Sterling Heights, city in southeastern Michigan and Macomb County, on the Clinton River. The city is located in the Detroit metropolitan region. Principally a residential community, the primary economic activity centers on producing goods and services for the automotive industry.
The community, laid out in 1835 as Jefferson Township, was renamed Sterling Heights in 1838. The source of the name is uncertain; it may be named for Sterling, New York, the former home of many of the original settlers, or after early pioneer Azariah Sterling. For much of its history, Sterling Heights was a rural community. During the 1960s and 1970s it experienced rapid growth, attracting new residents from Detroit with industrial jobs and a suburban lifestyle. Growth slowed in the 1980s and 1990s. Sterling Heights incorporated as a city in 1968.
