Best Places49445, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49445, 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.
49445 ranks 12,731st 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 49445
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.
49445's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49445 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$601 a month, better than 85% of zip codes
Where 49445 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 27% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49445
A household needs to earn about $64,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49445 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $86,094, 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 49445's effective rate of 1.17%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 49445
49445's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 49445.
Who works in 49445, and how
Work in 49445 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 49445
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 49445.
What the weather is like in 49445, month by month
49445 sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 28° | 22° |
| April | 59° | 47° | 36° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 62° |
| October | 64° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 49445
The nearest airport, Muskegon County, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 85 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49445
Schools across 49445 average a B−, better than 51% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Whitehall Ealy Elem SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- North Muskegon Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Central Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Muskegon Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Whitehall Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Reethspuffer Middle SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- North Muskegon High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
- Whitehall Senior High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Reethspuffer High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49445 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49445 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 49445 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 49445 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 78% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 49445
Is 49445 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49445 ranks 12,731st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, low disaster risk, and heat safety, 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 49445 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $233,155. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $86,094 median income, cost of living beats 78% of zip codes.
Is 49445 safe?
49445 is safer than 39% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $400 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 49445?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 35 with lows near 22. That works out to about 73 pleasant days a year, more than 31% of zip codes.
Is 49445 good for families?
Schools beat 51% of zip codes, crime safety beats 39%, and childcare runs $601 a month.
Compare 49445 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49445. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49445 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.
49445 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49445: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49445: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49445: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49445: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49445 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.