With 133,573 people, Sterling Heights is a city in Michigan. The foreign-born share is 28%. Density works out to 3,665 people per square mile. 76% of homes are owner-occupied. Home values have risen by half since 2000, reaching $274,300. 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
At a glance
Average income
median household income $79,909, near the US median
US median: $82,259
Older
median age 41.7
US median: 38.9
Average education
31% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Stable housing
home values roughly flat, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Unique to this place
What stands out about Sterling Heights
What changed most since 1990
Median home value (2024 dollars)$231,367 → $274,300(+19%)US over the same years: +67%
Median household income (2024 dollars)$111,531 → $79,909(−28%)US over the same years: +14%
Poverty rate3.6% → 11.1%(+7.5 pts)US over the same years: −0.8 pts
Sterling Heights's population equals 15% of Macomb County's. Its number of foreign-born residents equals 36% of the county's. Its number of veterans equals 11% of the county's.
Shares are "alone or in combination": a person with both Medicare and Medicaid counts in each, so categories overlap and do not sum to 100%.
Section 09 · Service history
Veterans
Veterans by period of service, 2024
Gulf War (2001 or later)14.9%(605)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)11.7%(475)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era32.3%(1,315)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War7.5%(306)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II4.3%(175)
US avg: 1%
Share of the 4,071 veterans here. A veteran who served across eras counts in each, so shares can total more than 100%. Peacetime-only service is included in the total but not shown as an era.
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Over time
Sterling Heights, decade by decade
Sterling Heights population, inflation-adjusted income and home value, education, and diversity by year
Year
Population
Median household income
Median home value
Bachelor's degree+
Diversity score
1990
117,810
$111,531
$231,367
18.5%
10.2
2000
124,471
$110,199
$287,457
23.0%
23.8
2010
129,699
$83,542
$249,880
26.7%
36.2
2020
134,346
$80,414
$240,347
30.0%
45.5
2024
133,573
$79,909
$274,300
31.1%
50.4
Census years come from the decennial census and the latest year from the American Community Survey, so part of any change between those two rows can reflect the different surveys. Dollar figures are adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars; a figure ending in "+" was at the Census Bureau's reporting cap that year. The diversity score runs from 0 to 100; see how it's calculated.
