Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
St. Clair is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades A overall, ranked 114th of 697 in Michigan, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its schools outperform 75% of the state's. It also does better than most on safety: it reports less crime per resident than 72% of U.S. towns. A typical home there costs about $318K, 4.2 years of the Detroit metro’s $77K median household income. St. Clair Inn is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where St. Clair beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far St. Clair is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,530 in 1860, 5,464 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 5 maps from 1939 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in St. Clair, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in St. Clair.
St. Clair is healthier than towns with similar incomes and trades workers with Port Huron and other neighbors.
The biggest park or preserve is Alice W. Moore Woods Nature Sanctuary, at 67 acres. Count the trails in 4 parks and preserves and they come to 1.2 miles.
| St. Clair | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.8% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Greig Park | 0.6 mi | 24 |
| 2. Alice W. Moore Woods Nature Sanctuary | — | 67 |
| 3. Palmer Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Public schools: the East China School District. Its one school is below. 353 students attend St. Clair’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gearing Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 353 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Expected losses in St. Clair break down as 56% from inland flooding and 20% from cold waves. Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 80% of U.S. communities. Federal aid has come to St. Clair households in 2 declared disasters; the latest was in 2004.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The property crime rate for St. Clair comes to 5.9 per 1,000 residents, against 8 in Michigan’s towns and 9.9 across U.S. towns. The town’s level of violent crime is 2 per 1,000 residents.
| St. Clair | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.9 per 1,000 residents | 8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The July high for St. Clair comes to 82°F, where Michigan’s towns sit at 82°F and U.S. towns at 85°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical home value in St. Clair is about $318,000, up 4.1% in a year, 21% above the Michigan typical home. For households here, the share who are owner-occupiers is 68%. A home in St. Clair typically sold within 36 days of listing.
| St. Clair | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 68% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,113 a month | $1,045 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 10,501 U.S. towns with household incomes like St. Clair’s, it is healthier than 82%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income.
17% of St. Clair adults say their health is fair or poor. This Michigan town beats the Michigan average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. In St. Clair, 27% of adults have been diagnosed with depression, and 11% worry about having enough food.
| St. Clair | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 81% | 80% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 27% | 23% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 5.4% | 6.5% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | St. Clair | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.9% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.2% | 8.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.2% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
St. Clair has about as many jobs (2,598) as working residents, but only 239 people both live and work here.
The share of residents in St. Clair who live below the poverty line: 7.1%. Employers in St. Clair added 538 jobs between 2011 and 2021, to 2,598. In St. Clair, the typical journey to work is 22 minutes. For half of commuters, work is under 28 miles away.
| St. Clair | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 7.1% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 10% | 5.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
The age mix tracks Michigan closely: no broad group is more than 4 points off. St. Clair is growing: up 6.7% since 2020, to 5,833 residents (2025 estimate). 27% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan. In St. Clair, nearly a quarter of residents are under 18.
| St. Clair | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 24% | 21% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 19% | 18% |
56% women, 44% men
About 79 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±4.1 points). Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| St. Clair | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.8% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 15.9% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.6% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.8% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.3% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.2% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.3% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.3% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.9% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.2% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.7% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.9% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.9% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.4% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.9% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
1 within 15 miles of the center of St. Clair
About 4 of every 100 St. Clair residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
11 notable people were born in St. Clair.
City in Michigan, United States
St. Clair is a city in St. Clair County in the eastern "Thumb" of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, St. Clair had a population of 5,464. The city is located on the St. Clair River near the southeast corner of St. Clair Township .
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with St. Clair.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Clair | #114 | A | B− | B+ | A− | B+ |
| St. Clair Township | #320 | B | C | — | A− | B |
| East China Township | #510 | C+ | C+ | — | A− | B |
| China Township | #293 | B | B | — | A− | B |
St. Clair Township, East China Township and China Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare St. Clair with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. St. Clair grades A overall, better than 86% of U.S. towns and #114 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B+ for health, B+ for safety and A− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
11 notable people were born here, including Jake Cronenworth and Jeremiah Whipple Jenks.
