Home services · Small-town market · Illinois
Home repair companies in the Sterling, IL area
How the Sterling, IL area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for home repair companies: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 41 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #367 of 526 scored small-town markets
#8 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois
- Listings
- 32
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 26
- −27.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $58M
- On home repairs, maintenance and insurance · $2,511 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.8M
- 25% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 13.8
- 11% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 54,121
- −2.6% since 2020
See the home repair companies around any address in the Sterling area
The site report maps the home repair companies on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Sterling area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
Map listings as of September 2026 show 32 home repair companies in the Sterling area. None of them are chain locations, against 4% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 13.8, 11% above the U.S. rate of 12.4.
Households in the Sterling area spend about $58M a year on home repairs, maintenance and insurance, or $2,511 per household, 17% below the U.S. average. Spread across 32 home repair companies, that is $1.8M per company, 25% below the U.S. figure of $2.4M.
Official counts show 26 businesses with payroll classed as plumbing, HVAC, electrical and roofing contractors in the Sterling area in 2023, down 27.8% from 2019. That is one for every 889 households, against one for every 587 across the U.S.
Population estimates put the population change in the Sterling area from 2020 to 2025 at −2.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For home repair companies, the Sterling area has a Groundwork market score of 41 (lower middle): #367 of 526 scored small-town markets and #8 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois.
How the Sterling area compares
The same measures for Illinois and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all home repairs, maintenance and insurance by the home repair companies counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Sterling area | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 13.8 | 13.0 | 12.4 |
| Spending per listing | $1.8M | $2.2M | $2.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 889 | 647 | 587 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −27.8% | +1.3% | +9.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.6% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on home repairs, maintenance and insurance | $2,511 | $2,919 | $3,018 |
| Median household income | $67,500 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 41 | 47 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 26−27.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 340
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $25.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 320 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 24The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as plumbing, HVAC, electrical and roofing contractors in the Sterling area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in the Sterling area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 54,121−2.6% since 2020
- Households
- 23,120
- Median age
- 43.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 684 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 80
- Median household income
- $67,500+24.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $86,592
- Median home value
- $127,100
- Jobs located here
- 20,819
- Daytime population
- 50,543Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Sterling area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the home repair companies on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Sterling area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardHome repair trades across Illinois
Every Illinois market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Illinois for home repair companies, numbered among those based in Illinois (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Sterling area marked.
Top small-town markets in Illinois
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Rochelle, IL | 76 | 17 | 8.2 | $3.4M | −0.7% | #24 of 526 |
| 2Ottawa, IL | 58 | 67 | 10.8 | $2.4M | −1.6% | #164 of 526 |
| 3Dixon, IL | 57 | 13 | 9.7 | $2.7M | −3.4% | #174 of 526 |
| 4Canton, IL | 53 | 13 | 9.4 | $2.6M | −2.0% | #226 of 526 |
| 5Centralia, IL | 49 | 13 | 8.4 | $2.9M | −3.4% | #280 of 526 |
| Burlington, IA-IL | 45 | 20 | 10.1 | $2.4M | −2.5% | #324 of 526 |
| 6Macomb, IL | 44 | 12 | 10.1 | $2.3M | −4.5% | #333 of 526 |
| 7Mount Vernon, IL | 44 | 17 | 11.5 | $2.1M | −2.3% | #335 of 526 |
| 8Sterling, IL | 41 | 32 | 13.8 | $1.8M | −2.6% | #367 of 526 |
| 9Carbondale, IL | 39 | 25 | 10.9 | $2.1M | −1.5% | #389 of 526 |
Other business types in the Sterling area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many home repair companies are in the Sterling, IL area?
There are 32 home repair companies on map listings in the Sterling area as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing and gutter companies. Official counts show 26 businesses with payroll classed as plumbing, HVAC, electrical and roofing contractors in 2023, down 27.8% from 2019.
How much do households in the Sterling, IL area spend on home repairs, maintenance and insurance?
About $58M a year, or $2,511 per household. That is 17% below the U.S. average (an index of 83, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 32 home repair companies on map listings, it comes to $1.8M per company. It is estimated from the incomes of the 23,120 households in the Sterling area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Sterling, IL area compare with the U.S. for home repair companies?
The Sterling area has 13.8 home repair companies per 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 12.4. Spending per company is $1.8M, 25% below the U.S. figure of $2.4M. At the national ratio of home repair companies to household spending, the Sterling area would have about 24, against 32 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 889 households, against one for every 587 across the U.S. The official count fell 27.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +9.6% for the U.S.
How fast is the Sterling, IL area growing?
Population estimates put the Sterling area at 54,121 people in 2025, down 2.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 23,120 households. Median household income in the Sterling area is $67,500, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.5%, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Sterling area scores 41 for home repair companies (lower middle), #367 of 526 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Sterling area. It maps the home repair companies on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for home repair companies · All 56 business types in the Sterling area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Sterling area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Sterling area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.