Best Places49921, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49921, 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.
49921 ranks 16,307th 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 49921
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.
49921's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49921 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Short commute13.2 minutes each way, better than 98% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
Where 49921 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 17% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49921
A household needs to earn about $61,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49921 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $57,716; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 49921's effective rate of 1.44%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 49921
49921 runs younger 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 49921.
Who works in 49921, and how
Work in 49921 centers on professional & technical and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 49921
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 49921.
What the weather is like in 49921, month by month
49921 sees roughly 112 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 49921
The nearest airport, Houghton County Memorial, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 270 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49921
Schools across 49921 average an A−, better than 85% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Houghton Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Houghton Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
Top high schools
- Houghton Central High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49921 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49921 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 49921 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49921
Is 49921 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49921 ranks 16,307th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, clean air, and short commutes, 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 49921 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $215,900. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $57,716 median income, cost of living beats 17% of zip codes.
Is 49921 safe?
49921 is safer than 16% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $546 per resident a year.
Compare 49921 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49921. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49921 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.
49921 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49921: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49921: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49921: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49921: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49921 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.