† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
1 counties by 2024 margin · County returns · 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
GroupSterling, COColoradoUnited States
German29.2%17.9%12.5%
English9.9%12.6%9.5%
Irish8.5%11.2%9.4%
American2.6%3.5%5.3%
Swedish2.2%——
Italian1.9%4.9%4.8%
French1.7%2.0%1.6%
Danish1.6%——
Mexican12.2%15.8%11.3%
Dominican0.6%—0.7%
Spanish0.6%1.2%—
Puerto Rican0.4%0.7%1.8%
African American†2.9%2.8%9.9%
African0.4%0.2%0.5%
Sudanese0.3%——
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, CO
Colorado
United States
Median age
39.2
37.9
39.1
Age 18–24
9.8%
9.2%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
19.0%
15.5%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Sterling, CO
Colorado
United States
Median household income
$51,829
$95,470
$84,427
Poverty rate
15.8%
9.5%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
20.1%
45.5%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Sterling, CO
Colorado
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
10.1%
16.2%
22.3%
Spanish
7.6%
11.1%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Sterling, CO
Colorado
United States
Catholic
16.4%
15.1%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
12.8%
11.7%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
62.1%
64.7%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
6.5%
3.0%
5.2%
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, CO
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−56.0%
1896
+42.7%
1900
−0.9%
1904
−23.3%
1908
−4.9%
1912
+20.5%
1916
+29.6%
1920
−23.5%
1924
−38.6%
1928
−45.3%
1932
+7.0%
1936
+12.7%
1940
−23.9%
1944
−23.5%
1948
−0.7%
1952
−35.9%
1956
−29.3%
1960
−20.0%
1964
+9.4%
1968
−23.7%
1972
−36.8%
1976
−8.9%
1980
−35.0%
1984
−45.8%
1988
−13.8%
1992
−8.4%
1996
−16.7%
2000
−40.0%
2004
−41.9%
2008
−35.2%
2012
−38.0%
2016
−55.9%
2020
−55.7%
2024
−56.6%
DemocraticRepublican
34 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.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
R
20.6%Harris2,098
77.3%Trump7,855
2.1%
R+56.6
R+0.9
R+55.2
10,166
R
21.1%Biden2,218
76.8%Trump8,087
2.2%
R+55.7
D+0.1
R+60.2
10,532
R
19.0%Clinton1,851
74.9%Trump7,282
6.1%
R+55.9
R+17.9
R+58.0
9,722
R
29.7%Obama2,712
67.7%Romney6,179
2.6%
R+38.0
R+2.8
R+41.9
9,124
R
31.7%Obama2,846
66.9%McCain6,002
1.4%
R+35.2
D+6.8
R+42.4
8,977
R
28.4%Kerry2,491
70.4%Bush6,168
1.2%
R+41.9
R+2.0
R+39.5
8,766
R
28.4%Gore2,296
68.3%Bush5,531
3.3%
R+40.0
R+23.3
R+40.5
8,096
R
36.4%Clinton2,765
53.2%Dole4,032
10.4%
R+16.7
R+8.3
R+25.2
7,586
R
32.6%Clinton2,718
41.0%Bush3,420
26.4%
R+8.4
D+5.4
R+14.0
8,345
R
42.4%Dukakis3,382
56.2%Bush4,485
1.4%
R+13.8
D+32.0
R+6.1
7,975
R
26.5%Mondale2,155
72.3%Reagan5,883
1.2%
R+45.8
R+10.8
R+27.6
8,133
R
28.1%Carter2,332
63.2%Reagan5,238
8.7%
R+35.0
R+26.1
R+25.3
8,293
R
44.4%Carter3,543
53.3%Ford4,256
2.3%
R+8.9
D+27.8
R+11.0
7,982
R
30.5%McGovern2,426
67.3%Nixon5,352
2.2%
R+36.8
R+13.0
R+13.6
7,956
R
33.2%Humphrey2,521
56.9%Nixon4,323
9.8%
R+23.7
R+33.1
R+23.0
7,591
D
54.6%Johnson4,222
45.2%Goldwater3,497
0.2%
D+9.4
D+29.4
R+13.2
7,731
R
40.0%Kennedy3,334
60.0%Nixon5,002
0.1%
R+20.0
D+9.3
R+20.2
8,341
R
35.2%Stevenson2,841
64.5%Eisenhower5,199
0.2%
R+29.3
D+6.6
R+13.9
8,060
R
31.8%Stevenson2,459
67.7%Eisenhower5,237
0.6%
R+35.9
R+35.2
R+25.1
7,739
R
49.3%Truman3,179
50.0%Dewey3,223
0.7%
R+0.7
D+22.9
R+5.2
6,448
R
38.1%Roosevelt2,471
61.6%Dewey3,998
0.3%
R+23.5
D+0.3
R+31.0
6,487
R
37.5%Roosevelt2,819
61.4%Willkie4,613
1.1%
R+23.9
R+36.6
R+33.8
7,515
D
55.3%Roosevelt4,070
42.6%Landon3,136
2.1%
D+12.7
D+5.7
R+11.6
7,360
D
52.4%Roosevelt3,641
45.4%Hoover3,157
2.1%
D+7.0
D+52.3
R+10.8
6,947
R
26.6%Smith1,620
71.9%Hoover4,377
1.5%
R+45.3
R+6.7
R+27.8
6,086
R
17.0%Davis946
55.6%Coolidge3,103
27.5%
R+38.6
R+15.1
R+13.5
5,581
R
36.2%Cox1,893
59.7%Harding3,123
4.1%
R+23.5
R+53.1
D+2.7
5,230
D
63.1%Wilson2,679
33.5%Hughes1,422
3.3%
D+29.6
D+9.1
D+26.5
4,243
D
40.7%Wilson1,338
20.2%Taft664
39.2%
D+20.5
D+25.4
D+0.9
3,291
R
44.9%Bryan950
49.9%Taft1,054
5.2%
R+4.9
D+18.4
D+4.6
2,114
R
33.8%Parker486
57.1%Roosevelt821
9.0%
R+23.3
R+22.4
R+3.6
1,437
R
45.7%Bryan583
46.6%McKinley594
7.7%
R+0.9
R+43.6
D+6.7
1,275
D
69.2%Bryan603
26.5%McKinley231
4.2%
D+42.7
D+98.7
D+48.8
871
R
0.0%Cleveland0
56.0%Harrison322
44.0%
R+56.0
—
R+57.7
575
Congressional elections · 2 Senate races
U.S. Senate
Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Total
2022
R
23.6%1,954
72.4%5,980
8,263
2020
R
20.2%2,117
77.9%8,167
10,481
voter registration
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Party registration · 2024R+36.2
vs
Presidential vote · 2024R+56.6
Registration leans Republican; the presidential vote runs 20 points more Democratic.
DemocraticRepublicanUnaffiliatedOther parties
Voter registration in Sterling, CO
Year
Total registered
Democratic
Republican
Unaffiliated
Other
2016
13,279
2,191
6,559
4,356
173
2018
13,169
1,949
6,519
4,525
176
2020
13,434
1,765
6,725
4,752
192
2022
13,615
1,624
6,531
5,243
217
2024
14,183
1,475
6,613
5,820
275
domestic migration
Who moves in and out
Net domestic migration over time
+10 net domestic migration · 2025
20112025
Net −856 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Domestic migration in Sterling, CO in Sterling, CO: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
−186
2012
−256
2013
−260
2014
+245
2015
−24
2016
−19
2017
−118
2018
−88
2019
+115
2021
−107
2022
−168
2023
−122
2024
+122
2025
+10
Sterling anchors Logan County, a stretch of High Plains farm country where Republican presidential margins have consistently exceeded 40 points, reflecting the region's ranching economy and sparse, aging population.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 42.7 points in 1896 and a Republican high of 56.6 points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved 0.9 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 56.6 points.
A population of 20,892, a 76% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $51,829 describe the metro. The metro's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Scottsbluff, NE and Susanville, CA.
Akashic
Political twins — metros
The metros 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.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
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Sterling, CO, Colorado. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/44540/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
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In 2024, Sterling, CO, Colorado voted Republican by 56.6 points (R+56.6), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 10,166 votes cast, 2,098 went Democratic and 7,855 went Republican.
When did Sterling, CO, Colorado last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Sterling, CO, Colorado voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Sterling, CO, Colorado?
Sterling, CO, Colorado has a population of 20,892 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Sterling, CO, Colorado?
Median household income in Sterling, CO, Colorado is $51,829 — below the national median of $80,734. The Colorado state median is $95,470.
What is the political history of Sterling, CO, Colorado?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Sterling, CO, Colorado from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 28 went Republican.
