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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.

Sterling, VA
Real Estate & Demographic Data





Sterling profile


Living in Sterling



Sterling is a medium-sized town located in the state of Virginia. With a population of 30,337 people and 19 associated neighborhoods, Sterling is the 34th largest community in Virginia.

Sterling home prices are not only among the most expensive in Virginia, but Sterling real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Also of interest is that Sterling has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 10.05% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

The population of Sterling is very well educated relative to most cities and towns in the nation, where the average community has 21.84% of its adult population holding a 4-year degree or higher: 37.15% of adults in Sterling have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in Sterling in 2022 was $44,054, which is upper middle income relative to Virginia and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $176,216 for a family of four. However, Sterling contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Sterling is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Sterling home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. People of Hispanic or Latino origin are the most prevalent group in Sterling, accounting for 47.05% of the town’s residents (people of Hispanic or Latino origin can be of any race). The greatest number of Sterling residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Sterling include German, Irish, English, Italian, and European.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Sterling's cultural character, accounting for 44.67% of the town’s population.

The most common language spoken in Sterling is Spanish. Other important languages spoken here include English and Vietnamese.