2024 presidential election
Sterling Heights
TrumpR+21.6
Constituent county margins for Sterling Heights, MIOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
| Donald Trump ✓Republican | 59.5% | 43,972 |
|---|---|---|
| Kamala HarrisDemocratic | 37.9% | 28,028 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 2.6% | 1,915 |
D+60R+60
1 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2008–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 2008 | +7.4% |
| 2012 | +2.5% |
| 2016 | −12.0% |
| 2020 | −11.3% |
| 2024 | −21.6% |
DemocraticRepublican
5 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 28,028 | 43,972 | 73,915 | ||
| R | 30,591 | 38,452 | 69,797 | ||
| R | 24,479 | 31,495 | 58,411 | ||
| D | 30,610 | 29,120 | 59,730 | ||
| D | 32,008 | 27,509 | 60,614 |
Demographics
Demographic profile
Demographic Profile
Key indicators compared across containing geographies
| Indicator | Sterling HeightsCity | MichiganState | United StatesNation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Race & Ethnicity | |||
| White | 77.0% | 73.7% | 61.0% |
| Black | 7.6% | 13.3% | 12.2% |
| Asian | 9.3% | 3.4% | 6.0% |
| Two or more races | 4.6% | 7.1% | 12.6% |
| Other race | 1.4% | 2.4% | 8.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 3.0% | 5.9% | 19.3% |
| Income & Age | |||
| Median household income | $79,909 | $72,875 | $84,427 |
| Poverty rate | 11.1% | 13.2% | 12.5% |
| Median age | 41.7 | 40.3 | 39.1 |
| Age 18–24 | 7.8% | 9.2% | 9.2% |
| Age 65 and older | 18.3% | 18.5% | 17.2% |
| Education & Language | |||
| Bachelor's degree or higher (25+) | 31.1% | 32.4% | 35.7% |
| Speaks a non-English language at home | 35.2% | 10.4% | 22.3% |
| Arabic | 9.8% | 1.8% | 0.5% |
| Other languages | 8.7% | 0.6% | 0.8% |
| Other Indo-European | 7.6% | 1.8% | 2.0% |
| Russian, Polish, or other Slavic | 3.2% | 0.6% | 0.7% |
| Ancestry | |||
| Largest ancestry | German 17.4% | German 17.7% | German 12.5% |
| 2nd-largest ancestry | Polish 12.6% | English 10.5% | English 9.5% |
| 3rd-largest ancestry | Italian 10.0% | Irish 9.9% | Irish 9.4% |
| Religion | |||
| Catholic | 22.1%County context | 14.8% | 18.6% |
| Evangelical Protestant | 8.0%County context | 12.1% | 16.5% |
| Unaffiliated or unclaimed | 63.0%County context | 60.3% | 51.5% |
ACS values are survey estimates and may include margins of error.
Religion data may be available only at county or larger geographies. Sub-county values are labeled when inherited, modeled, or contextual.
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
17.4%
Polish
12.6%
Italian
10.0%
Irish
9.5%
English
7.6%
American
3.3%
French
3.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 41.7 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$79,909
Sterling Heights$79,909
Michigan$72,875
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
11.1%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1814.8%
Working age (18–64)9.1%
Seniors (65+)10.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
64.8%
speak English only
Arabic9.8%
Other languages8.7%
Other Indo-European7.6%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic3.2%
Spanish1.4%
Tagalog (incl. Filipino)1.1%
Other Asian & Pacific Island1.1%
Chinese (incl. Mandarin & Cantonese)1.0%
Vietnamese0.6%
German or other West Germanic0.4%
Korean0.3%
French (incl. Cajun & Haitian)0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Unaffiliated or not counted63.0%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. The unaffiliated-or-not-counted share is everyone not claimed as an adherent by any reporting body — uncounted congregations as well as the religiously unaffiliated.
Sterling Heights sits in the Great Lakes. In 2024 it voted Republican.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 7.4 points in 2008 and a Republican high of 21.6 points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 10.3 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 21.6 points.
A population of 133,573, a 77% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $79,909 describe the city.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Sterling Heights, Michigan. Akashic. https://akashic.app/city/2676460/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Sterling Heights, Michigan vote in 2024?
In 2024, Sterling Heights, Michigan voted Republican by 21.6 points (R+21.6), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 73,915 votes cast, 28,028 went Democratic and 43,972 went Republican.
What is Sterling Heights, Michigan's political typology?
Akashic places Sterling Heights, Michigan in the "" typology. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 5 elections in the dataset, the city has voted Democratic 2 times, Republican 3 times, and other 0 times.
When did Sterling Heights, Michigan last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Sterling Heights, Michigan voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Sterling Heights, Michigan?
Sterling Heights, Michigan has a population of 133,573 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Sterling Heights, Michigan?
Median household income in Sterling Heights, Michigan is $79,909 — below the national median of $80,734. The Michigan state median is $72,875.
What is the political history of Sterling Heights, Michigan?
Akashic tracks 5 presidential elections in Sterling Heights, Michigan from 2008 to 2024. Of those, 2 went Democratic and 3 went Republican. The city's typology — "" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.