Real estate · Small-town market · Illinois
Real estate agents and brokers in the Sterling, IL area
How the Sterling, IL area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for real estate agents and brokers: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 51 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #241 of 533 scored small-town markets
#6 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois
- Listings
- 32
- 1 chain location (3%)
- Official establishments
- 8
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $305M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $13,192 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 175
- 75% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 13.8
- 55% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 54,121
- −2.6% since 2020
See the real estate agents and brokers around any address in the Sterling area
The site report maps the real estate agents and brokers 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
At $13,192 per household (21% below the U.S. average), households in the Sterling area spend about $305M a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per office is 75% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate agents and brokers take in.
The Sterling area has 32 real estate agents and brokers on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (3%) is a chain location, against 4% across the U.S. That is 13.8 per 10,000 households, 55% below the U.S. rate of 30.6.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in the Sterling area was 8 in 2023. That is one for every 2,890 households, against one for every 788 across the U.S.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Sterling area declined 2.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Sterling area scores 51 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for real estate agents and brokers, ranking #241 of 533 scored small-town markets and #6 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois.
How the Sterling area compares
The same measures for Illinois and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.
| Measure | Sterling area | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 13.8 | 25.5 | 30.6 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 175 | 107 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 2,890 | 1,021 | 788 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +10.8% | +20.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.6% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $13,192 | $14,866 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $67,500 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 51 | 41 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 8
- Employees, 2023
- 14
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $434K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 321 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 56The 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 offices of real estate agents and brokers 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 real estate agents and brokers 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 cardReal estate agents and brokers across Illinois
Every Illinois market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Illinois for real estate agents and brokers, numbered among those based in Illinois, with the Sterling area marked.
Top small-town markets in Illinois
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Ottawa, IL | 66 | 67 | 10.8 | 231 | −1.6% | #71 of 533 |
| 2Canton, IL | 63 | 11 | 8.0 | 295 | −2.0% | #96 of 533 |
| 3Danville, IL | 55 | 33 | 11.0 | 211 | −3.7% | #184 of 533 |
| 4Galesburg, IL | 53 | 17 | 8.1 | 282 | −4.1% | #211 of 533 |
| 5Lincoln, IL | 53 | 12 | 10.7 | 230 | −2.5% | #212 of 533 |
| 6Sterling, IL | 51 | 32 | 13.8 | 175 | −2.6% | #241 of 533 |
| 7Effingham, IL | 50 | 28 | 15.4 | 166 | −0.9% | #256 of 533 |
| 8Taylorville, IL | 47 | 19 | 14.0 | 170 | −1.5% | #298 of 533 |
| 9Jacksonville, IL | 47 | 22 | 14.5 | 167 | −3.1% | #299 of 533 |
| 10Dixon, IL | 47 | 20 | 15.0 | 167 | −3.4% | #300 of 533 |
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
- Real estate53
- Real estate agents and brokers51
- Property management
- Mortgage brokers and lenders
- Home inspectors
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate agents and brokers are in the Sterling, IL area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 32 real estate agents and brokers in the Sterling area. One of them (3%) is a chain location. The listings count real estate agents and brokerages, commercial brokers included. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in 2023.
How much do households in the Sterling, IL area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $305M a year, or $13,192 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 32 real estate agents and brokers on map listings, housing spending per office is 75% above the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate agents and brokers take in. 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 real estate agents and brokers?
The Sterling area has 13.8 real estate agents and brokers per 10,000 households, 55% below the U.S. rate of 30.6. The index of housing spending per office is 175, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate agents and brokers to household spending, the Sterling area would have about 56, against 32 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,890 households, against one for every 788 across 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 51 for real estate agents and brokers (upper middle), #241 of 533 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 real estate agents and brokers 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 real estate agents and brokers · 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.