Sterling, IL, Illinois: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+15%. Republican peak: R+67 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+15MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 54,9472024 5-year
- Median household income
- $67,5002024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 85.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 13.3%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+18 in 2008MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+67 in 1920MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Sterling, IL, ILOne 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 | 11,012 | 14,898 | 26,447 | ||
| R | 12,253 | 14,527 | 27,433 | ||
| R | 11,035 | 12,615 | 25,582 | ||
| D | 14,833 | 10,448 | 25,828 | ||
| D | 15,607 | 10,883 | 26,906 | ||
| D | 13,723 | 12,959 | 26,873 | ||
| D | 12,886 | 11,252 | 24,837 | ||
| D | 11,913 | 8,859 | 23,344 | ||
| D | 12,329 | 10,146 | 27,153 | ||
| R | 11,328 | 12,978 | 24,462 | ||
| R | 11,226 | 16,743 | 28,096 | ||
| R | 7,191 | 17,389 | 26,064 | ||
| R | 11,255 | 14,308 | 25,854 | ||
| R | 7,909 | 17,305 | 25,301 | ||
| R | 8,132 | 15,177 | 24,534 | ||
| R | 12,536 | 12,940 | 25,476 | ||
| R | 9,112 | 17,434 | 26,592 | ||
| R | 6,158 | 17,589 | 23,784 | ||
| R | 6,238 | 17,294 | 23,599 | ||
| R | 5,299 | 12,922 | 18,375 | ||
| R | 5,555 | 14,162 | 19,888 | ||
| R | 7,356 | 15,752 | 23,242 | ||
| R | 7,982 | 12,666 | 21,243 | ||
| R | 7,010 | 11,388 | 18,626 | ||
| R | 4,079 | 13,580 | 17,728 | ||
| R | 1,957 | 11,532 | 15,576 | ||
| R | 1,927 | 10,923 | 13,363 | ||
| R | 3,839 | 10,045 | 14,493 | ||
| O | 1,996 | 1,437 | 7,711 | ||
| R | 2,140 | 5,257 | 7,997 | ||
| R | 1,546 | 5,636 | 7,919 | ||
| R | 2,758 | 5,663 | 8,687 | ||
| R | 2,788 | 5,577 | 8,524 | ||
| R | 2,779 | 3,819 | 7,072 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
27.2%
Irish
13.7%
English
10.4%
American
6.2%
Polish
2.3%
Italian
2.2%
French
1.8%
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: 43.0 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
$67,500
Sterling, IL ranks near the middle of US counties.
Sterling, IL$67,500
Illinois$83,390
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
12.0%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1817.7%
Working age (18–64)10.2%
Seniors (65+)12.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
92.8%
speak English only
Spanish5.8%
Other Indo-European1.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 37.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
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.
The Democratic margin in Sterling, IL peaked at eighteen points in 2008. By 2016 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was fifteen points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $67,500 sits well below state and national norms, and 12% 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, IL, Illinois — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/44580/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Sterling, IL, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, Sterling, IL, Illinois voted Republican by 14.7 points (R+15), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 26,447 votes cast, 11,012 went Democratic and 14,898 went Republican.
What is Sterling, IL, Illinois's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Sterling, IL, Illinois 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 27 times, and other 1 times.
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 38 presidential elections in Sterling, IL, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 27 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.