Sterling, CO, Colorado: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+57%. Republican peak: R+57 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+57MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 20,8922024 5-year
- Median household income
- $51,8292024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 81.8%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 17.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+43 in 1896MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+57 in 2024MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Sterling, CO, COOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 2,098 | 7,855 | 10,166 | ||
| R | 2,218 | 8,087 | 10,532 | ||
| R | 1,851 | 7,282 | 9,722 | ||
| R | 2,712 | 6,179 | 9,124 | ||
| R | 2,846 | 6,002 | 8,977 | ||
| R | 2,491 | 6,168 | 8,766 | ||
| R | 2,296 | 5,531 | 8,096 | ||
| R | 2,765 | 4,032 | 7,586 | ||
| R | 2,718 | 3,420 | 8,345 | ||
| R | 3,382 | 4,485 | 7,975 | ||
| R | 2,155 | 5,883 | 8,133 | ||
| R | 2,332 | 5,238 | 8,293 | ||
| R | 3,543 | 4,256 | 7,982 | ||
| R | 2,426 | 5,352 | 7,956 | ||
| R | 2,521 | 4,323 | 7,591 | ||
| D | 4,222 | 3,497 | 7,731 | ||
| R | 3,334 | 5,002 | 8,341 | ||
| R | 2,841 | 5,199 | 8,060 | ||
| R | 2,459 | 5,237 | 7,739 | ||
| R | 3,179 | 3,223 | 6,448 | ||
| R | 2,471 | 3,998 | 6,487 | ||
| R | 2,819 | 4,613 | 7,515 | ||
| D | 4,070 | 3,136 | 7,360 | ||
| D | 3,641 | 3,157 | 6,947 | ||
| R | 1,620 | 4,377 | 6,086 | ||
| R | 946 | 3,103 | 5,581 | ||
| R | 1,893 | 3,123 | 5,230 | ||
| D | 2,679 | 1,422 | 4,243 | ||
| D | 1,338 | 664 | 3,291 | ||
| R | 950 | 1,054 | 2,114 | ||
| R | 486 | 821 | 1,437 | ||
| R | 583 | 594 | 1,275 | ||
| D | 603 | 231 | 871 | ||
| R | 0 | 322 | 575 | ||
| R | 669 | 1,086 | 1,929 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
29.2%
English
9.9%
Irish
8.5%
American
2.6%
Italian
1.9%
French
1.7%
Scottish
1.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 39.2 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$51,829
Sterling, CO ranks near the middle of US counties.
Sterling, CO$51,829
Colorado$95,470
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
15.8%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1821.7%
Working age (18–64)14.1%
Seniors (65+)16.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
89.9%
speak English only
Spanish7.6%
Other Indo-European1.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.8%
Other languages0.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 62.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
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.
The Democratic margin in Sterling, CO peaked at forty-three points in 1896. By 1968 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was fifty-seven points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $51,829 sits well below state and national norms, and 16% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Sterling, CO, Colorado — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/44540/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Sterling, CO, Colorado vote in 2024?
In 2024, Sterling, CO, Colorado voted Republican by 56.6 points (R+57), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 10,166 votes cast, 2,098 went Democratic and 7,855 went Republican.
What is Sterling, CO, Colorado's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Sterling, CO, Colorado as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 6 times, Republican 29 times, and other 0 times.
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 38 presidential elections in Sterling, CO, Colorado from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 29 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.