Best Places49423, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49423, 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.
49423 ranks 7,735th 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 49423
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.
49423's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49423 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Short commute17.5 minutes each way, better than 93% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 89% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 49423 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- School gradeC−, better than only 25% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49423
A household needs to earn about $78,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49423 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $81,432, 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 49423's effective rate of 1.15%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 49423
49423'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 49423.
Who works in 49423, and how
Work in 49423 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 49423
49423 has more parkland per resident than 92% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 75% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 49423 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 49423, month by month
49423 sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 28° | 21° |
| April | 59° | 47° | 37° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 61° |
| October | 64° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 49423
The nearest airport, Muskegon County, is about 28 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 91 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49423
Schools across 49423 average a C−, better than 25% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sandyview Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Lakewood Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Adams Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Saugatuck Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Cityside Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Creekside Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Black River Public School MiddlehighB · 49% proficient
- Saugatuck High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- West Ottawa High School CampusB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49423 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49423 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 49423 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 49423 suits
Families
Schools land around the 25th percentile and crime safety beats 87%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 9% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 49423
Is 49423 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49423 ranks 7,735th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, short commutes, and low disaster risk, and lowest on car insurance costs and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 49423 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $286,505. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $81,432 median income, cost of living beats 64% of zip codes.
Is 49423 safe?
Yes, 49423 is safer than 87% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $237 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 49423?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 35 with lows near 21. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 29% of zip codes.
Is 49423 good for families?
Schools beat 25% of zip codes, crime safety beats 87%, and childcare runs $692 a month.
Compare 49423 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49423. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49423 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.
49423 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49423: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49423: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49423: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49423: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49423 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.