Best Places49099, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49099, 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.
49099 ranks 17,339th 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 49099
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.
49099's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49099 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Short commute19.6 minutes each way, better than 86% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$584 a month, better than 86% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 49099 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 27% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49099
A household needs to earn about $53,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49099 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,660, 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 49099's effective rate of 1.04%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 49099
49099 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 49099.
Who works in 49099, and how
Work in 49099 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 49099
49099 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 94% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 49099 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 49099, month by month
49099 sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 27° | 21° |
| April | 59° | 48° | 39° |
| July | 83° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 64° | 54° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 49099
The nearest airport, Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago Midway International, about 107 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49099
Schools across 49099 average a D, better than 8% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- York Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Centreville Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Riverside Elementary SchoolD+ · 22% proficient
Top middle schools
- Constantine Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
- Sturgis Middle SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Centreville Jr Sr High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Sturgis High SchoolD · 22% proficient
- Constantine High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49099 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49099 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 49099 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49099
Is 49099 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49099 ranks 17,339th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, low disaster risk, and short commutes, 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 49099 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $197,864. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $67,660 median income, cost of living beats 43% of zip codes.
Is 49099 safe?
Yes, 49099 is safer than 92% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $197 per resident a year.
Compare 49099 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49099. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49099 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.
49099 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49099: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49099: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49099: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49099: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49099 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.