Best Places49307, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49307, 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.
49307 ranks 19,071st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 49307
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.
49307's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49307 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Short commute18.4 minutes each way, better than 90% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$602 a month, better than 85% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 81% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 49307 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49307
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49307 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,817, 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 49307's effective rate of 1.04%, 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 49307
49307 runs younger 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 49307.
Who works in 49307, and how
Work in 49307 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 49307
49307 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 85% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 49307 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 49307, month by month
49307 sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 30, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30° | 24° | 18° |
| April | 55° | 44° | 34° |
| July | 82° | 71° | 59° |
| October | 60° | 50° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 49307
The nearest airport, Muskegon County, is about 52 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 132 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49307
Schools across 49307 average a C+, better than 49% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Riverview Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Gt Norman Elementary SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Evart Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Big Rapids Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Reed City Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
- Chippewa Hills Intermediate SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Big Rapids High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Crossroads Charter Academy 612C · 32% proficient
- Chippewa Hills High SchoolC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49307 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49307 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 49307 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49307
Is 49307 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49307 ranks 19,071st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, short commutes, and affordable childcare, and lowest on car insurance costs and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 49307 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $189,108. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $61,817 median income, cost of living beats 36% of zip codes.
Is 49307 safe?
49307 is safer than 54% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $358 per resident a year.
Compare 49307 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49307. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49307 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.
49307 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49307: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49307: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49307: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49307: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49307 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.