Best Places49617, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49617, 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.
49617 ranks 16,784th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 49617
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.
49617's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49617 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 49617 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49617
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49617 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $73,723; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 49617's effective rate of 0.74%, 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 49617
49617 runs older 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 49617.
Who works in 49617, and how
Work in 49617 centers on retail trade 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 84%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 49617
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 49617.
What the weather is like in 49617, month by month
49617 sees roughly 124 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 78 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 26° | 22° |
| April | 52° | 43° | 35° |
| July | 78° | 70° | 60° |
| October | 59° | 52° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 49617
The nearest airport, Cherry Capital, is about 23 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 150 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49617
Schools across 49617 average a C, better than 29% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lake Ann Elementary SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Frankfort Elementary SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Crystal Lake Elementary SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Benzie Central Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Frankfort High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Benzie Central Sr High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49617 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49617 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 49617 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49617
Is 49617 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49617 ranks 16,784th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, quiet, and health care access, and lowest on an overheated housing market and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 49617 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $305,800. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $73,723 median income, cost of living beats 54% of zip codes.
Is 49617 safe?
Yes, 49617 is safer than 76% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $268 per resident a year.
Compare 49617 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49617. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49617 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.
49617 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49617: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49617: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49617: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49617: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49617 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.