Crime Grade · FBI UCR Data · 2025
Sterling Heights, MI Crime Grade
How Sterling Heights grades for violent crime against every other reporting U.S. city — and against the rest of Michigan — based on the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting data.
National
6/10
vs. all U.S. cities ≥ 25,000 population
Michigan
5/10
vs. Michigan cities ≥ 10,000 population
In 2025, the violent crime rate in Sterling Heights, MI was 219.5 per 100,000 residents (295 incidents over a population of 134,402). That puts Sterling Heights Infinity% above the U.S. rate of 0.0 and 48% below the Michigan statewide rate of 422.8.
That ranks Sterling Heights #2,191 of 3,771 ranked U.S. cities, safer than 42% of them, and #66 of 138 in Michigan. Violent crime is down 4% year over year and up 20% over the last five years.
Sterling Heights, MI crime — key facts
- National Crime Grade
- C (6/10)
- Michigan Grade
- B (5/10)
- Violent crime rate
- 219.5 / 100k
- National rank
- #2,191 of 3,771
- MI rank
- #66 of 138
- Safer than
- 42% of U.S. cities
- Year over year
- down 4%
- 5-year change
- up 20%
- Population
- 134,402
- Reporting agency
- Sterling Heights Police Department
- Data year
- 2025 · FBI UCR
Reported by Sterling Heights Police Department (FBI ORI MI5076500) to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Download the full dataset (CSV) · methodology.
Violent crime rate, 5-year trend
Per 100,000 residents. Sterling Heights (red), Michigan (blue), U.S. average (gray dashed).
Sterling Heights vs. U.S., 2025 — by offense
Rates per 100,000 residents for each offense category.
Full data, last 5 years
Rates per 100,000 residents. Raw counts in parentheses.
| Offense | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 183.5(242) | 206.2(273) | 168.4(222) | 229.2(305) | 219.5(295) |
| Murder | 1.5(2) | 1.5(2) | 0.8(1) | 0.8(1) | 0.7(1) |
| Rape | 27.3(36) | 29.5(39) | 15.9(21) | 31.6(42) | 35.0(47) |
| Robbery | 15.9(21) | 16.6(22) | 12.9(17) | 14.3(19) | 7.4(10) |
| Aggravated assault | 138.7(183) | 158.6(210) | 138.8(183) | 182.6(243) | 176.3(237) |
| Property crime | 852.8(1,125) | 1187.4(1,572) | 1119.1(1,475) | 1048.4(1,395) | 1156.2(1,554) |
| Burglary | 66.0(87) | 61.9(82) | 91.0(120) | 77.4(103) | 64.7(87) |
| Larceny | 640.6(845) | 914.7(1,211) | 819.4(1,080) | 789.9(1,051) | 930.0(1,250) |
| Motor vehicle theft | 142.5(188) | 210.0(278) | 200.3(264) | 175.9(234) | 156.2(210) |
How the Crime Grade is calculated
- What is the source of the Sterling Heights, MI Crime Grade?
- FBI Uniform Crime Reporting via the Crime Data Explorer. Agency-level data, pulled directly. No third-party aggregators, no proprietary score.
- What metric does the Sterling Heights Crime Grade use?
- Violent crime rate per 100,000 residents (murder + rape + robbery + aggravated assault), most recent fully-reported year.
- How is the national decile for Sterling Heights calculated?
- Sterling Heights's rate placed against all FBI-reporting U.S. cities with population ≥ 25,000. 1 = safest.
- How is the Michigan state decile calculated?
- Same calculation restricted to Michigan cities with population ≥ 10,000.
- How do decile scores convert to a letter grade?
- 1–3 = A · 4–5 = B · 6–7 = C · 8 = D · 9–10 = F.
- How often is the Sterling Heights Crime Grade refreshed?
- Twice a year. The FBI typically releases the prior year's full data each September.
- What are the limits of this Crime Grade?
- The FBI relies on local agency reporting. Rates reflect what was reported, not what occurred.
Nearby cities in Michigan
Comparable Michigan cities by population.
Compare Sterling Heights to other places
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