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.
49096 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49096: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49096: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49096: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49096: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49096 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.