Crime Grade · FBI UCR Data · 2025
Sterling, IL Crime Grade
How Sterling grades for violent crime against every other reporting U.S. city — and against the rest of Illinois — based on the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting data.
National
7/10
vs. all U.S. cities ≥ 25,000 population
Illinois
8/10
vs. Illinois cities ≥ 10,000 population
In 2025, the violent crime rate in Sterling, IL was 255.9 per 100,000 residents (37 incidents over a population of 14,461). That puts Sterling 21% below the U.S. rate of 325.3 and 4% above the Illinois statewide rate of 245.7.
That ranks Sterling #2,410 of 3,771 ranked U.S. cities, safer than 36% of them, and #159 of 214 in Illinois. Violent crime is down 20% year over year and down 3% over the last five years.
Sterling, IL crime — key facts
- National Crime Grade
- C (7/10)
- Illinois Grade
- D (8/10)
- Violent crime rate
- 255.9 / 100k
- National rank
- #2,410 of 3,771
- IL rank
- #159 of 214
- Safer than
- 36% of U.S. cities
- Year over year
- down 20%
- 5-year change
- down 3%
- Population
- 14,461
- Reporting agency
- Sterling Police Department
- Data year
- 2025 · FBI UCR
Reported by Sterling Police Department (FBI ORI IL0980700) to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Download the full dataset (CSV) · methodology.
Violent crime rate, 5-year trend
Per 100,000 residents. Sterling (red), Illinois (blue), U.S. average (gray dashed).
Sterling vs. U.S., 2025 — by offense
Rates per 100,000 residents for each offense category.
Full data, last 5 years
Rates per 100,000 residents. Raw counts in parentheses.
| Offense | 2020 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 264.6(38) | 347.4(51) | 242.5(35) | 319.4(46) | 255.9(37) |
| Murder | 20.9(3) | 0.0(0) | 0.0(0) | 20.8(3) | 0.0(0) |
| Rape | 146.2(21) | 170.3(25) | 76.2(11) | 97.2(14) | 55.3(8) |
| Robbery | 20.9(3) | 20.4(3) | 20.8(3) | 20.8(3) | 6.9(1) |
| Aggravated assault | 76.6(11) | 156.7(23) | 145.5(21) | 180.6(26) | 193.6(28) |
| Property crime | 3279.7(471) | 1532.6(225) | 1358.0(196) | 1340.3(193) | 1141.0(165) |
| Burglary | 431.7(62) | 163.5(24) | 249.4(36) | 333.3(48) | 152.1(22) |
| Larceny | 2618.2(376) | 1239.7(182) | 990.8(143) | 840.3(121) | 885.1(128) |
| Motor vehicle theft | 222.8(32) | 129.4(19) | 110.9(16) | 159.7(23) | 103.7(15) |
How the Crime Grade is calculated
- What is the source of the Sterling, IL Crime Grade?
- FBI Uniform Crime Reporting via the Crime Data Explorer. Agency-level data, pulled directly. No third-party aggregators, no proprietary score.
- What metric does the Sterling Crime Grade use?
- Violent crime rate per 100,000 residents (murder + rape + robbery + aggravated assault), most recent fully-reported year.
- How is the national decile for Sterling calculated?
- Sterling's rate placed against all FBI-reporting U.S. cities with population ≥ 25,000. 1 = safest.
- How is the Illinois state decile calculated?
- Same calculation restricted to Illinois cities with population ≥ 10,000.
- How do decile scores convert to a letter grade?
- 1–3 = A · 4–5 = B · 6–7 = C · 8 = D · 9–10 = F.
- How often is the Sterling Crime Grade refreshed?
- Twice a year. The FBI typically releases the prior year's full data each September.
- What are the limits of this Crime Grade?
- The FBI relies on local agency reporting. Rates reflect what was reported, not what occurred.
Nearby cities in Illinois
Comparable Illinois cities by population.
Compare Sterling to other places
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