Best Places49221, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49221, 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.
49221 ranks 17,775th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 49221
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.
49221's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49221 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$593 a month, better than 85% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 82% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 70% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 69% of zip codes
Where 49221 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- School gradeC−, better than only 20% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 27% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49221
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49221 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,486, 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 49221's effective rate of 1.29%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 49221
49221's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 49221.
Who works in 49221, and how
Work in 49221 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 49221
49221 has more parkland per resident than 95% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 49221 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 49221, month by month
49221 sees roughly 81 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 | 61° | 48° | 36° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 61° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 49221
The nearest airport, Eugene F Kranz Toledo Express, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 41 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49221
Schools across 49221 average a C−, better than 20% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Ruth Mcgregor Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Madison Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Onsted ElementaryC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Madison Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Tecumseh Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Blissfield Middle SchoolC− · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Jclisd Academy A Regional Middle CollegeB+ · 57% proficient
- Tecumseh High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Blissfield High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49221 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49221 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 49221 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 49221 suits
Families
Schools land around the 20th percentile and crime safety beats 65%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 49221
Is 49221 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49221 ranks 17,775th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, affordable childcare, and walkability, and lowest on car insurance costs and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 49221 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $163,899. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $67,486 median income, cost of living beats 52% of zip codes.
Is 49221 safe?
Yes, 49221 is safer than 65% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $309 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 49221?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 35 with lows near 19. That works out to about 81 pleasant days a year, more than 46% of zip codes.
Is 49221 good for families?
Schools beat 20% of zip codes, crime safety beats 65%, and childcare runs $593 a month.
Compare 49221 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49221. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49221 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.
49221 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49221: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49221: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49221: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49221: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49221 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.