Best Places49451, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49451, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
49451 ranks 14,017th 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 49451
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.
49451's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49451 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$607 a month, better than 84% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 49451 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 15% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49451
A household needs to earn about $61,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49451 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,719, 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 49451's effective rate of 1.00%, 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 49451
49451'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 49451.
Who works in 49451, and how
Work in 49451 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 49451
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 49451.
What the weather is like in 49451, month by month
49451 sees roughly 75 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 49451
The nearest airport, Muskegon County, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 99 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49451
Schools across 49451 average a D+, better than 15% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Oakridge Lower Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Kent City Elementary SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Beechnau Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Coopersville Middle SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Grant Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Kent City Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Coopersville High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Oakridge High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Ravenna High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49451 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49451 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 49451 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49451
Is 49451 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49451 ranks 14,017th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, low disaster risk, and quiet, and lowest on car insurance costs and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 49451 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $226,216. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $77,719 median income, cost of living beats 62% of zip codes.
Is 49451 safe?
Yes, 49451 is safer than 84% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $229 per resident a year.
Compare 49451 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49451. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49451 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.
49451 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49451: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49451: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49451: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49451: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49451 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.