Best Places49546, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49546, 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.
49546 ranks 2,291st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 49546
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.
49546's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49546 ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Short commute17.1 minutes each way, better than 93% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 49546 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 68 pleasant days a year, better than only 21% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49546
A household needs to earn about $115,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49546 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $117,541, 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 49546's effective rate of 1.09%, 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 49546
49546 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 49546.
Who works in 49546, and how
Work in 49546 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 49546
49546 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 65% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 93% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 49546 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 49546, month by month
49546 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 49546
The nearest airport, Gerald R Ford International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 119 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49546
Schools across 49546 average a B, better than 72% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Ada Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Pine Ridge Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Thornapple Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- East Grand Rapids Middle SchoolA · 64% proficient
- Central Middle SchoolA · 64% proficient
- Northern Hills Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top high schools
- Central High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- East Grand Rapids High SchoolB+ · 56% proficient
- Northern High SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49546 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49546 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 49546 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 49546 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 93% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 21% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 49546
Is 49546 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49546 ranks 2,291st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on an educated workforce, short commutes, and what local pay buys, 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 49546 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $424,874. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $117,541 median income, cost of living beats 93% of zip codes.
Is 49546 safe?
Yes, 49546 is safer than 83% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $277 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 49546?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 34 with lows near 19. That works out to about 68 pleasant days a year, more than 21% of zip codes.
Is 49546 good for families?
Schools beat 72% of zip codes, crime safety beats 83%, and childcare runs $776 a month.
Compare 49546 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49546. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49546 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.
49546 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49546: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49546: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49546: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49546: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49546 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.