Best Places49115, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49115, 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.
49115 ranks 19,459th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 49115
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.
49115's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49115 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 49115 ranks low
- Short commute39.7 minutes each way, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49115
A household needs to earn about $87,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49115 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $83,028; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 49115's effective rate of 0.77%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 49115
49115 runs older 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 49115.
Who works in 49115, and how
Work in 49115 centers on health care & social and other services. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 57%
- Work from home 38%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 49115
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 49115.
What the weather is like in 49115, month by month
49115 sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 28° | 22° |
| April | 58° | 47° | 39° |
| July | 81° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 63° | 53° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 49115
The nearest airport, South Bend International, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago Midway International, about 58 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49115
Schools across 49115 average a B−, better than 52% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Three Oaks Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Fc Reed Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
- New Buffalo Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- River Valley Middlehigh SchoolC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49115 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49115 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 49115 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49115
Is 49115 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49115 ranks 19,459th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, civic engagement, and low disaster risk, and lowest on long commutes and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 49115 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $334,300. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $83,028 median income, cost of living beats 72% of zip codes.
Is 49115 safe?
Yes, 49115 is safer than 59% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $315 per resident a year.
Compare 49115 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49115. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49115 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.
49115 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49115: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49115: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49115: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49115: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49115 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.