Sterling Heights, Michigan demographics

Sterling Heights, MI demographics: median age 41.7; 31.1% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Sterling Heights city, Michigan · Incorporated city · GEOID 2676460. The survey estimates a population of 133,573 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Sterling Heights is 41.7 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.9 years. There are 51,736 households (±1,021). 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	41.7 ±0.9	40.2 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 133,573
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
Under 18	25,878 ±1,246	19.4% ±0.9 pp	21.2%	22.0%
18–34	31,048 ±1,479	23.2% ±1.1 pp	22.4%	22.8%
35–64	50,913 ±1,581	38.1% ±1.2 pp	37.8%	38.0%
65 and older	25,734 ±1,139	19.3% ±0.9 pp	18.6%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 133,573
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
Male	65,127 ±1,178	48.8% ±0.9 pp	49.6%	49.5%
Female	68,446 ±1,176	51.2% ±0.9 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: 133,573
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
White alone	102,868 ±1,751	77.0% ±1.3 pp	73.7%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	10,172 ±1,141	7.6% ±0.9 pp	13.3%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	175 ±135 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.9%
Asian alone	12,361 ±1,454	9.3% ±1.1 pp	3.4%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	224 ±239 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	1,630 ±633	1.2% ±0.5 pp	1.9%	7.1%
Two or more races	6,143 ±831	4.6% ±0.6 pp	7.1%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 133,573
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	129,550 ±783	97.0% ±0.6 pp	94.1%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	4,023 ±778	3.0% ±0.6 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: 51,736
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
Married-couple family	26,529 ±891	51.3% ±1.4 pp	46.1%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	3,368 ±392	6.5% ±0.7 pp	4.9%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	5,199 ±550	10.0% ±1.0 pp	11.5%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	14,921 ±1,143	28.8% ±2.1 pp	30.7%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	1,719 ±328	3.3% ±0.6 pp	6.9%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 51,736
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
Households with people under 18	14,022 ±585	27.1% ±1.0 pp	27.1%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	37,714 ±1,351	72.9% ±2.2 pp	72.9%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 51,736
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	14,921 ±1,143	28.8% ±2.1 pp	30.7%	28.7%
Two-person households	16,021 ±964	31.0% ±1.8 pp	35.1%	33.8%
Three-person households	8,067 ±708	15.6% ±1.3 pp	14.3%	15.3%
Four-person households	7,150 ±666	13.8% ±1.3 pp	11.7%	12.6%
Five-person households	3,810 ±459	7.4% ±0.9 pp	5.2%	5.9%
Six-person households	1,226 ±282	2.4% ±0.5 pp	1.9%	2.2%
Seven or more people	541 ±201	1.0% ±0.4 pp	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: 133,573
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
Native	96,223 ±1,941	72.0% ±1.5 pp	92.8%	85.9%
Foreign born	37,350 ±1,935	28.0% ±1.4 pp	7.2%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 126,956
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
English only	82,317 ±2,188	64.8% ±1.7 pp	89.6%	77.7%
Spanish	1,717 ±485	1.4% ±0.4 pp	3.1%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	69 ±50 · low precision	0.1% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	447 ±152	0.4% ±0.1 pp	0.5%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	4,058 ±848	3.2% ±0.7 pp	0.6%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	9,699 ±1,253	7.6% ±1.0 pp	1.8%	2.0%
Korean	364 ±182	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.2%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	1,244 ±476	1.0% ±0.4 pp	0.5%	1.1%
Vietnamese	804 ±348	0.6% ±0.3 pp	0.2%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	1,404 ±499	1.1% ±0.4 pp	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	1,337 ±584	1.1% ±0.5 pp	0.8%	1.1%
Arabic	12,388 ±1,539	9.8% ±1.2 pp	1.8%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	11,108 ±1,652	8.7% ±1.3 pp	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: 96,439
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	12,659 ±985	13.1% ±1.0 pp	7.9%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	25,282 ±1,205	26.2% ±1.2 pp	28.0%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	18,984 ±1,212	19.7% ±1.2 pp	21.9%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	9,504 ±856	9.9% ±0.9 pp	9.8%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	20,013 ±1,213	20.8% ±1.2 pp	19.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	9,997 ±822	10.4% ±0.8 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: 132,404
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Michigan	U.S.
Same house	121,140 ±1,445	91.5% ±1.1 pp	88.8%	87.7%
Moved within same county	6,281 ±1,174	4.7% ±0.9 pp	5.9%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	3,177 ±659	2.4% ±0.5 pp	3.4%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	1,234 ±485	0.9% ±0.4 pp	1.4%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	572 ±189	0.4% ±0.1 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

5.7% of Sterling Heights residents (±0.7 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 4.9% in Michigan and 8.4% nationally. 93.9% 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	Sterling Heights	Michigan	U.S.	Compared with Michigan
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	5.7% ±0.7 pp	4.9%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	93.9% ±1.2 pp	90.5%	91.0%	Higher
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	3.8% ±0.4 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 Sterling Heights . 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 Sterling Heights housing and cost context or return to the city profile.