Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Sterling grades D overall, ranked 154th of 158 in Colorado, mostly because of incomes and safety. The median household income is $43K, and 19% of residents live below the poverty line. Its crime rate is higher than 86% of U.S. towns, with 36 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. What it does well: it has 12 miles of trail. 40% of working residents work locally in Sterling, above both Colorado’s towns (7.5%) and U.S. towns (8%). Only 20 of Colorado’s 218 towns score lower on health. Sterling has 11 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Logan County Courthouse and First United Presbyterian Church.
Where Sterling beats most towns.
Census counts: 540 in 1890, 13,735 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1865 and 3 maps from 1954 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Colorado), ordered by how far Sterling is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sterling, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Sterling.
Sterling fares better on crime within Colorado than nationally, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has a shorter frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Colorado.
The median property tax bill is $939, against $2,602 across Colorado, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
In Sterling, 56% of households are owner-occupiers. The typical rent in the town is $1,031 a month. Homes sold in Sterling spent a median 85 days on the market.
| Sterling | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 71% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,031 a month | $1,812 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The largest public high school is Sterling High School, with 421 students. Public schools: School District No. Re-1 Valley. Of its 5 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 397 | C+ |
| Sterling High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 421 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CO on state tests and graduation
At 43.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 69% of Colorado’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 504 to 329 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
For Sterling, the violent offense rate is 2.8 per 1,000 residents. The level of property crime for Sterling comes to 22.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Sterling | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 22.5 per 1,000 residents | 15.2 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.8 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Pioneer Park, at 70 acres with 1.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Sterling’s trail density is 1.5 miles per square mile. 6 parks and preserves cover 107 acres locally.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pioneer Park | 1.3 mi | 70 |
| 2. Columbine Park | 0.7 mi | 16 |
| 3. Sterling Recreation Center | 0.4 mi | 14 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Leroy 5 Wsw weather station, 13 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 147 days: shorter than most of the country, but longer than 91% of Colorado places with climate records.
The range runs from 16° on a January night to 91° on a July afternoon, with about 37 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 5,237 working residents takes 14.7 minutes, against 25.2 across Colorado.
In Sterling, the average commute is 15 minutes. Jobs based in the town fell to 4,799 in 2023, 816 fewer than in 2013. Also worth knowing: for workers locally, the share who do their job from home is 8.5%. The top destinations are Greeley (5%), Denver (5%) and Fort Morgan (3%).
| Sterling | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 15 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $43,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 8.5% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 3,419 U.S. towns with household incomes like Sterling’s, it is healthier than 90%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Among adults in Sterling, 31% have obesity. Sterling: 69% of adults had a checkup this year.
| Sterling | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 69% | 71% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 10% | 8.1% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 11% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Sterling | CO |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16% | 9.2% |
| More smokers | 17.2% | 10.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.2% | 5.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Compared with 53% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Sterling is higher. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 38% come from inland flooding and 19% from tornadoes. Federal aid has come to Sterling households in 3 declared disasters; the latest was in 2023.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Sterling
About 6 of every 100 Sterling residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Colorado.
11 places in Sterling on the National Register of Historic Places.
14 notable people were born in Sterling.
City in Colorado, United States
Sterling is a home rule municipality and the county seat and most populous municipality of Logan County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 13,735 at the 2020 census. Sterling is the largest city in the Eastern Plains region of Colorado and the site of the domed Logan County Courthouse, built in 1909. The city is also home to Northeastern Junior College, enrolling over 1,500 students annually.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sterling grades D overall, better than 6% of U.S. towns and #154 of 158 in Colorado. It grades C+ for health, D for safety and C+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 4.7 years of the area's median household income ($51,829 across the Sterling, CO area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
14 notable people were born here, including Donald G. Brotzman and Nancy Ekholm Burkert.
