Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sterling gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $141K for a typical one, or 2.1 years of the Auburn area’s $68K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 472nd of 745 graded towns in New York. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its schools rank behind 78% of the state's. On the plus side, it has 25 miles of trail. 27% of residents are 65 or older in Sterling, where New York’s towns sit at 20% and U.S. towns at 18%. Its National Register listings include Sterling Grist Mill Complex and Cottage Farm.
Where Sterling beats most towns.
Where Sterling’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Sterling is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 792 in 1820, 3,040 in 2010. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1904 and 4 maps from 1900 on.
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 Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Sterling.
Sterling trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, is a second-home town and gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns.
The biggest park or preserve is Fair Haven Beach State Park, at 1,012 acres.
| Sterling | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.1% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sterling Nature Reserve | 7.9 mi | 711 |
| 2. West Barrier Bar County Park | 0.5 mi | 13 |
| 3. Fair Haven Beach State Park | 0.4 mi | 1,012 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Sterling has 230 jobs for its 1,268 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Sterling for work: only 7% work in town. Since 2013, Sterling has added 76 jobs, to 230 in 2023. 14% of residents live below the poverty line in Sterling.
| Sterling | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $60,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 7.2% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Oswego weather station, 11 miles away, records that 140 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 99% of U.S. towns.
Sterling has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Sterling is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 8,840 U.S. towns with household incomes like Sterling’s, it is healthier than 68%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Sterling beats the New York average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 15% of Sterling adults report frequent physical distress.
| Sterling | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 25% | 25% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 35% |
| What stands out | Sterling | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.8% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 11.4% | 14.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 9% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 57% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Sterling since 2019.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Homes are within reach (A− for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 24 miles. At 2.1 years of the Auburn area’s $68K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 86% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sterling. Close and well known come first.
33 mi Stadium & arenaJMA Wireless Dome
28 mi LakeOnondaga Lake
36 mi MountainCumorah
13 mi LandmarkFort Ontario
32 mi Stadium & arenaOncenter War Memorial Arena
39 mi State parkGreen Lakes State ParkJMA Wireless Dome: Jimhoward03, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Onondaga Lake: R. A. Nonenmacher, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cumorah: Hillcumorahpageantstage.jpg: la salebete derivative work: Eustress (talk), CC BY-SA 2.0 · Fort Ontario: Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Oncenter War Memorial Arena: Crazyale, Public domain · Green Lakes State Park: Ebedgert at English Wikipedia, Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of Sterling
About 6 of every 100 Sterling residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York.
3 notable people were born in Sterling.
Town in New York, United States
Sterling is a town in Cayuga County, New York, United States. The population was 3,040 at the 2010 census. Located on the shore of Lake Ontario, the town is named after William Alexander, Lord Stirling, an American general of the Revolutionary War.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Sterling.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Oswego (C+) comes closest.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling | #472 | C+ | A− | — | C− | C+ |
| Fair Haven | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hannibal | #690 | D | B | — | C− | C |
| Wolcott | #528 | C | A | — | C | C− |
| Oswego | #501 | C+ | B− | — | C− | B |
| Victory | — | — | B− | — | C+ | C |
| Red Creek | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Victory has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Sterling, Hannibal, Wolcott, Oswego and Victory report no FBI crime data of their own. Fair Haven and Red Creek aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Sterling with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sterling grades C+ overall, better than 40% of U.S. towns and #472 of 745 in New York. It grades C+ for health and C− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C−.
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $141,000, 73% below the New York typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
3 notable people were born here, including Thressa Stadtman and Alfred L. Cary.
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