Best Places49743, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49743, 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.
49743 ranks 27,739th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 49743
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.
49743's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49743 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$544 a month, better than 92% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 74% of zip codes
Where 49743 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49743
A household needs to earn about $38,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49743 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,499, 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 49743's effective rate of 0.81%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 49743
49743 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 49743.
Who works in 49743, and how
Work in 49743 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 49743
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 49743.
What the weather is like in 49743, month by month
49743 sees roughly 85 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 80 degrees. January highs sit near 30, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30° | 23° | 16° |
| April | 51° | 40° | 30° |
| July | 80° | 68° | 57° |
| October | 60° | 50° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 49743
The nearest airport, Alpena County Regional, is about 21 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 214 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49743
Schools across 49743 average a C−, better than 21% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Posen Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Rogers City Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Onaway Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Posen Consolidated High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Onaway Senior High SchoolD · 19% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49743 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49743 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 49743 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49743
Is 49743 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49743 ranks 27,739th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, quiet, and affordable childcare, and lowest on distance from a big city and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 49743 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $145,915. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $58,499 median income, cost of living beats 27% of zip codes.
Is 49743 safe?
49743 is safer than 47% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $365 per resident a year.
Compare 49743 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49743. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49743 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.
49743 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49743: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49743: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49743: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49743: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49743 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.