† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
20042024
Boundary by 2024 margin · Precinct returns · VEST · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupSterlingIllinoisUnited States
German25.1%16.1%12.5%
Irish12.7%10.6%9.4%
English9.6%6.9%9.5%
Dutch6.5%——
American5.7%3.3%5.3%
Polish2.1%6.0%2.2%
Swedish2.1%1.5%—
Italian2.0%5.4%4.8%
Mexican21.8%14.4%11.3%
Puerto Rican3.0%1.7%1.8%
Spaniard0.6%——
Guatemalan0.4%0.3%0.5%
African American†1.8%12.1%9.9%
Nigerian0.4%0.3%0.2%
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Sterling
Illinois
United States
Median age
42.6
39.1
39.1
Age 18–24
9.8%
9.1%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
21.8%
16.9%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Sterling
Illinois
United States
Median household income
$57,350
$83,390
$84,427
Poverty rate
15.3%
11.8%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
21.1%
37.9%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Sterling
Illinois
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
12.4%
24.1%
22.3%
Spanish
9.6%
14.0%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Sterling
Illinois
United States
Catholic
—
24.2%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
—
11.7%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
—
49.2%
51.5%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Sterling, Illinois
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2004–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
2004
+14.7%
2008
+27.8%
2012
+28.2%
2016
+13.9%
2020
+16.6%
2024
+9.5%
DemocraticRepublican
6 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year. Third-party votes in 2012 are allocated from certified county totals by this place's share of each county's two-party vote — that cycle's precinct source records two-party splits. † 2004 sub-county results are estimated: the source's block-level detail for this cycle was unreliable — either county/municipality-level consolidated reporting (COVID-era) or a precinct-to-block allocation that misplaced votes — so the figures are allocated from the constituent county totals in proportion to the place and scaled to certified totals.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
D
53.4%Harris3,323
43.9%Trump2,734
2.7%
D+9.5
R+7.1
D+10.9
6,228
D
57.0%Biden3,730
40.4%Trump2,643
2.7%
D+16.6
D+2.7
D+12.2
6,547
D
52.9%Clinton3,227
39.0%Trump2,377
8.1%
D+13.9
R+14.2
D+11.9
6,095
D
63.0%Obama3,870
34.9%Romney2,141
2.1%
D+28.2
D+0.3
D+24.3
6,141
D
62.7%Obama4,043
34.9%McCain2,248
2.4%
D+27.8
D+13.2
D+20.6
6,447
D
57.3%Kerry3,521
42.6%Bush2,619
0.1%
D+14.7
—
D+17.1
6,145
Sterling sits along the Rock River in northwest Illinois, where a manufacturing heritage and a majority non-Hispanic white working-class population have driven competitive swings between parties across recent election cycles.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 28.2 points in 2012. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 7.1 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 9.5 points.
A population of 14,717, a 67% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $57,350 describe the city. The city's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Rock Falls and Ashtabula.
Akashic
Political twins — cities
The cities whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
In 2024, Sterling, Illinois voted Democratic by 9.5 points (D+9.5), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 6,228 votes cast, 3,323 went Democratic and 2,734 went Republican.
How many people live in Sterling, Illinois?
Sterling, Illinois has a population of 14,717 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Sterling, Illinois?
Median household income in Sterling, Illinois is $57,350 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Sterling, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 6 presidential elections in Sterling, Illinois from 2004 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 0 went Republican.
