PlainZIP

Neighborhood Scorecard

Source: · HUD FMR FY2024 · FBI UCR (latest county year) · DOL NDCP

49651 – Lake City, MI

The neighborhood scorecard for ZIP 49651 in Lake City, MI blends seven federal datasets into a single letter grade of C+ (63/100). The underlying inputs pulled for this ZIP include a median household income of $66,406, a median home value of $171,100, 20.4% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher, and an average commute of 26 minutes. Every value comes directly from Census ACS 5-Year Estimates tied to ZIP 49651, not a national average mapped onto the ZIP.

Cross-agency inputs extend the score beyond Census demographics. Department of Labor county childcare data lists infant center-based care at $6,926 per year, which the scorecard weighs against local median income to form the childcare grade. If any of these feeds is missing for 49651, the scorecard transparently drops that dimension rather than inventing a score.

Reading the grade means reading the dimensions together. The overall C+ score for 49651 reflects a weighted blend, Income (20%), Safety (20%), Housing (15%), Rent (15%), Education (10%), Commute (10%), and Childcare (10%) - and each dimension is benchmarked against national percentiles rather than in-state-only comparisons. Strengths visible in the raw data include housing, rent, childcare. Areas pulling the overall grade down are education.

C+
Overall Score
63/100
49651 – Lake City, MI

Based on income, housing cost, safety, education, commute, and childcare-cost data from federal sources, not school test scores, walkability, weather, culture, or day-to-day livability.

Income C-
$66,406
Median household income
Education F
20.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher
Housing B+
2.6x
Home value $171,100 vs income
Commute C-
26 min
Average commute time
Rent A-
$973/mo
2BR fair market rent (county; 18% of income)
Safety N/A
N/A
Violent crime rate (county)
Childcare B
$6,926/yr
Center-based infant care (county; 10% of income)

Score Breakdown

Income

C-
$66,406

Median household income

Score: 54/100

Education

F
20.4%

Bachelor's degree or higher

Score: 30/100

Housing

B+
2.6x

Home value $171,100 vs income

Score: 79/100

Commute

C-
26 min

Average commute time

Score: 51/100

Rent

A-
$973/mo

2BR fair market rent (county; 18% of income)

Score: 84/100

Safety

N/A
N/A

Violent crime rate (county)

Childcare

B
$6,926/yr

Center-based infant care (county; 10% of income)

Score: 73/100

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Neighborhood Scorecard for ZIP 49651 - Lake City, MI: Grade C+, Score 63/100
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What This Means

Lake City, MI (49651) receives an overall grade of C+ based on publicly available data from the Census Bureau, HUD, FBI, and Department of Labor. This area performs well in housing and rent. Challenges include education. Data was unavailable for safety – these dimensions were excluded from the overall score.

Full ZIP Code Data
Demographics, housing, income, and more for 49651
View Details →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the overall score for ZIP 49651?▼
ZIP 49651 (Lake City, MI) has an overall neighborhood score of 63/100, earning a grade of C+. This score combines 7 dimensions: income, education, housing affordability, commute, rent, safety, and childcare costs.
Is 49651 a good place to live?▼
This scorecard cannot answer that on its own, it measures 7 economic and housing-cost indicators (income, education, housing affordability, commute, rent, safety, and childcare cost) from Census, HUD, FBI, and DOL data, not school test scores, walkability, weather, culture, or the other factors that make a neighborhood a good fit for a given household. On those 7 measured dimensions, 49651 scores C+ (63/100) overall. It scores well on housing, rent, childcare. It scores lower on education.
How is the neighborhood scorecard calculated?▼
The scorecard evaluates 7 dimensions weighted by importance: Income (20%), Safety (20%), Housing affordability (15%), Rent (15%), Education (10%), Commute (10%), and Childcare (10%). Each metric is compared against national benchmarks to produce a percentile score.

Official Data Resources

HUD Fair Market Rents → FBI Crime Statistics → NCES School Data →

Vintages stay separate: ACS demographics/housing 2019–2023; HUD FMR FY2024; FBI UCR and DOL NDCP use each feed's latest county year. Rent and childcare grades are exploratory joins of those feeds against ACS median income, not a claim that every agency shares one fiscal year. Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates. Source: HUD Fair Market Rents. Source: FBI Uniform Crime Report. Source: DOL NDCP childcare prices. Verify with HUD →

This page explains the source records, calculation, and limits behind the figures shown. ZIP 49651 grades blend seven disclosed federal metrics. Rent and childcare are county-level joins against ACS median income; the letter grade is not a school, walkability, or overall-livability rating. Read our editorial standards and corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of the ACS 2019–2023 claims window (plus HUD FY2024 / FBI+DOL latest county years).

Read our methodology to see how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.