• county
  • FIPS 48431
  • Largest town: Sterling City

Sterling County, Texas

Sterling County had 1,387 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 923.5 square miles of land. It ranks 240th of 254 in Texas by population and 106th by land area.

Population
1,387
#240 of 254 in Texas · #3,086 in US
Area
923.5 sq mi
#106 of 254 in Texas · #789 in US
Density
1.5 / sq mi
#233 of 254 in Texas · #3,025 in US
Median household income
$80,859
#31 of 254 in Texas · #451 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

Sterling County within Texas. Pin: Austin.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Sterling County

Sterling County population, land area and income

Sterling County had 1,387 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 923.5 square miles of land. It ranks 240th of 254 in Texas by population and 106th by land area. That works out to 1.5 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and in the bottom quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in Texas has 19,267 residents, so Sterling County has 7% of the typical county's population.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $80,859 is in the top quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

1,387

3144th1st

3086th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

923 sq mi

3144th1st

789th of 3,144 (US)

Density

1.5 / sq mi

3144th1st

3025th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$80,859

3143rd1st

451st of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Texas (254)

Population

1,387

254th1st

240th of 254 (TX)

Land area

923 sq mi

254th1st

106th of 254 (TX)

Density

1.5 / sq mi

254th1st

233rd of 254 (TX)

Median household income

$80,859

254th1st

31st of 254 (TX)

How Sterling County's population changed since 2020

Sterling County gained 3 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 0.2%. That ranks 170th of 254 in Texas for growth. The median Texas county changed by +2.1%, and the state as a whole by +7.0%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Sterling County recorded 88 births and 63 deaths, a natural change of +25. Net international migration added +0 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -10. The largest single component was natural change, which added 25 people.

1,38420201,38420211,41720221,37720231,3872024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
88
Deaths
63
Net international migration
+0
Net domestic migration
-10
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+10

Where Sterling County is

The Census internal point of Sterling County is at 31.835800, -101.054900. It sits in UTM zone 14N. The map shades Texas's 254 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Sterling County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Cass County: +0.6%Jackson County: +1.9%Lipscomb County: -5.2%Hall County: +1.0%Hemphill County: -6.9%Kent County: -7.4%Dallam County: +5.4%Bandera County: +8.7%Culberson County: +3.1%Howard County: -11.4%Lavaca County: +1.2%Zavala County: -4.7%Taylor County: +3.7%Ellis County: +19.6%McLennan County: +3.5%Parker County: +20.2%Kinney County: +2.1%Uvalde County: +2.3%Haskell County: -0.0%Coke County: +2.3%Dickens County: -2.0%Colorado County: +4.0%Hansford County: -4.7%Collingsworth County: -1.2%Comanche County: +5.4%Crosby County: -1.3%Andrews County: +1.6%Atascosa County: +7.1%Brooks County: -5.0%Burnet County: +12.6%La Salle County: +0.4%Terry County: -1.6%Throckmorton County: +5.6%Yoakum County: -1.2%Hockley County: +0.0%Rockwall County: +25.5%Schleicher County: -5.8%Swisher County: -1.0%Motley County: -4.6%Hale County: -1.6%King County: -19.5%Hays County: +19.7%Irion County: +0.9%Bastrop County: +17.2%Blanco County: +16.6%Kimble County: +2.5%Dawson County: -5.7%Loving County: -28.4%Scurry County: -4.2%Sterling County: +0.2%Garza County: -20.1%Shackelford County: +1.9%Stonewall County: -0.8%Titus County: +0.8%Hopkins County: +5.3%Callahan County: +6.3%Childress County: +0.3%Lubbock County: +5.1%Dimmit County: -4.7%Donley County: -2.7%Baylor County: +2.1%Johnson County: +16.4%Glasscock County: +3.2%Sutton County: -2.6%Runnels County: -1.7%Ector County: +2.7%Kaufman County: +34.4%Jack County: +10.7%Mitchell County: -0.5%Falls County: +4.7%Castro County: +0.6%Palo Pinto County: +6.3%Limestone County: +1.9%Kerr County: +2.3%Franklin County: +5.2%Roberts County: +1.7%Young County: +2.2%Erath County: +4.2%Cochran County: +0.7%Hutchinson County: -4.2%Floyd County: -6.2%Mason County: +0.5%Parmer County: -1.9%Eastland County: +2.8%McMullen County: -5.4%Randall County: +6.5%Armstrong County: -2.3%Hamilton County: +4.8%Hartley County: -6.4%Nolan County: -3.7%Lynn County: +6.2%Menard County: -2.5%Karnes County: +2.2%Cottle County: -7.4%Winkler County: -4.8%Jeff Davis County: -10.4%Stephens County: +4.2%Bell County: +7.3%Borden County: -13.2%Madison County: +3.1%Fisher County: -0.3%Camp County: +5.9%Gillespie County: +5.2%Liberty County: +24.4%Upton County: -5.3%Waller County: +13.7%Fort Bend County: +15.6%Montgomery County: +19.9%Crockett County: -9.5%Sherman County: -0.7%Rusk County: +2.2%Wichita County: +0.3%Moore County: +2.8%Pecos County: -3.1%Webb County: +2.0%Kleberg County: -1.8%Fayette County: +4.0%Aransas County: +6.9%Presidio County: -6.9%Archer County: +7.0%Cherokee County: +5.2%Galveston County: +4.5%Comal County: +23.2%Concho County: +0.3%Jim Hogg County: -5.4%DeWitt County: +2.1%Brewster County: -0.6%Tarrant County: +5.4%Caldwell County: +14.1%Hardin County: +4.1%Fannin County: +7.4%Guadalupe County: +12.4%Clay County: +4.6%Coryell County: +3.9%Medina County: +8.9%Potter County: -3.1%Brown County: +1.5%Marion County: -1.7%Denton County: +14.3%Bee County: +0.6%Wise County: +17.9%Leon County: +5.8%Zapata County: -0.4%Coleman County: +4.0%Reagan County: -8.3%Mills County: +2.5%Reeves County: -19.0%Live Oak County: +5.5%Gaines County: +5.5%Oldham County: +3.4%Trinity County: +6.2%Williamson County: +18.2%San Saba County: -3.8%Wilson County: +10.7%Van Zandt County: +9.3%Lamar County: +2.2%Willacy County: -0.6%Brazos County: +6.4%Llano County: +8.7%Refugio County: -0.0%Martin County: -1.6%Midland County: +7.5%Wilbarger County: -3.0%Briscoe County: +5.1%Gonzales County: +1.8%Kenedy County: -5.7%Cameron County: +2.4%Gregg County: +1.9%Hidalgo County: +4.8%Hunt County: +18.4%Jefferson County: -0.9%Delta County: +8.1%Harris County: +5.8%Carson County: +0.5%Hill County: +7.8%Shelby County: +0.6%Hood County: +11.4%Grayson County: +10.6%Walker County: +9.4%McCulloch County: -1.8%Orange County: +1.6%Lee County: +5.4%Houston County: +0.6%San Jacinto County: +6.5%Robertson County: +5.3%Real County: +0.8%Red River County: +1.2%Sabine County: +1.7%Starr County: +1.1%Lamb County: -2.5%Goliad County: +2.8%El Paso County: +1.0%Wharton County: +1.1%Wheeler County: -3.1%Bexar County: +5.6%Lampasas County: +8.5%Calhoun County: -0.6%Maverick County: +1.7%Henderson County: +6.1%Freestone County: +6.2%Hardeman County: -4.0%Tom Green County: -0.1%Tyler County: +3.7%Chambers County: +19.5%Morris County: +1.8%Burleson County: +14.1%Newton County: -2.1%Upshur County: +7.3%Deaf Smith County: -0.2%Edwards County: -2.6%Bosque County: +4.2%Bowie County: -1.0%Matagorda County: +0.3%Terrell County: -4.3%Knox County: -2.9%Milam County: +5.6%Bailey County: +2.4%Nueces County: -0.1%Victoria County: +0.7%Dallas County: +1.7%Jones County: +5.9%Angelina County: +1.8%Washington County: +5.6%Gray County: -1.4%Grimes County: +13.6%Ochiltree County: -2.4%San Patricio County: +3.8%Val Verde County: +0.8%Foard County: -3.4%Frio County: +6.0%Kendall County: +16.3%Somervell County: +9.7%Panola County: +2.3%Nacogdoches County: +1.7%Ward County: -5.5%Wood County: +8.2%Montague County: +9.2%Duval County: -2.3%Navarro County: +6.9%Anderson County: +2.7%Jim Wells County: -0.0%Cooke County: +6.0%Rains County: +9.3%Austin County: +8.0%Brazoria County: +10.6%Polk County: +7.4%Travis County: +5.2%Collin County: +16.6%San Augustine County: -2.0%Harrison County: +3.7%Smith County: +6.4%Hudspeth County: +13.0%Crane County: -1.7%Jasper County: -0.0%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < -2.0%
  2. < +0.8%
  3. < +3.7%
  4. < +6.9%
  5. ≥ +6.9%
no data

Orange pin: Sterling County internal point. Dark pin: Austin.

Internal point

Decimal
31.835800, -101.054900
DMS
31°50'8.88"N 101°03'17.64"W
UTM
14N 305540.0E 3524075.5N
Geohash
9v8jh7w0f
Plus code
853WRWPW+82

Towns in Sterling County

One incorporated place of 1,000+ people has residents in Sterling County, 1,127 people together, or 81% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Sterling County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Sterling City with 1,127.

  1. 01Sterling City1,127
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Sterling County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Sterling County. The most populous is Tom Green County, TX, with 120,103 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Austin and the nearest big city

Austin is 223.9 miles ESE of Sterling County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is San Angelo, TX (population 100,159), 44.8 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Big Spring, TX (population 22,541), 37.5 miles away.

Sterling County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Sterling County is 48431: state code 48 for Texas plus county code 431. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $80,859.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Sterling County, Texas?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 1,387. That is up 3 people (0.2%) from the July 2020 estimate of 1,384.

What is the FIPS code of Sterling County?

48431. The first two digits (48) are Texas; the last three (431) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Sterling County?

Sterling City, with 1,127 residents inside Sterling County in 2024.

Which counties border Sterling County?

6 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Tom Green County, TX; Howard County, TX; Mitchell County, TX; Coke County, TX; Reagan County, TX; Glasscock County, TX.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.