St. Clair County, MI

County Profile

160,221 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for St. Clair County, MI.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

54out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 32% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity1,287th of 1,463 counties measured33
Schools716th of 1,377 counties measured49
Growth1,310th of 1,453 counties measured26
Housing affordability1,045th of 1,462 counties measured68
Climate1,052nd of 1,463 counties measured62
Physical resilienceTop 14% of 1,463 counties measured84
Access1,147th of 1,463 counties measured65
Economic stabilityTop 34% of 1,463 counties measured71
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable counties measured: unemployment is 5.4% and the Opportunity signal places St. Clair County in the bottom 12%.

In the public schools here, 40% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 17.0 students for every teacher.

231 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 5% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
160,221
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$71,270
Top 34% nationally
Density
222/sq mi
721.5 sq mi of land
Median age
44.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
St. Clair County
Michigan
Nearest major airport
DTW
61 mi · Detroit Metro Wayne County
Median home value
$224,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.4% — higher than in all but 13% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 1.0% over the past year, to 72,681 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$58,16349th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$56,09744th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$1,3512024 ACS 5-Year$71,270Top 34%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,0242024 ACS 5-Year$38,214Top 33%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$55,470Bottom 47%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year11.2%Top 36%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year30.7 minBottom 21%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year20.3%Bottom 40%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year79.9%68th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202672,681Top 30%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−3.9%Bottom 11%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.0%Bottom 41%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202676,79070th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year77.5%Top 40%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year1.1%87th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.2%Bottom 47%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.4%Bottom 13%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year7.7%42nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.22.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.4% in July 2026. It has been rising, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202471k63k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $71,270 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators55,100$49,240
Retail Salespersons48,610$35,130
Home Health and Personal Care Aides46,480$35,120
Registered Nurses44,310$97,280
Fast Food and Counter Workers42,430$29,590
Cashiers37,910$30,090

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

40% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 53% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 17.0 students for every full-time teacher across 47 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
49
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
17.0
across 47 of them
Math proficiency
39.6%
Top 50% in Michigan
Reading proficiency
52.8%
Top 36% in Michigan
The 12 largest of 49 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Anchor Bay High SchoolAnchor Bay School District1,74021.847%67%
Port Huron Northern High SchoolPort Huron Area School District1,08920.932%58%
Port Huron High SchoolPort Huron Area School District98818.619%43%
Marysville High SchoolMarysville Public Schools80623.754%69%
Landmark Academy · charterLandmark Academy72615.121%36%
St Clair High SchoolEast China School District71519.347%67%
Algonac JuniorSenior High SchoolAlgonac Community School District64421.528%53%
St Clair Middle SchoolEast China School District61417.546%59%
Marysville Middle SchoolMarysville Public Schools60319.551%62%
Central Middle SchoolPort Huron Area School District59916.618%29%
Fort Gratiot Middle SchoolPort Huron Area School District53319.741%55%
Keewahdin Elementary SchoolPort Huron Area School District51015.543%50%

46.2% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Michigan’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 2% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 98.2, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metropolitan Division is up 40% over five years, and up 4.4% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,562 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.14% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,411, some 37% above the $1,029 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,411 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $56,400 a year, about 79% of the median household income here of $71,270.

The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,029 a month.

A median home at $224,600 costs 2.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $82,232, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
98.2

Prices here run about 2% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
32.5%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,411
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,029
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$224,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against St. Clair County’s median household income of $71,270, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metro Area’s figure202398.2Bottom 34%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+4.4%68th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+39.6%27th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+91.5%46th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.7Bottom 38%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year80.8%84th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1212024 ACS 5-Year72,79987th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,122Bottom 32%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,724Bottom 35%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,411Bottom 28%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$252024 ACS 5-Year$1,029Bottom 28%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$3,5752024 ACS 5-Year$224,60065th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$372024 ACS 5-Year$2,56278th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,2272024 ACS 5-Year$82,232Top 38%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year1.14%74th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year32.5%Bottom 12%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±3492024 ACS 5-Year2,58487th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year3.5%57th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.3%3rd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±5602024 ACS 5-Year4,98380th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

26/ 100
Ranks 1,310 of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 160,308 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 231 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show St. Clair County gained about 0.4% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $58,163, close to the $56,097 of households that moved out.

At 1.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
231
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.4
Bottom 26% nationally
Year over year
−5%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024160k160k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
24%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$58,163
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$56,097
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Macomb County, MI 2,371 people · 43% of arrivals
  2. Oakland County, MI 377 people · 6.9% of arrivals
  3. Sanilac County, MI 360 people · 6.5% of arrivals
  4. Wayne County, MI 252 people · 4.6% of arrivals
  5. Lapeer County, MI 216 people · 3.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Macomb County, MI 1,662 people · 33% of departures
  2. Sanilac County, MI 394 people · 7.9% of departures
  3. Oakland County, MI 361 people · 7.2% of departures
  4. Wayne County, MI 210 people · 4.2% of departures
  5. Lapeer County, MI 182 people · 3.7% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025424208
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+14%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 82°F and January a low of 18°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 35.0 inches, including 32.2 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 41, in the Good band, and about 3 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MT CLEMENS ANG BASE, 23.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year642024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals35.0"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals32.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals18°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year32024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year412024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals47°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
41
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
64
90th percentile index
Days above 100
3
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

84 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 59% of it. Cold wave and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 86% of measured US counties.

Ice stormModerate
Inland floodingModerate
Strong windElevated
Heat waveModerate
Winter weatherModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, tornado, earthquake, hail, coastal flooding, landslide, hurricane, wildfire, drought, volcanic activity, tsunami, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

St. Clair County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.4 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 10.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 19.4 per 100,000 residents in St. Clair County.

Homicide
2.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
10.0
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
19.4
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
13.8
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe St. Clair County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Detroit Metro Wayne County at 61 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year90.9%Top 20%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle61 miBottom 21%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 35%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year6.9%Top 23%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Detroit Metro Wayne CountyDTW61 mi12,003 ft
Mbs IntlMBS82 mi8,002 ft
Capital Region IntlLAN98 mi8,506 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
54
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

Cities in St. Clair County, MI