Best Places49628, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49628, 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.
49628 ranks 13,065th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 49628
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.
49628's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49628 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Short commute15.5 minutes each way, better than 96% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 49628 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49628
A household needs to earn about $77,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49628 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $65,909, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 49628's effective rate of 0.76%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 49628
49628 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 49628.
Who works in 49628, and how
Work in 49628 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 49628
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 49628.
What the weather is like in 49628, month by month
49628 sees roughly 112 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 49628
The nearest airport, Manistee County/Blacker, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 142 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49628
Schools across 49628 average a C+, better than 44% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Frankfort Elementary SchoolB− · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Frankfort High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49628 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49628 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 49628 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49628
Is 49628 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49628 ranks 13,065th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, low disaster risk, and short commutes, and lowest on a weak job 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 49628 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $296,000. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $65,909 median income, cost of living beats 61% of zip codes.
Is 49628 safe?
Yes, 49628 is safer than 60% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $304 per resident a year.
Compare 49628 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49628. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49628 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.
49628 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49628: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49628: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49628: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49628: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49628 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.