Sterling Heights, MI Property Crime Rates and Maps
Sterling Heights is the fourth-largest city in Michigan, with 129,600 residents in Macomb County, about 17 miles north of downtown Detroit · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Sterling Heights?
Property crime in Sterling Heights is a little lower than in most US neighborhoods: an A, safer than the neighborhoods where 61% of Americans live. Theft makes up 61% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades A+, and vehicle theft grades A.
A
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 873 of 1,000Less property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
61% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Sterling Heights as a whole, and 39% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Sterling Heights scores 873.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more property crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its property crime with the homes, parked cars and people there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Sterling Heights, MI at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Sterling Heights, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out about property crime in Sterling Heights
Burglaries and acts of vandalism both run low. In Sterling Heights, each runs at less than half the US rate: 0.77 burglaries and 2.4 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.4 and 5.5 nationally.
Thefts from cars happen at homes more often than nationally. In Sterling Heights, 53% of reported thefts from cars happen at homes, against 34% nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Sterling Heights
Every part of Sterling Heights where people live grades A or B for property crime on the national scale. Property crime grades across Sterling Heights run from A+ to B+.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Is property crime going up in Sterling Heights?
Reported property crime in Sterling Heights has risen 19% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 8.7 to 10 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
Sterling HeightsUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Sterling Heights. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Sterling Heights
Property, US
2016
+32%
+15%
2017
+31%
+12%
2018
+16%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-1%
-8%
2021
-3%
-10%
2022
+37%
-6%
2023
+26%
-7%
2024
+19%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Sterling Heights
CrimeGrade™ estimates Sterling Heights has about 13 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 46% less than the US as a whole and 31% less than Michigan.
All property crime
Burglary
Vehicle theft
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Property crime here includes vandalism, which the FBI's property crime rate leaves out.
Theft is the most common property crime in Sterling Heights, about 61% of the total, followed by vandalism and vehicle theft.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a property crime with what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for vehicle theft, people and parking for theft, homes and businesses for vandalism. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when property crime happens in Sterling Heights
Sterling Heights has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Sterling Heights, 74% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often at homes: 38% of them, against 33% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (74%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (38%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Homes (53%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (44%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in Sterling Heights and nearby cities
Sterling Heights has less property crime than 7 of its 10 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Sterling Heights. Beside each property crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Sterling Heights is safer than 84% of them.
Night lighting, transit and walkability in Sterling Heights
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Sterling Heights apart: it has 3.0 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and 3.4% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places with a lot of parking-lot space tend to report more theft, yet theft runs lower here than that would suggest.
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 92% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Sterling Heights: D (14 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft. 83% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (18 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 50% of US city residents
Show all 6
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.3.0 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 84% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.3.4% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 82% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.9.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 63% of US city residents
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What property crime costs Sterling Heights
Property crime costs Sterling Heights about $12 million a year, or $93 per resident and about $241 per household: the value of what is stolen or damaged, plus the police, courts and prisons that respond.
Cost of property crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering add little to the cost of property crime, so this is close to its full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Burglary
$890,000
$7
Theft
$5.2 million
$40
Vehicle theft
$3.5 million
$27
Arson
$140,000
$1
Vandalism
$2.2 million
$17
Total
$12 million
$93
How CrimeGrade™ works
The property crime CrimeGrade™ covers burglary, theft, car theft, arson and vandalism, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each property crime against what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for car theft, and the people and parking around stores for theft.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
