Sterling, Illinois demographics

Sterling, IL demographics: median age 42.6; 21.1% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Sterling city, Illinois · Incorporated city · GEOID 1772546. The survey estimates a population of 14,717 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Sterling is 42.6 years, with a 90% margin of error of 2.5 years. There are 6,579 households (±263). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	42.6 ±2.5	39.0 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 14,717
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Under 18	3,008 ±352	20.4% ±2.3 pp	21.8%	22.0%
18–34	3,040 ±353	20.7% ±2.3 pp	22.7%	22.8%
35–64	5,450 ±463	37.0% ±3.0 pp	38.5%	38.0%
65 and older	3,219 ±349	21.9% ±2.3 pp	17.0%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 14,717
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Male	7,315 ±353	49.7% ±2.0 pp	49.4%	49.5%
Female	7,402 ±357	50.3% ±2.1 pp	50.6%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 14,717
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
White alone	11,006 ±472	74.8% ±2.6 pp	61.0%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	348 ±144	2.4% ±1.0 pp	13.6%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	81 ±111 · low precision	0.6% ±0.8 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.9%
Asian alone	187 ±80	1.3% ±0.5 pp	6.0%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	912 ±307	6.2% ±2.1 pp	7.9%	7.1%
Two or more races	2,183 ±369	14.8% ±2.5 pp	10.9%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 14,717
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	10,772 ±538	73.2% ±3.2 pp	81.2%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	3,945 ±445	26.8% ±2.9 pp	18.8%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 6,579
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Married-couple family	2,399 ±227	36.5% ±3.1 pp	45.3%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	379 ±134	5.8% ±2.0 pp	4.9%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	945 ±236	14.4% ±3.5 pp	11.9%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	2,586 ±327	39.3% ±4.7 pp	31.2%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	270 ±126	4.1% ±1.9 pp	6.7%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 6,579
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Households with people under 18	1,801 ±246	27.4% ±3.6 pp	28.6%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	4,778 ±368	72.6% ±4.8 pp	71.4%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 6,579
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	2,586 ±327	39.3% ±4.7 pp	31.2%	28.7%
Two-person households	2,012 ±282	30.6% ±4.1 pp	32.3%	33.8%
Three-person households	835 ±179	12.7% ±2.7 pp	14.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	697 ±167	10.6% ±2.5 pp	12.6%	12.6%
Five-person households	294 ±114	4.5% ±1.7 pp	5.8%	5.9%
Six-person households	110 ±97 · low precision	1.7% ±1.5 pp · low precision	2.1%	2.2%
Seven or more people	45 ±49 · low precision	0.7% ±0.7 pp · low precision	1.3%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 14,717
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Native	13,922 ±384	94.6% ±1.1 pp	85.3%	85.9%
Foreign born	795 ±239	5.4% ±1.6 pp	14.7%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 13,979
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
English only	12,251 ±504	87.6% ±2.7 pp	76.0%	77.7%
Spanish	1,341 ±255	9.6% ±1.8 pp	14.0%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	62 ±57 · low precision	0.4% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	97 ±123 · low precision	0.7% ±0.9 pp · low precision	2.5%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	77 ±73 · low precision	0.6% ±0.5 pp · low precision	2.6%	2.0%
Korean	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	19 ±30 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.9%	1.1%
Vietnamese	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	113 ±80 · low precision	0.8% ±0.6 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.0%	1.1%
Arabic	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	19 ±25 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 10,263
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	739 ±236	7.2% ±2.3 pp	9.5%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	3,897 ±464	38.0% ±4.4 pp	25.1%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	2,424 ±332	23.6% ±3.2 pp	19.2%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	1,034 ±207	10.1% ±2.0 pp	8.3%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	1,235 ±252	12.0% ±2.4 pp	22.6%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	934 ±201	9.1% ±1.9 pp	15.3%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 14,640
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Same house	13,783 ±438	94.1% ±1.8 pp	88.9%	87.7%
Moved within same county	590 ±209	4.0% ±1.4 pp	6.4%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	207 ±92	1.4% ±0.6 pp	2.4%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	60 ±66 · low precision	0.4% ±0.5 pp · low precision	1.6%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	0 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

4.9% of Sterling residents (±1.5 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.9% in Illinois and 8.4% nationally. 86.7% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Sterling	Illinois	U.S.	Compared with Illinois
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	4.9% ±1.5 pp	6.9%	8.4%	Lower
Households with a broadband subscription Households	86.7% ±3.5 pp	90.8%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	9.1% ±2.2 pp	4.8%	6.2%	Higher

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Sterling . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Sterling housing and cost context or return to the city profile.