Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 32,411, settled in 1887.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Sterling grades A overall, ranked 82nd of 249 in Virginia. Natural-hazard risk is low. Its schools outperform 88% of the state's and the median household earns $123K. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $630K for a typical one and 5 times the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. Sterling’s trail density is 2.3 miles per square mile, above both Virginia’s towns (0.7) and U.S. towns (0.4). Claude Moore Park, at 347 acres with 10 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Sterling beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Rolling Ridge Elementary | PK–5 | 562 |
| Forest Grove Elementary | PK–5 | 529 |
| Guilford Elementary | PK–5 | 504 |
The archive holds 41 old photos and papers going back to 1940 and 6 maps from 1944 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), 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 draw21 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw21 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw20 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw20 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw22 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
7 mi MuseumSteven F. Udvar-Hazy Center1.6M visitors a yearWhite House: This image or media was taken or created by Matt H. Wade. To see his entire port, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Washington Monument: Oren Rozen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Arlington National Cemetery: Protoant, Public domain · United States Triumphal Arch: Hstoops, CC0 · Smithsonian Institution: Highsmith, Carol M., 1946-, photographer, Public domain · Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0
Sterling is unincorporated, so Loudoun 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 Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Sterling.
Sterling scores below Sugarland Run and its other neighbors on health, but it has property taxes 1.6 times the Virginia norm.
Walkers can cover 13 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Claude Moore Park | 10 mi | 347 |
| 2. Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park | 1.6 mi | 22 |
| 3. Gwen Thompson Briar Patch Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Loudoun County Public Schools. Two of the 8 schools are below, and why each made the list. 5 public schools serve Sterling, with 2,501 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 967 | D |
| Park View HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,409 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
The median property tax bill is $4,412, against $2,790 across Virginia, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Sterling’s median rent comes in at $2,138 a month. Homes here are typically worth about $630,000, up 1.2% in a year, 53% above the Virginia typical home. Bidding over the asking price: 59% of homes sold here.
| Sterling | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,138 a month | $1,760 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The natural-hazard score from FEMA for Sterling comes to 7 of 100, against 22 of 100 in Virginia’s towns and 44 of 100 across U.S. towns. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Sterling once, in 2003. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 55% come from inland flooding and 11% from heat waves. Since 2011, Sterling has seen 3 flood insurance claims paid out.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Employers in Sterling added 1,891 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 11,299. Most people who work leave Sterling to do it: just 4% work in town. The top destinations are Reston (5%), Tysons (5%) and Ashburn (5%). Half the trips to work are shorter than 11 miles.
| Sterling | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $123,000 | $101,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 16% | 18% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.8% | 5% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
All 5 graded neighbors score healthier than its B+, from Sugarland Run (A−) to Oak Grove (A+). Against the 5,264 U.S. towns with household incomes like Sterling’s, it is less healthy than 69%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
In Sterling, nearly a fifth of adults have been diagnosed with depression. Of 32 CDC measures, Sterling beats the Virginia average on 6 and trails it on 5. Two figures for adults here: 36% feel lonely, 76% had a checkup this year.
| Sterling | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 8.4% | 8.1% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 22% | 23% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 34% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 79% | 79% |
| What stands out | Sterling | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.4% | 7.7% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4.7% | 6.2% |
| More uninsured adults | 15.6% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
A winter brings about 21 inches of snow, with January nights at 25° and July afternoons at 87°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Among adults 25 and older in Sterling, 35% hold a bachelor’s degree or more. People 65 and older are just over one in ten residents (17% statewide). 22% never finished high school.
| Sterling | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 11% | 16% | 18% |
| Median age | 35.3 years | 38.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 44% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 23% | 22% |
47% women, 53% men
About 112 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2 points). Across Virginia, 50.6% of residents are women. Among residents 65 to 74, 60% are men (VA 47%). Median age: women 36.2, men 34.9.
| Sterling | VA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.2% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.6% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.4% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.2% | 13.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16.1% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.3% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.1% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 22% | 8.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.4% | 23.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.7% | 17.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 5.6% | 7.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.6% | 23.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.8% | 18.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
8 within 15 miles of the center of Sterling
About 6 of every 100 Sterling residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Virginia.
10.8% of the town is conserved land, across 5 parks and preserves.
4 notable people were born in Sterling.
Census-designated place in Virginia
Sterling refers most specifically to a census-designated place (CDP) in Loudoun County, Virginia. The population of the CDP as of the 2020 United States Census was 30,337. The CDP boundaries are confined to an area between Virginia State Route 28 on the west and Virginia State Route 7 on the northeast, excluding areas near SR 606 and the Dulles Town Center.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Sterling.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its A; Dulles Town Center (A) is closest.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling | #82 | A | C− | — | A | B+ |
| Dulles Town Center | #69 | A | C− | — | A | A |
| Oak Grove | — | — | C− | — | A | A+ |
| Cascades | #30 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Sugarland Run | #38 | A | C | — | A | A− |
| Ashburn | #13 | A+ | C− | — | A | A+ |
Oak Grove has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Sterling, Dulles Town Center, Oak Grove, Cascades, Sugarland Run and Ashburn report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Sterling with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Sterling grades A overall, better than 85% of U.S. towns and #82 of 249 in Virginia. It grades B+ for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
4 notable people were born here, including Hilarie Burton and Bret Halsey.
