Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
42% of working residents work locally in Sterling Township, where Illinois’ towns sit at 8.3% and U.S. towns at 8%. The biggest park or preserve is Sinnissippi Park, at 94 acres. We don’t grade Sterling Township yet; the figures below are still real.
Where Sterling Township beats most towns.
Where Sterling Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Census counts: 2,428 in 1860, 14,764 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1864 and 2 maps from 1946 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sterling Township, 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 Sterling Township.
Sterling Township’s average trip to work is 18 minutes, below both Illinois’ towns (26 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). 14% of residents live below the poverty line in Sterling Township. Jobs based in Sterling Township grew to 10,924 in 2023, 1,499 more than in 2013.
| Sterling Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 5.8% | 11% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by Sterling CUSD 5. Two of its 15 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Challand Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 726 | C+ |
| Sterling High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 999 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts
Sterling Township has cold winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 14° and about 29 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Sterling Township beats the Illinois average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 14% of Sterling Township adults have diabetes.
| Sterling Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 18% | 19% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 7.9% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Sterling Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 78.8% | 75.7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.7% | 10.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 60% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 16 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sterling Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
5.5 miles of trail in 19 parks and preserves.
| Sterling Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.1% | 3.7% | 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. Kilgour Park | 0.5 mi | 13 |
| 2. Platt Park | 0.4 mi | 8 |
| 3. Sinnissippi Park | 0.3 mi | 94 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
2 within 15 miles of the center of Sterling Township
About 5 of every 100 Sterling Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
City in Illinois, United States
Sterling is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States, along the Rock River. The population was 14,782 at the 2020 census, down from 15,370 in 2010. Formerly nicknamed "The Heart of American Hardware," the city has long been associated with manufacturing and the steel industry.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Sterling Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Coloma Township | #545 | C+ | A− | — | B− | C |
| Sterling | #514 | C+ | B+ | C+ | B− | C+ |
| Hopkins Township | — | — | A− | — | B− | C+ |
| Jordan Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Palmyra Township | #542 | C+ | B+ | — | B− | C+ |
| Rock Falls | #659 | C− | A− | D | B− | C− |
Hopkins Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Coloma Township, Hopkins Township and Palmyra Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Sterling Township and Jordan Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Sterling Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
We don’t grade Sterling Township yet; the figures below are still real.