Best Places49686, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49686, 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.
49686 ranks 7,511th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 49686
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.
49686's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49686 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 90% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Short commute19.5 minutes each way, better than 87% of zip codes
Where 49686 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 29% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49686
A household needs to earn about $104,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49686 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $86,771, 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 49686's effective rate of 0.91%, 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 49686
49686 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 49686.
Who works in 49686, and how
Work in 49686 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 49686
49686 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 90% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 49686 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 49686, month by month
49686 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 49686
The nearest airport, Cherry Capital, is about 1 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 171 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49686
Schools across 49686 average a B−, better than 59% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Kingsley Area Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Central Grade SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Mill Creek Elementary SchoolA− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kingsley Area Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Cherryland Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
- East Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Central High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Elk Rapids High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Kingsley Area High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49686 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49686 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 49686 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 49686 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 78% of zip codes and 18% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 64% of zip codes and health care access beats 90%.
Common questions about living in 49686
Is 49686 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49686 ranks 7,511th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, civic engagement, 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 49686 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $392,563. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $86,771 median income, cost of living beats 78% of zip codes.
Is 49686 safe?
Yes, 49686 is safer than 57% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $349 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 49686?
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 49686 good for families?
Schools beat 59% of zip codes, crime safety beats 57%, and childcare runs $765 a month.
Compare 49686 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49686. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49686 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.
49686 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49686: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49686: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49686: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49686: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49686 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.