Best Places49908, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49908, 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.
49908 ranks 22,151st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 49908
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.
49908's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49908 ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Short commute12.7 minutes each way, better than 98% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 83% of zip codes
Where 49908 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49908
A household needs to earn about $35,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49908 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,987, 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 49908's effective rate of 0.76%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 49908
49908'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 49908.
Who works in 49908, and how
Work in 49908 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 96%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 49908
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 49908.
What the weather is like in 49908, month by month
49908 sees roughly 113 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 80 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 20° | 13° |
| April | 48° | 37° | 28° |
| July | 80° | 67° | 55° |
| October | 57° | 47° | 38° |
Flying in and out of 49908
The nearest airport, Houghton County Memorial, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 262 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49908
Schools across 49908 average a C+, better than 55% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Arvon Township SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Aspen Ridge Elementary SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- South Range Elementary SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Jeffers High SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Westwood High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49908 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49908 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 49908 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49908
Is 49908 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49908 ranks 22,151st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on clean air, short commutes, and low disaster risk, 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 49908 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $135,034. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $54,987 median income, cost of living beats 13% of zip codes.
Is 49908 safe?
49908 is safer than 25% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $459 per resident a year.
Compare 49908 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49908. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49908 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.
49908 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49908: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49908: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49908: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49908: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49908 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.