Best Places54949, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 54949, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
54949 ranks 8,834th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 54949
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.
54949's strengths and weaknesses
Where 54949 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 54949 ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- School gradeC−, better than only 24% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 70 pleasant days a year, better than only 26% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 54949
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 54949 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $88,446, 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 54949's effective rate of 1.16%, 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 54949
54949 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 54949.
Who works in 54949, and how
Work in 54949 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 54949
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 54949.
What the weather is like in 54949, month by month
54949 sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 22° | 14° |
| April | 59° | 46° | 34° |
| July | 86° | 73° | 60° |
| October | 64° | 51° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 54949
The nearest airport, Appleton International, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 117 miles away.
The best schools in and around 54949
Schools across 54949 average a C−, better than 24% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sugar Bush ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Weyauwega ElementaryB · 47% proficient
- Longfellow ElementaryC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Waupaca MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
- New London MiddleB · 45% proficient
- Weyauwega MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- New London HighC · 32% proficient
- Clintonville HighC− · 27% proficient
- Marion HighC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 54949 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
54949 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 54949 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 54949
Is 54949 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 54949 ranks 8,834th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, low crime, and civic engagement, and lowest on internet speeds and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 54949 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $209,655. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $88,446 median income, cost of living beats 72% of zip codes.
Is 54949 safe?
Yes, 54949 is safer than 95% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $167 per resident a year.
Compare 54949 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 54949. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 54949 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.
54949 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 54949: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 54949: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 54949: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 54949: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
54949 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.