Best Places49707, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49707, 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.
49707 ranks 23,580th 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 49707
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.
49707's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49707 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Short commute15.4 minutes each way, better than 96% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$561 a month, better than 90% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 49707 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Household income$53,694 median, better than only 15% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49707
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49707 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $53,694, 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 49707's effective rate of 1.15%, 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 49707
49707 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 49707.
Who works in 49707, and how
Work in 49707 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 49707
49707 has more parkland per resident than 90% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 85% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 49707 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 49707, month by month
49707 sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 23° | 14° |
| April | 54° | 41° | 30° |
| July | 84° | 70° | 56° |
| October | 62° | 50° | 39° |
Flying in and out of 49707
The nearest airport, Alpena County Regional, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 198 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49707
Schools across 49707 average a C−, better than 21% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Posen Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Besser Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Sanborn ElementaryC− · 29% proficient
Top middle schools
- Thunder Bay Junior High SchoolD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Alpena High SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Posen Consolidated High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49707 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49707 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 49707 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 49707 suits
Common questions about living in 49707
Is 49707 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49707 ranks 23,580th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, short commutes, and affordable childcare, and lowest on car insurance costs and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 49707 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $162,155. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $53,694 median income, cost of living beats 28% of zip codes.
Is 49707 safe?
49707 is safer than 35% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $458 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 49707?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 31 with lows near 14. That works out to about 65 pleasant days a year, more than 16% of zip codes.
Is 49707 good for families?
Schools beat 21% of zip codes, crime safety beats 35%, and childcare runs $561 a month.
Compare 49707 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49707. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49707 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.
49707 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49707: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49707: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49707: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49707: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49707 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.