Best Places49864, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49864, 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.
49864 ranks 28,897th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 49864
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.
49864's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49864 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 119 pleasant days a year, better than 75% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 73% of zip codes
Where 49864 ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Short commute41.2 minutes each way, better than only 3% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49864
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49864 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,844, 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 49864's effective rate of 0.96%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 49864
49864 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 49864.
Who works in 49864, and how
Work in 49864 centers on hospitality & food and real estate. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 49864
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 49864.
What the weather is like in 49864, month by month
49864 sees roughly 119 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 20° | 12° |
| April | 49° | 38° | 28° |
| July | 79° | 68° | 55° |
| October | 58° | 48° | 38° |
Flying in and out of 49864
The nearest airport, Delta County, is about 22 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 209 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49864
Schools across 49864 average a C−, better than 21% of zip codes.
Top high schools
- Big Bay De Noc SchoolC+ · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49864 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49864 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 49864 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49864
Is 49864 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49864 ranks 28,897th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, quiet, and health care access, and lowest on biking 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 49864 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $170,700. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $54,844 median income, cost of living beats 13% of zip codes.
Is 49864 safe?
Yes, 49864 is safer than 55% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $323 per resident a year.
Compare 49864 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49864. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49864 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.
49864 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49864: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49864: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49864: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49864: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49864 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.