Best Places49234, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49234, 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.
49234 ranks 8,331st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 49234
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.
49234's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49234 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$564 a month, better than 89% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Household income$101,636 median, better than 81% of zip codes
Where 49234 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49234
A household needs to earn about $82,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49234 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $101,636, 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 49234's effective rate of 0.92%, 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 49234
49234 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 49234.
Who works in 49234, and how
Work in 49234 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 49234
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 49234.
What the weather is like in 49234, month by month
49234 sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 26° | 18° |
| April | 61° | 47° | 35° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 60° |
| October | 65° | 53° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 49234
The nearest airport, Eugene F Kranz Toledo Express, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 52 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49234
Schools across 49234 average a C, better than 36% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Hanoverhorton Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Ezra Eby Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Townsend Elementary SchoolD · 17% proficient
Top middle schools
- Napoleon Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Hanoverhorton Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Hanoverhorton High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Columbia Central High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Napoleon High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49234 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49234 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 49234 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49234
Is 49234 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49234 ranks 8,331st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, civic engagement, and affordable childcare, and lowest on car insurance costs and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 49234 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $307,710. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $101,636 median income, cost of living beats 81% of zip codes.
Is 49234 safe?
Yes, 49234 is safer than 88% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $227 per resident a year.
Compare 49234 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49234. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49234 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.
49234 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49234: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49234: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49234: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49234: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49234 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.