China, Michigan.
Typical home $385,932 (+5.4% in a year). Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro.
to buy the typical home at today's mortgage rate — +$1,106 (+120%) since Jan 2020.
- 1 year
- Up $19,608 +5%
- $366,324$385,932 since Sep 2025
- 5 years
- Up $81,968 +27%
- $303,964$385,932 since Sep 2021
Monthly payment to buy the typical home
Home value × that month's 30-year mortgage rate, 20% down, principal and interest. This is the line households feel: prices and rates compound each other.
- China$2,026
- Michigan$1,384
- United States$1,922
At the last five years' pace, a typical home here doubles in price every 15 years.
Typical home values in China, MI rose 5.4% over the past year — faster than the nation's +1.2%.
Living in China, St. Clair County, Michigan
China is a township of 3,509 people in St. Clair County. 93% of its homes are lived in by their owners and 7% are rented. Unemployment in St. Clair County was 5.3% in August 2026, and the county had 1.3% fewer jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most residents work in manufacturing, then schools and health care.
Written by AI Claude Sonnet 5.5 wrote this on 23 October 2026 from the figures here, a list of nearby places and what it knows. It can be wrong or out of date.
What it’s like
The place. China is a township in St. Clair County, Michigan, where nearly everyone who lives here owns their home. Residents are somewhat older than in the typical American community, and fewer live below the poverty line than you might expect. Winters are cold and snowy, with January the coldest month, while summers turn warm in July, and rain and melted snow fall steadily through the year.
Work. Residents work mostly in manufacturing, in schools, hospitals and social care, in transport, warehouses and utilities, and in restaurants, hotels and entertainment. DTE Energy and Lafontaine Chevrolet Buick GMC of ST Clair are among the largest workplaces in the township. Commutes are fairly long, and relatively few people work from home, while the county has recently seen unemployment rise and jobs slip a little.
Things to do. The St. Clair River is a short drive away, as is Algonac State Park, a protected area that suits a day outdoors. Kolping Park and Chapel, also a short drive away, is another quiet place to spend an afternoon. Those happy to go farther can reach Lake Saint Clair, a longer drive away.
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- 1,214households
- 20%of adults have a degree
- 4%below the poverty line
- 30 mintypical commute
- 9%work from home
What residents work in
Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. St. Clair County had 41,734 jobs in 2025, 1.3% fewer than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Weather through the year
Coldest in January, with highs near 33° and lows near 16°; warmest in July, with highs near 85° and lows near 60°. About 35 inches of rain and melted snow a year.
Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Algonac Wwtp weather station, 11 miles away (NOAA).
Largest workplaces in China
- DTE EnergyPower generation, fossil fuel, electric227
- Lafontaine Chevrolet Buick GMC of St ClairNew car dealers107
- DTE EnergyGas transmission31
- BrandSafway Industries LLC - Belle River Power PlantSpecialty trade contractors21
Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 4 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 386 people in all. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.
Natural hazards
- Cold wavesRelatively high
- Ice stormsRelatively high
- Strong windRelatively high
- TornadoesRelatively moderate
- Inland floodingRelatively moderate
FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms across St. Clair County, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively moderate. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.
From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on St. Clair County and the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro.
China home values
Zillow measures a city over its municipal boundary. Against the state and national figures, mid-tier homes, smoothed and seasonally adjusted.
- China$385,932
- Michigan$263,760
- United States$366,157
When this market ran hot
Each cell is that month's year-on-year home-value growth. Read left to right, top row is the latest year — the 2021–22 band is the boom.
Market heat, inside the city limits
Homes for sale
Active for-sale inventory. More supply hands power to buyers.
- China11
New listings per month
Sellers arriving at the market.
- China6
Zip codes with a China address
A different geography, not a breakdown. The figure above covers the municipality; these zips cover everywhere the Post Office calls China — often including townships beyond the city limits. Both come straight from Zillow, and they are not expected to average out.