Population
Sterling Heights
133,473
East Lansing
45,394
Median Income
Sterling Heights
$78,429
East Lansing
$43,547
Home Value
Sterling Heights
$260,700
East Lansing
$251,600
Rent
Sterling Heights
$1,267
East Lansing
$1,122
Crime Rate
Sterling Heights
2.31
East Lansing
2.20
Cost of Living
Sterling Heights
122.4
East Lansing
100.1
Avg Temp
Sterling Heights
N/A
East Lansing
N/A
Unemployment
Sterling Heights
6.2%
East Lansing
6.9%
How Similar Are Sterling Heights & East Lansing?
East Lansing is Sterling Heights's #5 most similar city
6 of 10 key metrics match within 10%
Population
Sterling Heights
133,473
East Lansing
45,394
Sterling Heights (133,473) is about 2.9x larger than East Lansing (45,394).
Violent Crime
Sterling Heights
2.31
East Lansing
2.20
Both cities have similar violent crime — just a 5% difference.
Property Crime
Sterling Heights
10.42
East Lansing
12.20
East Lansing has a 15% higher property crime than Sterling Heights.
Political Leaning
Sterling Heights
55.9%
East Lansing
53.5%
Both cities lean Republican with similar vote shares — 4% difference.
Unemployment
Sterling Heights
6.2%
East Lansing
6.9%
Both cities have similar unemployment — just a 10% difference.
Median Income
Sterling Heights
$78,429
East Lansing
$43,547
Sterling Heights has a 44% higher median income than East Lansing.
Home Values
Sterling Heights
$260,700
East Lansing
$251,600
Both cities have similar home values — just a 3% difference.
Education
Sterling Heights
22.4%
East Lansing
21.5%
Both cities have similar education — just a 4% difference.
Demographics
Sterling Heights
78.9%
East Lansing
73.8%
Both cities have similar demographics — just a 7% difference.
Cost of Living
Sterling Heights
122.4
East Lansing
100.1
Sterling Heights has a 18% higher cost of living than East Lansing.
6 out of 10 key metrics match within 10%. Sterling Heights and East Lansing share several key characteristics.
At a Glance
0
Sterling Heights
0
East Lansing
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 owner-occupied of 76.4% compared to 38.9% in East Lansing. Sterling Heights has a single-family homes of 76.2% compared to 42.2% in East Lansing. Sterling Heights has a vacancy rate of 3.5% compared to 11.3% 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: 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 (80% higher). Sterling Heights has a poverty rate of 10.6% compared to 34.1% in East Lansing.
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 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. Sterling Heights has a murder rate (per 1k) of 0.01 compared to 0.04 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
Sterling Heights
East Lansing
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 Sterling Heights, MI
Compare Sterling Heights 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.