Best Places49735, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49735, 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.
49735 ranks 16,463rd 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 49735
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.
49735's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49735 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Short commute19.6 minutes each way, better than 86% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$593 a month, better than 85% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 49735 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49735
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49735 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $74,256, 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 49735's effective rate of 0.85%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 49735
49735 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 49735.
Who works in 49735, and how
Work in 49735 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 49735
49735 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 79% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 93% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 49735 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 49735, month by month
49735 sees roughly 98 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 49735
The nearest airport, Pellston Regional/Emmet County, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 204 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49735
Schools across 49735 average a B−, better than 51% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- South Maple Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Grayling Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- North Ohio Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Grayling Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
- Gaylord Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Gaylord Intermediate SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Grayling High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Gaylord High Schoolvoc BldgB− · 42% proficient
- Johannesburglewiston High SchoolC · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49735 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49735 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 49735 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 49735 suits
Retirees
The weather beats 62% of zip codes and health care access beats 79%.
Common questions about living in 49735
Is 49735 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49735 ranks 16,463rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, low disaster risk, and short commutes, 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 49735 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $227,556. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $74,256 median income, cost of living beats 61% of zip codes.
Is 49735 safe?
49735 is safer than 54% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $328 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 49735?
July highs average about 82 degrees, and January highs near 29 with lows near 14. That works out to about 98 pleasant days a year, more than 62% of zip codes.
Is 49735 good for families?
Schools beat 51% of zip codes, crime safety beats 54%, and childcare runs $593 a month.
Compare 49735 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49735. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49735 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.
49735 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49735: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49735: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49735: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49735: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49735 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.