Population
Sterling Heights
133,473
Plainfield
35,783
Median Income
Sterling Heights
$78,429
Plainfield
$85,074
Home Value
Sterling Heights
$260,700
Plainfield
$263,900
Rent
Sterling Heights
$1,267
Plainfield
$1,313
Crime Rate
Sterling Heights
2.31
Plainfield
2.51
Cost of Living
Sterling Heights
122.4
Plainfield
127.2
Avg Temp
Sterling Heights
N/A
Plainfield
N/A
Unemployment
Sterling Heights
6.2%
Plainfield
3.0%
How Similar Are Sterling Heights & Plainfield?
Plainfield is Sterling Heights's #1 most similar city
7 of 10 key metrics match within 10%
Population
Sterling Heights
133,473
Plainfield
35,783
Sterling Heights (133,473) is about 3.7x larger than Plainfield (35,783).
Violent Crime
Sterling Heights
2.31
Plainfield
2.51
Both cities have similar violent crime — just a 8% difference.
Property Crime
Sterling Heights
10.42
Plainfield
14.47
Plainfield has a 28% higher property crime than Sterling Heights.
Political Leaning
Sterling Heights
55.9%
Plainfield
59.9%
Both cities lean Republican with similar vote shares — 7% difference.
Unemployment
Sterling Heights
6.2%
Plainfield
3.0%
Sterling Heights's unemployment is significantly higher than Plainfield's — 51% difference.
Median Income
Sterling Heights
$78,429
Plainfield
$85,074
Both cities have similar median income — just a 8% difference.
Home Values
Sterling Heights
$260,700
Plainfield
$263,900
Both cities have similar home values — just a 1% difference.
Education
Sterling Heights
22.4%
Plainfield
23.4%
Both cities have similar education — just a 4% difference.
Demographics
Sterling Heights
78.9%
Plainfield
73.7%
Both cities have similar demographics — just a 7% difference.
Cost of Living
Sterling Heights
122.4
Plainfield
127.2
Both cities have similar cost of living — just a 4% difference.
7 out of 10 key metrics match within 10%. Sterling Heights and Plainfield are remarkably similar cities.
At a Glance
0
Sterling Heights
0
Plainfield
Sterling Heights leads in 4 of 8 categories
Cost of Living & Affordability — Sterling Heights leads
Source: City Stats Index / HUDSterling Heights scores 106.9 on the transportation index (100 = national avg) vs 130.0 in Plainfield. Sterling Heights has a fair market rent (1br) of $1,122 vs $1,267 in Plainfield (11% lower). Sterling Heights scores 109.9 on the food index (100 = national avg) vs 115.0 in Plainfield.
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 ACSPlainfield has a median property tax of $2,108 vs $3,559 in Sterling Heights (69% lower). Sterling Heights has a owner-occupied of 76.4% compared to 63.7% in Plainfield. Sterling Heights has a single-family homes of 76.2% compared to 71.8% in Plainfield.
Median Home Value
Median Rent
Median Property Tax
Owner-Occupied
Vacancy Rate
Single-Family Homes
Jobs & Economy
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSSterling Heights: 68,559 vs Plainfield: 17,881 for labor force. Plainfield has a unemployment rate of 3.0% compared to 6.2% in Sterling Heights. Plainfield has a poverty rate of 6.4% compared to 10.6% in Sterling Heights.
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 robbery rate (per 1k) of 0.15 compared to 0.26 in Plainfield. Sterling Heights has a larceny rate (per 1k) of 7.89 compared to 11.38 in Plainfield. Plainfield has a property crime clearance of 20.5% compared to 14.5% in Sterling Heights.
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 — Plainfield leads
Source: NCES / U.S. Census BureauPlainfield has a high school diploma or higher of 46.0% compared to 42.4% in Sterling Heights. Plainfield has a bachelor's degree or higher of 23.4% compared to 22.4% in Sterling Heights.
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 3.7x the size of Plainfield (35,783). Plainfield skews younger with a median age of 38.0 vs 41.5.
Population
Median Age
Avg Household Size
Married Population
Foreign Born
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Sterling Heights
Plainfield
Healthcare
Source: CMS Hospital ComparePlainfield: 4.7 vs Sterling Heights: 2.0 for avg cms rating (out of 5). Sterling Heights: 4 vs Plainfield: 3 for with emergency services.
Nearby Hospitals
Avg CMS Rating (out of 5)
With Emergency Services
Transportation & Commute — Sterling Heights leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSSterling Heights has a bicycle of 0.4% compared to 0.3% in Plainfield. Sterling Heights has a public transit of 0.5% compared to 0.4% in Plainfield. Sterling Heights has a work from home of 13.8% compared to 12.9% in Plainfield.
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.