Best Places49306, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49306, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
49306 ranks 2,153rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 49306
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.
49306's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49306 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 49306 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 68 pleasant days a year, better than only 21% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49306
A household needs to earn about $111,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49306 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $128,127, 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 49306's effective rate of 1.01%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 49306
49306 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 49306.
Who works in 49306, and how
Work in 49306 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 49306
49306 has more parkland per resident than 99% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 49306 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 49306, month by month
49306 sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 26° | 19° |
| April | 60° | 47° | 36° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 62° |
| October | 64° | 53° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 49306
The nearest airport, Gerald R Ford International, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 117 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49306
Schools across 49306 average a B+, better than 71% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Chandler Woods Charter AcademyA · 66% proficient
- Valley View Elementary SchoolA− · 59% proficient
- Lakes Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Rockford Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
- East Rockford Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Mill Creek Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Northview High SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Comstock Park High SchoolC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49306 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49306 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 49306 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49306
Is 49306 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49306 ranks 2,153rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, what local pay buys, and low crime, 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 49306 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $413,901. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $128,127 median income, cost of living beats 96% of zip codes.
Is 49306 safe?
Yes, 49306 is safer than 94% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $194 per resident a year.
Compare 49306 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49306. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49306 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.
49306 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49306: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49306: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49306: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49306: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49306 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.