City in Michigan, United States

Sterling Heights

$298kMedian Home
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View on MapPopulation132kElevation614 ft
Quick Read

Sterling Heights is a city in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern suburb of Detroit, Sterling Heights is located roughly 18 miles (29.0 km) north of Downtown. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 134,346, placing Sterling Heights as the second-largest suburb of Detroit and the fourth-most populous city in Michigan.

To Strive on Behalf of All
01

Where It Is

Location Context
Sterling Heights, Michigan
Latitude42.58°
Longitude-83.03°
Population132k
Altitude614 ft

State Context

MichiganU.S. state

Michigan is a peninsular state in the Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, Indiana and Illinois to the southwest, Ohio to the southeast, and the Canadian province of Ontario to the east, northeast and north. With a population of 10.14 million and an area of 96,716 sq mi (250,490 km2), Michigan is the tenth-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the largest by total area east of the Mississippi River. The state capital is Lansing, while its most populous city is Detroit.Wikipedia

Income tax: Flat 4.25%Avg sales tax: 6.00%Property tax: 1.17%Official school data available

About the Region

Great Lakes Midwest

The Great Lakes Midwest is undergoing a quiet, steady reassessment. Cities like Detroit, Cleveland, and Buffalo — long associated with industrial decline — have seen genuine neighborhood revivals driven by very low housing costs and incoming professional and creative workers. Chicago remains the undisputed anchor: a world-class city that, particularly in its residential neighborhoods, is underpriced relative to coastal equivalents. Minneapolis consistently ranks among the best-governed large cities in the country, with a walkable downtown and access to 10,000 lakes.

Winters are genuinely cold — lake-effect snow shapes life along the Great Lakes shores, and Minneapolis regularly logs the coldest temperatures of any major American city — but summers compensate with warmth and greenness that surprises transplants from the coasts. The economic base has diversified significantly: advanced manufacturing, major healthcare systems, agriculture tech, and financial services anchor the broader region, while university towns like Ann Arbor, Madison, and Bloomington punch well above their weight culturally.

02

Nature Access

Nature & Park Feeds

Closest protected landscapes, reserves, and big park systems surfaced from the same nearby feeds used in compare.

Distances in miles
Federal park feed

National Parks

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OpenStreetMap feed

Local Nature & Reserves

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Sources: National Park Service and OpenStreetMap
03

City Profile

Median Age41 yrs
College Educated31%bachelor's or higher
Work From Home11%of workforce
Poverty Rate10%
04

Cost of Living

Housing
$2k/mo
Median rent
$298k
Median home price
05

Livability

Safety Score
77
School Rating
8.1/10
Internet
Fiber
6%
Cable
100%
address availability
08

Current Conditions

10

Local Next Steps

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11

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