Detroit, MI vs Sterling Heights, MI
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Detroit spends 147.7% more per capita than Sterling Heights ($18,538/person difference). Sterling Heights, MI has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 75/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $44 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $200 | $0 |
| Income Tax | $1,045 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $291 | $17,646 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,228 | $1,696 |
| Other | $6,892 | $3,682 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $2,429 | $1,634 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $185 |
| Public Welfare | $833 | $761 |
| Health | $396 | $656 |
| Hospitals | $2,217 | $66 |
| Parks & Recreation | $950 | $11 |
| Housing | $5,791 | $2,747 |
| Sewerage | $451 | $159 |
| Utilities | $2,737 | $2,756 |
| Interest on Debt | $2,068 | $0 |
| Other | $13,216 | $3,575 |
Compare More Cities
The side-by-side above pulls the the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances data for both entity A and entity B. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for entity A versus entity B, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.
Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.