Sterling is a medium-sized city located in the state of Illinois. With a population of 14,508 people and six associated neighborhoods, Sterling is the 163rd largest community in Illinois.

Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Sterling spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 18.15 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.

The percentage of adults in Sterling who are college-educated is close to the national average for all communities of 21.84%: 18.46% of the adults in Sterling have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.

The per capita income in Sterling in 2022 was $35,146, which is middle income relative to Illinois and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $140,584 for a family of four. However, Sterling contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Sterling is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Sterling home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Sterling residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Sterling also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 25.78% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Sterling include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Polish.

The most common language spoken in Sterling is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Tagalog.