Population
East Lansing
45,394
Sterling Heights
133,473
Median Income
East Lansing
$43,547
Sterling Heights
$78,429
Home Value
East Lansing
$251,600
Sterling Heights
$260,700
Rent
East Lansing
$1,122
Sterling Heights
$1,267
Crime Rate
East Lansing
2.20
Sterling Heights
2.31
Cost of Living
East Lansing
100.1
Sterling Heights
122.4
Avg Temp
East Lansing
N/A
Sterling Heights
N/A
Unemployment
East Lansing
6.9%
Sterling Heights
6.2%
How Similar Are East Lansing & Sterling Heights?
Sterling Heights is East Lansing's #7 most similar city
6 of 10 key metrics match within 10%
Population
East Lansing
45,394
Sterling Heights
133,473
Sterling Heights (133,473) is about 2.9x larger than East Lansing (45,394).
Violent Crime
East Lansing
2.20
Sterling Heights
2.31
Both cities have similar violent crime — just a 5% difference.
Property Crime
East Lansing
12.20
Sterling Heights
10.42
East Lansing has a 15% higher property crime than Sterling Heights.
Political Leaning
East Lansing
53.5%
Sterling Heights
55.9%
Both cities lean Republican with similar vote shares — 4% difference.
Unemployment
East Lansing
6.9%
Sterling Heights
6.2%
Both cities have similar unemployment — just a 10% difference.
Median Income
East Lansing
$43,547
Sterling Heights
$78,429
Sterling Heights has a 44% higher median income than East Lansing.
Home Values
East Lansing
$251,600
Sterling Heights
$260,700
Both cities have similar home values — just a 3% difference.
Education
East Lansing
21.5%
Sterling Heights
22.4%
Both cities have similar education — just a 4% difference.
Demographics
East Lansing
73.8%
Sterling Heights
78.9%
Both cities have similar demographics — just a 7% difference.
Cost of Living
East Lansing
100.1
Sterling Heights
122.4
Sterling Heights has a 18% higher cost of living than East Lansing.
6 out of 10 key metrics match within 10%. East Lansing and Sterling Heights share several key characteristics.
At a Glance
0
East Lansing
0
Sterling Heights
Sterling Heights leads in 4 of 8 categories
Cost of Living & Affordability — East Lansing leads
Source: City Stats Index / HUDEast Lansing scores 63.4 on the transportation index (100 = national avg) vs 106.9 in Sterling Heights. East Lansing scores 83.3 on the food index (100 = national avg) vs 109.9 in Sterling Heights. East Lansing scores 86.6 on the healthcare index (100 = national avg) vs 108.0 in Sterling Heights.
Overall Cost Index
Housing Index
Food Index
Transportation Index
Healthcare Index
Utilities Index
Living Wage (1 Adult)
Living Wage (Family of 4)
Fair Market Rent (1BR)
Fair Market Rent (2BR)
Housing Market — Sterling Heights leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSSterling Heights has a vacancy rate of 3.5% compared to 11.3% in East Lansing. Sterling Heights has a median property tax of $3,559 vs $5,540 in East Lansing (56% lower). Sterling Heights has a owner-occupied of 76.4% compared to 38.9% in East Lansing.
Median Home Value
Median Rent
Median Property Tax
Owner-Occupied
Vacancy Rate
Single-Family Homes
Jobs & Economy — Sterling Heights leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSSterling Heights has a poverty rate of 10.6% compared to 34.1% in East Lansing. Sterling Heights: 68,559 vs East Lansing: 23,173 for labor force. Sterling Heights has a median household income of $78,429 vs $43,547 in East Lansing (44% higher).
Median Household Income
Per Capita Income
Poverty Rate
Unemployment Rate
Labor Force
Mean Commute
Work from Home
Private Sector
Government Sector
Crime & Safety — Sterling Heights leads
Source: FBI UCRSterling Heights has a murder rate (per 1k) of 0.01 compared to 0.04 in East Lansing. Sterling Heights has a property crime clearance of 14.5% compared to 3.2% in East Lansing. Sterling Heights has a violent crime clearance of 49.2% compared to 23.4% in East Lansing.
Violent Crime Rate (per 1K)
Property Crime Rate (per 1K)
Murder Rate (per 1K)
Robbery Rate (per 1K)
Assault Rate (per 1K)
Burglary Rate (per 1K)
Larceny Rate (per 1K)
Violent Crime Clearance
Property Crime Clearance
Weather & Climate
Source: NOAA / Open-MeteoAvg Annual Temperature
Avg Annual High
Avg Annual Low
Sunny Days per Year
Annual Rainfall
Annual Snowfall
Avg Humidity
Schools & Education — Sterling Heights leads
Source: NCES / U.S. Census BureauSterling Heights has a high school diploma or higher of 42.4% compared to 25.4% in East Lansing. Sterling Heights has a bachelor's degree or higher of 22.4% compared to 21.5% in East Lansing.
Public Schools
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio
Colleges & Universities
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
High School Diploma or Higher
Demographics & Community
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSSterling Heights has a population of 133,473, about 2.9x the size of East Lansing (45,394). East Lansing skews younger with a median age of 21.3 vs 41.5.
Population
Median Age
Avg Household Size
Married Population
Foreign Born
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
East Lansing
Sterling Heights
Healthcare — East Lansing leads
Source: CMS Hospital CompareEast Lansing: 2.5 vs Sterling Heights: 2.0 for avg cms rating (out of 5).
Nearby Hospitals
Avg CMS Rating (out of 5)
With Emergency Services
Transportation & Commute — East Lansing leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSEast Lansing has a public transit of 5.9% compared to 0.5% in Sterling Heights. East Lansing has a bicycle of 3.8% compared to 0.4% in Sterling Heights. East Lansing: 14 min vs Sterling Heights: 22 min for mean commute time.
Mean Commute Time
Drive Alone
Public Transit
Bicycle
Work from Home
Airports
Cities Similar to East Lansing, MI
Compare East Lansing against its closest statistical matches across demographics, income, crime, health, and more.
City Comparison
8-axis fingerprint: population, income, housing, crime, education, age, climate, and cost of living. Click legend items to toggle.