Welcome to Sterling ...
The city of Sterling is located in Rice County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Sterling, you might consider that their post office opened in 1871.
The origin (or the toponymy) of Sterling: Named for Sterling Rosan, an early settler in this area.
When the people of Sterling refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Sterlingite<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Sterling has a population of 2,205 people<3> (see below for details).
Sterling is 1,640 feet [500 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Sterling lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Code for Sterling: 620
The ZIP code for Sterling: 67579<5>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Sterling had an population of 2,205 people. This is a decrease of 5.28% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 16.54% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Sterling had a population of 2,328 people (or 23.02% of the total population of Rice County). This makes Sterling the county's 2nd most populous community.
The population of Sterling represents 0.08% of the total population of Kansas (which has 2,853,118 people), making it the state's 108th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 2,328 people, the population of Sterling decreased 11.88% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 2,642 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Sterling.
Communities Also Named Sterling ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are two Kansas communities named Sterling: This one is located in Rice County and the other is located in Logan County.
Beyond Kansas, there are 41 communities that are also named Sterling - they are located in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida (2), Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, 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.
Websites for Sterling ...
Official Website: www.sterling-kansas.com/
Communities near Sterling ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Sterling.
- Hutchinson
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutchinson
- Hutchinson is located in Reno County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40,209 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hutchinson <6>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Hutchinson
- From Sterling to Hutchinson
- Lyons
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyons have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
- Lyons is located in Rice County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,433 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lyons <6>
- South Hutchinson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hutchinson
- South Hutchinson is located in Reno County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,494 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for South Hutchinson <6>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to South Hutchinson
- From Sterling to South Hutchinson
- Nickerson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nickerson have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickerson
- Nickerson is located in Reno County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 982 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nickerson <6>
- Little River
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little River
- Little River is located in Rice County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 513 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Little River <6>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Little River
- From Sterling to Little River
- Chase
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest) - Partridge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Partridge
- Partridge is located in Reno County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 242 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Partridge
- From Sterling to Partridge
- Alden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alden have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alden
- Alden is located in Rice County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 139 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alden <6>
- Plevna
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plevna
- Plevna is located in Reno County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Plevna
- From Sterling to Plevna
- Abbyville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
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 16 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>
X2X - From that list, the Sterling post office opened in 1871.
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.sterling-kansas.com/
The official website for Rice County: www.ricecounty.org/
The official website for State of Kansas: https://portal.kansas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Kansas' counties, including Rice, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Sterling. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Sterling - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | 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). |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | 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. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |