Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,303, settled in 1871. Public schools that outperform most of Kansas.
Trash day: WednesdayThe best of Sterling’s subject grades are an A+ for schools and an A for cost of living and walkability; the weakest is a C− for hazard risk. 33% of working residents work locally in Sterling, above both Kansas’ towns (15%) and U.S. towns (8%). No town in Kansas scores higher than Sterling on walkability. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 86% of U.S. towns. Sterling's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 97% of U.S. towns. Sterling is home to Sterling College. Sterling has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Sterling beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Sterling Grade School | PK–6 | 268 |
| Sterling Junior High/Senior High | 7–12 | 232 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kansas), ordered by how far Sterling is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1917.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
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.
Its public schools are run by the Sterling school district. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling Grade SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 268 | A |
| Sterling Junior High/Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 232 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KS on state tests and graduation
Sterling’s property crime rate is 3.9 per 1,000 residents, where Kansas’ towns sit at 11 and U.S. towns at 9.9. The violent crime rate in Sterling is 0.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Sterling | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.9 per 1,000 residents | 11 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Adults 18 to 34 are 36% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 26% of residents (36% statewide). Sterling’s median age is 29.4 years. Sterling has grown 2.4% since 2020, to 2,303 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Sterling | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 29.4 years | 38.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 40% | 29% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 24% | 22% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5 points. Across Kansas, 49.8% of residents are women.
| Sterling | KS | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.4% | 12.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10% | 11.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 25.1% | 10.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.3% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.2% | 12.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10% | 11.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 8% | 12.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.4% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.8% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.5% | 8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.7% | 25.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 22% | 21.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.6% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.2% | 13.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,300, single groups can be off by several points
The typical Sterling home is worth about $167,000, up 9.5% in a year, 32% below the Kansas typical home. Only 10 of the 150 Kansas towns we compare have a lower median rent than Sterling.
| Sterling | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $689 a month | $975 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 76% | 72% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 75% of U.S. communities. Since 2010, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sterling.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Sterling beats the Kansas average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 31% of Sterling adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Sterling | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 35% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 34% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.9% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Sterling | KS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults getting cholesterol checked | 81% | 84.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Sterling has chilly winters and hot summers. July afternoons reach 93°, January nights drop to 20° and about 9 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 3 of Sterling’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Sterling has added 130 jobs, to 1,221 in 2023. 5.7% of residents live below the poverty line in Sterling.
| Sterling | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $55,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.7% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
0.5 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The biggest park or preserve is Sterling Park, at 23 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sterling Park | 0.5 mi | 23 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Sterling
College town 22 of every 100 Sterling residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Kansas.
10 notable people were born in Sterling.
City in Rice County, Kansas
Sterling is a city in Rice County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,248. Sterling is home to Sterling College.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Public schools that outperform most of Kansas.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.
10 notable people were born here, including Alexander Pearson, Jr. and Beulah Armstrong.