Best Places49120, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49120, 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.
49120 ranks 16,534th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 49120
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.
49120's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49120 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$624 a month, better than 83% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 77% of zip codes
Where 49120 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 15% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49120
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49120 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,481, 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 49120's effective rate of 1.00%, 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 49120
49120 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 49120.
Who works in 49120, and how
Work in 49120 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 49120
49120 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 96% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 87% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 49120 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 49120, month by month
49120 sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 27° | 19° |
| April | 62° | 48° | 36° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 62° |
| October | 67° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 49120
The nearest airport, South Bend International, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago Midway International, about 78 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49120
Schools across 49120 average a C, better than 28% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Moccasin Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Eastside Connections SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Howardellis Elementary SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Edwardsburg Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
- Buchanan Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Berrien Springs Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Way NilesB · 50% proficient
- Edwardsburg High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Berrien Springs High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49120 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49120 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 49120 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 49120 suits
Families
Schools land around the 28th percentile and crime safety beats 75%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 7% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 49120
Is 49120 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49120 ranks 16,534th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, affordable childcare, and civic engagement, and lowest on car insurance costs and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 49120 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $187,120. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $69,481 median income, cost of living beats 62% of zip codes.
Is 49120 safe?
Yes, 49120 is safer than 75% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $274 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 49120?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 35 with lows near 19. That works out to about 65 pleasant days a year, more than 15% of zip codes.
Is 49120 good for families?
Schools beat 28% of zip codes, crime safety beats 75%, and childcare runs $624 a month.
Compare 49120 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49120. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49120 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.
49120 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49120: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49120: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49120: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49120: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49120 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.