SterlingGA
A town of 2,091, settled in 1832. Public schools that outperform most of Georgia.
Is Sterling a good place to live?
Sterling’s best subject grade is an A for cost of living; its weakest is a C− for walkability. Sterling has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Sterling stand out
Where Sterling beats most towns.
99% of working residents leave Sterling for work
Where Sterling’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Sterling grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Georgia), ordered by how far Sterling is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Sterling: who provides what
Sterling is unincorporated, so Glynn County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Sterling.
On state tests, Sterling’s schools beat 75% of Georgia districts
Its public schools are run by the Glynn County school district. One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. 2 public schools serve Sterling, with 1,568 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jane Macon MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 801 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within GA on state tests and graduation
Sterling has 0.4 jobs per working resident, so most workers leave town for work
Sterling’s typical household income stands at $86,000, against $63,000 in Georgia’s towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. Commuting out is the norm in the town: 1% of working residents work locally. Jobs in Sterling grew by 59 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 434. The top destinations are Brunswick (28%), Dock Junction (9%) and St. Simons (7%).
| Sterling | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 1.4% | 9.1% | 8% |
| Median household income | $86,000 | $63,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 15% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazards: high risk in Sterling, mostly hurricanes
Sterling’s natural-hazard score from FEMA stands at 71 of 100, above both Georgia’s towns (29 of 100) and U.S. towns (44 of 100). Expected losses in Sterling break down as 54% from hurricanes and 17% from inland flooding. One declared disaster, in 2017, has brought federal aid to Sterling households.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Sterling has mild winters and hot summers
July afternoons reach 93°, January nights drop to 40° and snow is almost unheard of.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
On CDC estimates, Sterling is healthier than 59% of U.S. towns
Just over a third of Sterling adults feel lonely. For adults in the town, the share who binge drink is 17%.
| Sterling | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 40% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 39% | 33% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Sterling | GA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 3.1% | 3.6% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5.3% | 6.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
In Sterling, 0.2% of the land is conserved
Across 2 parks and preserves: 0.9 miles of trail.
| Sterling | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.2% | 2.3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sterling Park | — | 3 |
| 2. East Sterling Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median home in Sterling sells for about $315K
Sterling’s midpoint rent comes in at $919 a month. In Sterling, 61% of households live in a home they own.
| Sterling | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $919 a month | $1,154 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 61% | 58% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Jekyll Island and 8 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sterling. Close and well known come first.
15 mi Park & preserveJekyll Island
11 mi LandmarkIgbo Landing Historic Site
9 mi National MonumentFort Frederica National Monument108K visitors a year
21 mi National SeashoreCumberland Island National Seashore60K visitors a year
39 mi LandmarkFort Clinch38 mi MuseumWhite Oak ConservationPhoto credits
Jekyll Island: normanack on Flickr, CC BY 2.0 · Igbo Landing Historic Site: Jud McCranie, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Frederica National Monument: Bubba73 (talk), Jud McCranie, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cumberland Island National Seashore: The original uploader was Pgabolde at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Clinch: Fl295 at English Wikipedia, Public domain
Everything we know about Sterling
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Sterling
About 1 of every 100 Sterling residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Georgia.
Questions about Sterling
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Sterling, GA a good place to live?
Public schools that outperform most of Georgia.