Best Places49684, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49684, 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.
49684 ranks 6,698th 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 49684
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.
49684's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49684 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Short commute18.4 minutes each way, better than 90% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 49684 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49684
A household needs to earn about $108,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49684 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $88,087, 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 49684's effective rate of 0.89%, 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 49684
49684 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 49684.
Who works in 49684, and how
Work in 49684 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 49684
49684 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 92% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 49684 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 49684, month by month
49684 sees roughly 101 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 26° | 20° |
| April | 56° | 43° | 33° |
| July | 85° | 72° | 60° |
| October | 63° | 52° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 49684
The nearest airport, Cherry Capital, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 167 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49684
Schools across 49684 average a B, better than 63% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Central Grade SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Willow Hill Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Tcaps Montessori SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- East Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- West Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Central High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- West Senior HighB · 46% proficient
- The Greenspire SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49684 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49684 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 49684 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 49684 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 74% of zip codes and 14% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 64% of zip codes, health care access beats 92%, and it is quieter than 59%.
Common questions about living in 49684
Is 49684 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49684 ranks 6,698th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, low disaster risk, and health care access, and lowest on car insurance costs and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 49684 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $408,419. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $88,087 median income, cost of living beats 74% of zip codes.
Is 49684 safe?
Yes, 49684 is safer than 59% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $348 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 49684?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 33 with lows near 20. That works out to about 101 pleasant days a year, more than 64% of zip codes.
Is 49684 good for families?
Schools beat 63% of zip codes, crime safety beats 59%, and childcare runs $763 a month.
Compare 49684 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49684. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49684 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.
49684 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49684: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49684: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49684: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49684: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49684 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.