Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Sterling grades A overall, 75th among Massachusetts's 282 graded towns. It has 26 miles of trail and 37% conserved land. It reports less crime per resident than 90% of U.S. towns and residents are healthier than 90% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $594K, 6.2 years of the Worcester metro’s $96K median household income. 37% of the land in Sterling is conserved, against 19% in Massachusetts’ towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Wachusett Reservoir Watershed, 3,288 acres with 7.9 miles of trail. Sterling has 3 places on the National Register.
Where Sterling beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,428 in 1790, a low of 1,244 in 1890, 7,985 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1834 and 7 maps from 1885 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Sterling is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sterling. Close and well known come first.
Big draw35 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw36 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw28 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
Big draw35 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
22 mi LakeWalden Pond
37 mi AttractionFreedom TrailFenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0
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 pairs an A overall with homes cheaper than the Massachusetts norm, keeps more of its land conserved than most of Massachusetts and has less tooth loss than most of Massachusetts.
Violent crime is rare: 6 reported in 2025, 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
Sterling’s property crime rate is 1.1 per 1,000 residents, where Massachusetts’ towns sit at 4.9 and U.S. towns at 9.9. Sterling’s violent crime rate is 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Sterling | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.1 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Wachusett school district. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houghton ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 317 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Massachusetts is tooth loss: 5.2% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.9% statewide. Within Massachusetts it is healthier than 60% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar.
30% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Sterling. Sterling beats the Massachusetts average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 83% of adults had a checkup this year in Sterling.
| Sterling | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 82% | 79% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 11% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Sterling | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.2% | 11.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3% | 5.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.7% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its 7,465 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 91% of Massachusetts towns.
26 miles of trail in 19 parks and preserves. The trail density in Sterling is 0.8 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wachusett Reservoir Watershed | 7.9 mi | 3,288 |
| 2. Wekepeke Wildlife Conservation Easement | 3.7 mi | 556 |
| 3. Allenwood | 0.9 mi | 24 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 84% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Sterling since 2010.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Sterling for work: only 8% work in town. Since 2013, Sterling has added 192 jobs, to 2,405 in 2023. The top destinations are Worcester (15%), Boston (7%) and Leominster (6%).
| Sterling | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $129,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 12% of residents (24% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 46% of residents (39% statewide). 48% of Sterling adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. Sterling has grown 4.7% since 2020, to 8,358 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Sterling | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 51.5 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 48% | 47% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 19% | 18% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.7 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Sterling | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.4% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.3% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.4% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.3% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.2% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 20.5% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.7% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.3% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.9% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 19.4% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.9% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.5% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.7% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 20.6% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Sterling has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 16° and about 73 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Sterling grades A overall with a typical home of about $594K, below the Massachusetts typical value; only 21 of the 109 Massachusetts towns graded A− or better can say that.
The typical Sterling home is worth about $594,000, up 2.2% in a year, 9% below the Massachusetts typical home.
| Sterling | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 86% | 79% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,699 a month | $1,682 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
10 within 15 miles of the center of Sterling
About 5 of every 100 Sterling residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
Where Sterling’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Sterling on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Sterling.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Sterling is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,985 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Sterling.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Sterling grades A overall, better than 87% of U.S. towns and #75 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A for health, A for safety and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
9 notable people were born here, including Prentiss Mellen and Le Gage Pratt.
