Best Places49104, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49104, 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.
49104 ranks 9,333rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 49104
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.
49104's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49104 ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 49104 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Household income$58,331 median, better than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49104
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49104 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $58,331, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 49104's effective rate of 0.95%, 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 49104
49104 runs younger 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 49104.
Who works in 49104, and how
Work in 49104 centers on education and other services. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 50%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 32%
Life in 49104
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 49104.
What the weather is like in 49104, month by month
49104 sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 29° | 21° |
| April | 60° | 48° | 36° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 61° |
| October | 66° | 55° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 49104
The nearest airport, South Bend International, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago Midway International, about 73 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49104
Schools across 49104 average a C, better than 32% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sylvester Elementary SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top middle schools
- Berrien Springs Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Berrien Springs High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49104 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49104 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 49104 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49104
Is 49104 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49104 ranks 9,333rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on an educated workforce, biking, and low disaster risk, and lowest on car insurance costs and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 49104 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $248,800. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $58,331 median income, cost of living beats 35% of zip codes.
Is 49104 safe?
Yes, 49104 is safer than 91% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $194 per resident a year.
Compare 49104 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49104. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49104 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.
49104 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49104: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49104: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49104: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49104: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49104 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.