What is the population of Sterling CDP?

Sterling CDP has 31,251 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #35 of 688 in Virginia.

What is the median household income in Sterling CDP?

Median household income in Sterling CDP is $125,753 a year, 60.1% above the national figure of $78,538.

How much does it cost to rent or buy in Sterling CDP?

Median gross rent is $1,979 a month and the median home value is $508,400, so rent absorbs about 18.9% of median household income.

Is Sterling CDP affordable compared with the rest of the US?

Homes cost about 4× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Sterling CDP is less affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 18.9% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.

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Virginia · Census place 75376

Sterling, VA population, income and ZIP codes

Quick answer

The population of the city of Sterling, Virginia (Sterling, VA — Census place “Sterling CDP”) is 31,251 residents, ranking #35 of 688 places in Virginia. Median household income is $125,753, the median home is worth $508,400 and median gross rent runs $1,979 a month. Looking for the Sterling Virginia ZIP code list? 1 ZIP codes serve Sterling, VA: 20164.

Population: 31,251Sterling CDP residents
Median household income: $125,753Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value: $508,400Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent: $1,979Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age: 34.8 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate: 75.3%Owner-occupied households

Sterling ZIP codes (Virginia)

Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Sterling.

The Sterling VA ZIP code list below covers 1 ZIP code. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.

20164

What the numbers mean in Sterling CDP

Housing cost measured against local earnings.

A household earning the Sterling CDP median would spend about 18.9% of gross income on the median rent. The 30% mark is the federal threshold for cost burden, so anything above it signals a stretched rental market. The median home costs 4.0× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 6.8% of residents and 75.3% of households own their home.

Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year

Sterling CDP, VA in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

Sterling CDP is a small city in Virginia, with 31,251 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #35 of 688 ranked by population — larger than 95% of them. The median age here is 34.8 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly younger profile than the country as a whole. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.

Households in Sterling CDP earn a median of $125,753 a year, 60.1% above the national figure of $78,538 and 52% above the $82,986 median for the 383 Virginia cities we cover. Median household income counts every pre-tax dollar arriving at an address — wages, self-employment, Social Security, pensions, interest and public assistance — for everyone living there, so multi-earner households pull the figure up even where individual pay is modest. Poverty reaches 6.8% of residents here, below the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Sterling CDP is valued at $508,400, 67.6% above the national figure and 75% above the $291,300 peer median, while median gross rent runs $1,979 a month, 40.8% above the national figure, or roughly $23,748 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 18.9% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 4×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is harder here than in the average US market. 75.3% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans toward owners. Rent is reported gross — contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities — which is why it runs above the advertised price on a listing for the same unit.

All values below were released by the Census for this exact geography, with no gap-filling on our side. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.

Compare with nearby places

Places of similar size in Virginia.

More Virginia coverage.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about this area.

What is the population of Sterling CDP?: Sterling CDP has 31,251 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #35 of 688 in Virginia.
What is the median household income in Sterling CDP?: Median household income in Sterling CDP is $125,753 a year, 60.1% above the national figure of $78,538.
How much does it cost to rent or buy in Sterling CDP?: Median gross rent is $1,979 a month and the median home value is $508,400, so rent absorbs about 18.9% of median household income.
Is Sterling CDP affordable compared with the rest of the US?: Homes cost about 4× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Sterling CDP is less affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 18.9% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
How current is this Sterling CDP data?: All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.