Best Places49730, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49730, 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.
49730 ranks 20,796th 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 49730
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.
49730's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49730 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$630 a month, better than 83% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 49730 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49730
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49730 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,930, 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 49730's effective rate of 0.75%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 49730
49730's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 49730.
Who works in 49730, and how
Work in 49730 centers on retail trade and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 49730
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 49730.
What the weather is like in 49730, month by month
49730 sees roughly 97 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 22° | 14° |
| April | 53° | 41° | 30° |
| July | 82° | 69° | 56° |
| October | 59° | 49° | 39° |
Flying in and out of 49730
The nearest airport, Pellston Regional/Emmet County, is about 37 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 208 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49730
Schools across 49730 average a D+, better than 15% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Boyne City Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- South Maple Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- North Ohio Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Gaylord Intermediate SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Boyne City Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Gaylord High Schoolvoc BldgB− · 42% proficient
- Boyne City High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Mancelona High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49730 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49730 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 49730 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49730
Is 49730 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49730 ranks 20,796th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, heat safety, 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 49730 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $194,053. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $77,930 median income, cost of living beats 58% of zip codes.
Is 49730 safe?
Yes, 49730 is safer than 69% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $289 per resident a year.
Compare 49730 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49730. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49730 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.
49730 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49730: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49730: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49730: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49730: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49730 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.