Welcome to Sterling ...
The city of Sterling is located in Logan County<1> and is the County Seat for Logan County.
The location of Sterling has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (the GNIS).<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Sterling, you might consider that their post office opened in 1874.
The city was incorporated December 3, 1884.
When the people of Sterling refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Sterlingite<3>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Sterling has a population of 14,518 people<4> (see below for details).
Sterling is 3,930 feet [1,198 m] above sea level.<5> In other words, the elevation of Sterling is ¾ mile [or ~1¼ km] above sea level.
Time Zone: Sterling lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time
Sterling is located in the (970) area code.
The ZIP code for Sterling: 80751<6>
Websites for Sterling ...
Official Website: www.sterlingcolo.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Sterling had an population of 14,518 people. This is a decrease of 1.75% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 27.8% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Sterling had a population of 14,777 people (which is 64.95% of the total population of Logan County). This makes Sterling the county's most populous community.
The population of Sterling represents 0.29% of the population of Colorado (which has 5,029,196 people), making it the state's 35th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 14,777 people, the population of Sterling increased 30.08% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 11,360 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Sterling.
Communities Also Named Sterling ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 41 communities that are also named Sterling - they are located in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida (2), Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas (2), Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan (2), Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina (2), North Dakota, Nova Scotia, Ohio (2), Oklahoma (2), Pennsylvania (2), Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia (2) and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sterling.
Communities near Sterling ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Sterling.
- Fleming
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleming
- Fleming is located in Logan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 405 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fleming <7>
- Merino
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merino
- Merino is located in Logan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Merino <7>
- Iliff
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iliff
- Iliff is located in Logan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Iliff <7>
- Atwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwood
- Atwood is located in Logan County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Atwood <7>
- Padroni
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Padroni
- Padroni is located in Logan County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Padroni <7>
- Buchanan ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north) - Leroy
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast) - Willard ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west) - Messex
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Messex
- Messex is located in Washington County
- Saint Petersburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Petersburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Petersburg
- Saint Petersburg is located in Logan County
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Sterling. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Sterling.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Sterling. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sterling.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Sterling. Our list includes 20 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Sterling.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Sterling ...
Looking for more information about Sterling? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Sterling, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Sterling.
Adding Sterling to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Sterling in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Sterling was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
From that list, the Sterling post office opened in 1874.
We also found Sterling in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Sterling.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Sterling: www.sterlingcolo.com/
The official website for Logan County: www.loganco.gov/
The official website for State of Colorado: https://www.colorado.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Colorado's counties, including Logan, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <3> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Sterling refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Sterling may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <4> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Sterling. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Sterling - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Sterling). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Sterling or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <7> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |