Grand Rapids, MI vs Sterling Heights, MI
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Grand Rapids spends 76.5% more per capita than Sterling Heights ($9,596/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 | $167 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $1,089 | $0 |
| Income Tax | $429 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $25,397 | $17,646 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,769 | $1,696 |
| Other | $5,091 | $3,682 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $1,930 | $1,634 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $185 |
| Education | $133 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $366 | $761 |
| Health | $711 | $656 |
| Hospitals | $2,409 | $66 |
| Parks & Recreation | $882 | $11 |
| Housing | $3,014 | $2,747 |
| Sewerage | $252 | $159 |
| Utilities | $2,755 | $2,756 |
| Other | $9,692 | $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.