Best Places49696, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49696, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
49696 ranks 5,612th 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 49696
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.
49696's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49696 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 49696 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49696
A household needs to earn about $89,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49696 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $93,749, 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 49696's effective rate of 0.82%, 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 49696
49696 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 49696.
Who works in 49696, and how
Work in 49696 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 49696
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 49696.
What the weather is like in 49696, month by month
49696 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 49696
The nearest airport, Cherry Capital, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 168 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49696
Schools across 49696 average a B−, better than 60% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Kingsley Area Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Mill Creek Elementary SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Courtade Elementary SchoolB · 45% 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 49696 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49696 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 49696 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49696
Is 49696 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49696 ranks 5,612th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, low crime, and low disaster risk, 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 49696 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $341,422. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $93,749 median income, cost of living beats 81% of zip codes.
Is 49696 safe?
Yes, 49696 is safer than 95% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $188 per resident a year.
Compare 49696 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49696. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49696 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.
49696 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49696: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49696: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49696: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49696: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49696 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.