East Lansing, Michigan demographics

East Lansing, MI demographics: median age 21.3; 66.6% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · East Lansing city, Michigan · Incorporated city · GEOID 2624120. The survey estimates a population of 45,758 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in East Lansing is 21.3 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.2 years. There are 13,850 households (±574). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	21.3 ±0.2	40.2 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 45,758
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
Under 18	4,220 ±445	9.2% ±1.0 pp	21.2%	22.0%
18–34	30,843 ±1,447	67.4% ±3.1 pp	22.4%	22.8%
35–64	6,590 ±565	14.4% ±1.2 pp	37.8%	38.0%
65 and older	4,105 ±494	9.0% ±1.1 pp	18.6%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 45,758
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
Male	21,943 ±795	48.0% ±1.7 pp	49.6%	49.5%
Female	23,815 ±808	52.0% ±1.7 pp	50.4%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 45,758
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
White alone	33,379 ±786	72.9% ±1.6 pp	73.7%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	3,642 ±617	8.0% ±1.3 pp	13.3%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	119 ±100 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.9%
Asian alone	4,160 ±532	9.1% ±1.2 pp	3.4%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0 ±24 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	536 ±208	1.2% ±0.5 pp	1.9%	7.1%
Two or more races	3,922 ±592	8.6% ±1.3 pp	7.1%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 45,758
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	42,750 ±593	93.4% ±1.0 pp	94.1%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	3,008 ±459	6.6% ±1.0 pp	5.9%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 13,850
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
Married-couple family	3,670 ±323	26.5% ±2.1 pp	46.1%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	450 ±166	3.2% ±1.2 pp	4.9%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	663 ±231	4.8% ±1.7 pp	11.5%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	5,127 ±528	37.0% ±3.5 pp	30.7%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	3,940 ±424	28.4% ±2.8 pp	6.9%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 13,850
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
Households with people under 18	2,081 ±242	15.0% ±1.6 pp	27.1%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	11,769 ±668	85.0% ±3.3 pp	72.9%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 13,850
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	5,127 ±528	37.0% ±3.5 pp	30.7%	28.7%
Two-person households	5,089 ±573	36.7% ±3.9 pp	35.1%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,534 ±284	11.1% ±2.0 pp	14.3%	15.3%
Four-person households	1,663 ±278	12.0% ±1.9 pp	11.7%	12.6%
Five-person households	242 ±99	1.7% ±0.7 pp	5.2%	5.9%
Six-person households	159 ±62	1.1% ±0.4 pp	1.9%	2.2%
Seven or more people	36 ±33 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	1.1%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 45,758
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
Native	40,493 ±740	88.5% ±1.4 pp	92.8%	85.9%
Foreign born	5,265 ±593	11.5% ±1.3 pp	7.2%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 44,818
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
English only	37,689 ±821	84.1% ±1.6 pp	89.6%	77.7%
Spanish	1,492 ±305	3.3% ±0.7 pp	3.1%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	368 ±304 · low precision	0.8% ±0.7 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	384 ±213 · low precision	0.9% ±0.5 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	325 ±128	0.7% ±0.3 pp	0.6%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	1,310 ±321	2.9% ±0.7 pp	1.8%	2.0%
Korean	235 ±113	0.5% ±0.3 pp	0.2%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	1,586 ±362	3.5% ±0.8 pp	0.5%	1.1%
Vietnamese	79 ±63 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	7 ±13 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	759 ±217	1.7% ±0.5 pp	0.8%	1.1%
Arabic	289 ±219 · low precision	0.6% ±0.5 pp · low precision	1.8%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	295 ±182 · low precision	0.7% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 14,765
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	237 ±112	1.6% ±0.8 pp	7.9%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	1,845 ±419	12.5% ±2.8 pp	28.0%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	2,083 ±412	14.1% ±2.7 pp	21.9%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	767 ±183	5.2% ±1.2 pp	9.8%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	4,041 ±406	27.4% ±2.4 pp	19.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	5,792 ±636	39.2% ±3.8 pp	12.7%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 45,584
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
Same house	27,126 ±1,166	59.5% ±2.5 pp	88.8%	87.7%
Moved within same county	5,941 ±900	13.0% ±2.0 pp	5.9%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	9,401 ±901	20.6% ±2.0 pp	3.4%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	2,529 ±465	5.5% ±1.0 pp	1.4%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	587 ±177	1.3% ±0.4 pp	0.4%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

6.5% of East Lansing residents (±1.2 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 4.9% in Michigan and 8.4% nationally. 88.5% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	East Lansing	Michigan	U.S.	Compared with Michigan
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	6.5% ±1.2 pp	4.9%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	88.5% ±2.0 pp	90.5%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	1.9% ±0.6 pp	5.8%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for East Lansing . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read East Lansing housing and cost context or return to the city profile.