Sterling County, Texas
County seat: Sterling City · Population 1,349 (2025) · 923 sq mi
Sterling County is the 241st most populous of Texas's 254 counties, with 1,349 people (2025 estimate). Its county seat is Sterling City. It is part of the West Texas region, one of the 12 Texas Comptroller economic regions. The map shows its 1 city or town and the 6 neighboring counties.
Sterling County facts
- County seat
- Sterling City
- Population (2025 estimate)
- 1,349 −1.6% since 2020
- Land area
- 923 sq mi 106th largest of 254
- Water area
- 0 sq mi
- Population density
- 2 per sq mi
- Established
- 1891
- Largest city
- Sterling City 1,094
- Median household income
- $64,954
- Cities and towns
- 1
- ZIP codes
- 2
- Time zone
- Central
- FIPS code
- 48431
Cities and towns in Sterling County
Sterling County has 1 incorporated place. Populations count the people living inside Sterling County; cities that cross a county line also list the other counties.
| Name | Type | Population 2025 | Also in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling City (county seat) | City | 1,094 |
ZIP codes in Sterling County
2 ZIP codes reach into Sterling County. ZIP codes ignore county lines, so some also cover a neighboring county.
- 76945 also Coke and Tom Green counties
- 76951
Population of Sterling County, 2020–2025
Sterling County shrank by 22 people (−1.6%) between April 2020 and July 2025: 22 more births than deaths and a net loss of 46 people from migration.
| Year (July 1) | Population |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 1,383 |
| 2021 | 1,376 |
| 2022 | 1,411 |
| 2023 | 1,374 |
| 2024 | 1,373 |
| 2025 | 1,349 |
Neighboring counties
- Tom Green County southeast · 120,602 people
- Glasscock County west · 1,128 people
- Coke County east · 3,412 people
- Mitchell County north · 8,947 people
- Reagan County southwest · 3,166 people
- Howard County northwest · 30,504 people
Printable Sterling County map
The PDF is a vector file with real text: it prints sharp on Letter paper and you can search it for a town. The PNG is 2400 pixels wide for slides and documents. Both are free to use with a credit to WhichCounty.
- PDF (Letter) (124 KB)
- PNG (2400 px) (61 KB)
Paste this code to embed the map on your site:
Sources
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files (1:500,000).
- Population: Census Bureau county and city estimates, Vintage 2025. CDP populations: American Community Survey 2020–2024.
- Places and ZIP codes: Census Bureau 2026 Gazetteer and 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area relationship files.
- County seat, founding year and name origin: Wikidata (CC0), checked against state sources.
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