† 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, ILIllinoisUnited States
German27.2%16.1%12.5%
Irish13.7%10.6%9.4%
English10.4%6.9%9.5%
Dutch7.0%——
American6.2%3.3%5.3%
Polish2.3%6.0%2.2%
Swedish2.3%1.5%—
Italian2.2%5.4%4.8%
Mexican10.8%14.4%11.3%
Puerto Rican1.5%1.7%1.8%
Spaniard0.3%——
Guatemalan0.2%0.3%0.5%
African American†0.9%12.1%9.9%
Nigerian0.2%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, IL
Illinois
United States
Median age
43
39.1
39.1
Age 18–24
7.7%
9.1%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
21.7%
16.9%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Sterling, IL
Illinois
United States
Median household income
$67,500
$83,390
$84,427
Poverty rate
12.0%
11.8%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
20.5%
37.9%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Sterling, IL
Illinois
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
7.2%
24.1%
22.3%
Spanish
5.8%
14.0%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Sterling, IL
Illinois
United States
Catholic
25.7%
24.2%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
19.4%
11.7%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
37.1%
49.2%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
16.9%
5.3%
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, IL
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−14.7%
1896
−32.7%
1900
−33.4%
1904
−51.6%
1908
−39.0%
1912
+7.2%
1916
−42.8%
1920
−67.3%
1924
−61.5%
1928
−53.6%
1932
−23.5%
1936
−22.0%
1940
−36.1%
1944
−43.3%
1948
−41.5%
1952
−46.8%
1956
−48.1%
1960
−31.3%
1964
−1.6%
1968
−28.7%
1972
−37.1%
1976
−11.8%
1980
−39.1%
1984
−19.6%
1988
−6.7%
1992
+8.0%
1996
+13.1%
2000
+6.6%
2004
+2.8%
2008
+17.6%
2012
+17.0%
2016
−6.2%
2020
−8.3%
2024
−14.7%
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
41.6%Harris11,012
56.3%Trump14,898
2.0%
R+14.7
R+6.4
R+13.2
26,447
R
44.7%Biden12,253
53.0%Trump14,527
2.4%
R+8.3
R+2.1
R+12.7
27,433
R
43.1%Clinton11,035
49.3%Trump12,615
7.6%
R+6.2
R+23.2
R+8.3
25,582
D
57.4%Obama14,833
40.5%Romney10,448
2.1%
D+17.0
R+0.6
D+13.1
25,828
D
58.0%Obama15,607
40.4%McCain10,883
1.5%
D+17.6
D+14.7
D+10.3
26,906
D
51.1%Kerry13,723
48.2%Bush12,959
0.7%
D+2.8
R+3.7
D+5.3
26,873
D
51.9%Gore12,886
45.3%Bush11,252
2.8%
D+6.6
R+6.5
D+6.1
24,837
D
51.0%Clinton11,913
37.9%Dole8,859
11.0%
D+13.1
D+5.0
D+4.6
23,344
D
45.4%Clinton12,329
37.4%Bush10,146
17.2%
D+8.0
D+14.8
D+2.5
27,153
R
46.3%Dukakis11,328
53.1%Bush12,978
0.6%
R+6.7
D+12.9
D+1.0
24,462
R
40.0%Mondale11,226
59.6%Reagan16,743
0.5%
R+19.6
D+19.5
R+1.4
28,096
R
27.6%Carter7,191
66.7%Reagan17,389
5.7%
R+39.1
R+27.3
R+29.4
26,064
R
43.5%Carter11,255
55.3%Ford14,308
1.1%
R+11.8
D+25.3
R+13.9
25,854
R
31.3%McGovern7,909
68.4%Nixon17,305
0.3%
R+37.1
R+8.4
R+14.0
25,301
R
33.1%Humphrey8,132
61.9%Nixon15,177
5.0%
R+28.7
R+27.1
R+28.0
24,534
R
49.2%Johnson12,536
50.8%Goldwater12,940
0.0%
R+1.6
D+29.7
R+24.2
25,476
R
34.3%Kennedy9,112
65.6%Nixon17,434
0.2%
R+31.3
D+16.8
R+31.5
26,592
R
25.9%Stevenson6,158
74.0%Eisenhower17,589
0.2%
R+48.1
R+1.2
R+32.7
23,784
R
26.4%Stevenson6,238
73.3%Eisenhower17,294
0.3%
R+46.8
R+5.4
R+36.1
23,599
R
28.8%Truman5,299
70.3%Dewey12,922
0.8%
R+41.5
D+1.8
R+46.0
18,375
R
27.9%Roosevelt5,555
71.2%Dewey14,162
0.9%
R+43.3
R+7.2
R+50.8
19,888
R
31.6%Roosevelt7,356
67.8%Willkie15,752
0.6%
R+36.1
R+14.1
R+46.1
23,242
R
37.6%Roosevelt7,982
59.6%Landon12,666
2.8%
R+22.0
D+1.5
R+46.3
21,243
R
37.6%Roosevelt7,010
61.1%Hoover11,388
1.2%
R+23.5
D+30.1
R+41.3
18,626
R
23.0%Smith4,079
76.6%Hoover13,580
0.4%
R+53.6
D+7.9
R+36.1
17,728
R
12.6%Davis1,957
74.0%Coolidge11,532
13.4%
R+61.5
D+5.8
R+36.3
15,576
R
14.4%Cox1,927
81.7%Harding10,923
3.8%
R+67.3
R+24.5
R+41.1
13,363
R
26.5%Wilson3,839
69.3%Hughes10,045
4.2%
R+42.8
R+50.1
R+46.0
14,493
O
25.9%Wilson1,996
18.6%Taft1,437
55.5%
Roosevelt +29.6
D+46.2
R+12.3
7,711
R
26.8%Bryan2,140
65.7%Taft5,257
7.5%
R+39.0
D+12.7
R+29.4
7,997
R
19.5%Parker1,546
71.2%Roosevelt5,636
9.3%
R+51.6
R+18.2
R+32.0
7,919
R
31.7%Bryan2,758
65.2%McKinley5,663
3.1%
R+33.4
R+0.7
R+25.9
8,687
R
32.7%Bryan2,788
65.4%McKinley5,577
1.9%
R+32.7
R+18.0
R+26.6
8,524
R
39.3%Cleveland2,779
54.0%Harrison3,819
6.7%
R+14.7
—
R+16.4
7,072
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
44.0%8,772
54.1%10,792
19,953
2020
R
46.3%12,502
50.0%13,502
26,992
voter registration
Registered voters
Total registered voters, over time
Registered voters
Voter registration in Sterling, IL
Year
Total registered
2016
41,435
2018
39,657
2020
39,768
2022
38,953
2024
38,035
domestic migration
Who moves in and out
Net domestic migration over time
−97 net domestic migration · 2025
20112025
Net −3,469 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Domestic migration in Sterling, IL in Sterling, IL: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
−227
2012
−473
2013
−272
2014
−434
2015
−149
2016
−415
2017
−460
2018
−274
2019
−330
2021
−40
2022
−540
2023
+102
2024
+140
2025
−97
The Sterling-Rock Falls micropolitan area in Whiteside County leans Republican in federal races but has competitive local contests, reflecting a working-class industrial base that once anchored steel and wire production along the Rock River.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 17.6 points in 2008 and a Republican high of 67.3 points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved 6.4 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 14.7 points.
A population of 54,947, a 81% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $67,500 describe the metro. The metro's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Clinton, IA and Platteville, WI.
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, IL, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/44580/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
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In 2024, Sterling, IL, Illinois voted Republican by 14.7 points (R+14.7), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 26,447 votes cast, 11,012 went Democratic and 14,898 went Republican.
When did Sterling, IL, Illinois last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Sterling, IL, Illinois voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Sterling, IL, Illinois?
Sterling, IL, Illinois has a population of 54,947 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Sterling, IL, Illinois?
Median household income in Sterling, IL, Illinois is $67,500 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Sterling, IL, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Sterling, IL, Illinois from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 27 went Republican.
