Sterling, IL carries a PlainCrime C safety grade with violent crime 9% below the U.S. average
According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program for 2024, Sterling, IL shows violent crime at 319.4 per 100,000 residents and property crime at 1,333.3 per 100,000. Violent crime runs 9% below the U.S. average. PlainCrime assigns grade C from those rates. Figures are voluntary agency submissions joined to population denominators; incomplete coverage can move the number.
C safety grade
319.4/100K violent
1333.3/100K property
-9% vs U.S.
The verdict
Sterling earns a C safety grade: violent crime runs 9% below the U.S. average, placing it higher-crime than most U.S. cities.
C
PlainCrime safety grade
-9%
violent crime vs. U.S. average
28th
percentile of 7,769 U.S. cities
1,333.3
property crimes per 100K
What the 2024 FBI UCR record shows for Sterling, IL
Comparable rate records
Sterling's closest reported-rate comparisons are in the Illinois cohort
The nearest comparable 2024 records to Sterling's 319.4 violent-crime rate per 100,000 are Machesney Park (319.6), Steger (315.6), Oak Park (323.5), East Moline (315.0). These are same-year agency submissions that pass the same completeness screen, not a claim that the cities have identical conditions. They make the cohort position above checkable against named records instead of a generic state average.
Position in the state cohort
Sterling reported a higher violent-crime rate than most comparable Illinois cities
At 319.4 reported violent offenses per 100,000 residents in 2024, Sterling ranks 82 of 506 — above 424 of the 505 other Illinois cities whose 2024 submission passes this site’s completeness test. That is +220.5% against the cohort median of 99.7. Cities that did not report, or that reported implausibly low totals, are excluded from this cohort rather than counted as low-crime.
Offense mix
Violent offenses make up an unusually large share of the reported mix
Violent offenses are 19.3% of the 238 Part I offenses reported in Sterling for 2024, against a median of 11.2% across comparable Illinois cities — a gap of 8.1 points. Offense mix is shaped by which agencies report and how incidents are classified as well as by the underlying offenses, so it describes the reported record rather than a settled difference in conditions.
2020–2024 direction
The reported violent-crime rate ended the window higher
Across 4 comparable reporting years, the rate moved from 264.6 per 100,000 in 2020 to 319.4 in 2024 (+20.7%). The highest observed value was 347.4 in 2022 and the lowest 242.5 in 2023. Years whose submission failed the completeness test are left out of this comparison rather than plotted as change.
Property counts dominate Sterling's FBI UCR Table 8 municipal row. Per-100,000 rates use the reporting-year population on that row; cities that fail the completeness test stay out of rate rankings. A citywide figure rarely describes any single neighbourhood inside the municipal boundary.
Mid-size municipal totals above are reported offenses, not safety advice for any single block. Reporting completeness still varies by year and agency.
Violent rate moved most (2023→2024)
Violent Crime Rate
+31.7%
242.5 → 319.4/100K
Property Crime Rate
-1.8%
1358 → 1333.3/100K
Property offenses lead Sterling's 2024 record
Offense
Count
Rate /100K
vs US avg
vs IL
Property Crime
192
1333.3
1711
1664.8
Larceny-Theft
121
840.3
-
-
Burglary
48
333.3
-
-
Motor Vehicle Theft
23
159.7
-
-
Arson
1
6.9
-
-
Violent Crime
46
319.4
352
277.5
Aggravated Assault
26
180.6
-
-
Rape
14
97.2
-
-
Murder
3
20.8
-
-
Robbery
3
20.8
-
-
Sterling Crime Trend (2020-2024)
The chart omits 2021 rather than drawing an unsupported zero or partial-coverage dip. The table preserves the year and marks the gap.
Sterling property crime rate trend
Lead series · fell across 4 comparable years · FBI UCR
Property crime rate (2024)
1,333.3/100K↓1.8%vs 2023
Sterling violent crime rate trend
Secondary series · rose · 2020-2024 · FBI UCR
Violent crime rate (2024)
319.4/100K↑31.7%vs 2023
Year
Coverage
Population
Violent Rate
Property Rate
Total Crimes
2020
Comparable
14,361
264.6
3279.7
509
2021
Insufficient reporting
14,208
-
-
-
2022
Comparable
14,681
347.4
1532.6
276
2023
Comparable
14,433
242.5
1358
231
2024
Comparable
14,400
319.4
1333.3
238
How Sterling sits among IL peers
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program · split lines are the U.S. national averages
Reporting Agency
Sterling Police Department NIBRS-participating
Sterling's crime figures on this page originate from Sterling Police Department's submission to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
This agency reports via NIBRS, the incident-based system that captures more detail per offense (multiple crimes per incident, victim/offender data) than the older summary counts.
Similar-Size Cities in Illinois
Crime rates read differently at different scales, so these are the Illinois cities closest to Sterling in population. Their populations run from 13,870 to 14,907, against 14,400 here. Or use our
side-by-side compare tool
to benchmark two cities directly.
These Illinois cities report the closest violent-crime rates to Sterling's 319.4/100K (same FBI UCR vintage rules; size peers above are excluded so the two lists stay distinct).
Sterling has a violent crime rate of 319.4 per 100,000 residents and a property crime rate of 1333.3 per 100,000, based on 2024 FBI UCR data.
Is Sterling, IL safe? ▼
Sterling receives a safety grade of C (Average), with a safety score of 57/100. The violent crime rate is 9% below the national average and 15% above the Illinois average.
What is the population of Sterling, IL? ▼
The reporting population for Sterling is 14,400 as of 2024.
How many crimes were reported in Sterling? ▼
In 2024, Sterling reported 46 violent crimes and 192 property crimes, for a total of 238 reported offenses.
How do Sterling's reported offenses compare with its population? ▼
In 2024, Sterling recorded about one reported offense per 61 residents and one reported violent offense per 313 residents. These ratios count reported offenses, not distinct victims, and are not a person's probability of victimization.
Is crime increasing or decreasing in Sterling? ▼
From 2023 to 2024, Sterling's violent crime rate increased by 31.7%, and the property crime rate decreased by 1.8%.
What is the most common crime in Sterling? ▼
The most common crime type in Sterling is larceny-theft, accounting for 50.8% of all reported crimes (121 incidents in 2024).
Mid-size read: Sterling figures are FBI UCR CIUS Table 8 (vintage 2024), population-adjusted per 100,000.
Denominators are the reporting-year population on the municipal row. Incomplete years are dropped from rankings. Confirm at FBI Crime Data Explorer and Census.gov QuickFacts.
Disclaimer (mid-size municipal): figures are informational, not advice. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program is the source. Consult a professional before decisions.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program CIUS Table 8 municipal crime rates · 2024 Sterling, IL rates use the reporting-year population on the municipal row.