Best Places49756, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49756, 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.
49756 ranks 24,847th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 49756
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.
49756's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49756 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$568 a month, better than 88% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 49756 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49756
A household needs to earn about $47,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49756 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,850, 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 49756's effective rate of 0.84%, 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 49756
49756 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 49756.
Who works in 49756, and how
Work in 49756 centers on manufacturing and hospitality & food. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 49756
49756 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 94% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 49756 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 49756, month by month
49756 sees roughly 95 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 78 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 20° | 15° |
| April | 51° | 40° | 32° |
| July | 78° | 67° | 58° |
| October | 56° | 47° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 49756
The nearest airport, Alpena County Regional, is about 39 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 189 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49756
Schools across 49756 average a C−, better than 20% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Grayling Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Johannesburglewiston Elementarymiddle SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Lewiston Elementary SchoolD · 19% proficient
Top middle schools
- Grayling Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Grayling High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Mioausable High SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Johannesburglewiston High SchoolC · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49756 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49756 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 49756 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49756
Is 49756 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49756 ranks 24,847th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, civic engagement, and affordable childcare, and lowest on car insurance costs and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 49756 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $177,190. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $54,850 median income, cost of living beats 25% of zip codes.
Is 49756 safe?
Yes, 49756 is safer than 64% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $306 per resident a year.
Compare 49756 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49756. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49756 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.
49756 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49756: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49756: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49756: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49756: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49756 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.