Sterling ranks #7 in Virginia for graduation rate
Sterling is ranked on 34 lists against the 255 Virginia towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 1 and the top quarter on 5.
The lists Sterling does best on
Each list ranks every VA town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Sterling marked.
Sterling lands in the top half on 11 of 21 lists
Each dot is Sterling’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in VA, the right end is last. Areas where Sterling does best come first.
More snow than 91% of Virginia
Not better or worse, just Sterling’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
4 spots from the top 3 for graduation rate
Lists where Sterling sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Sterling out-ranks 0 of its 4 ranked neighbors
Head to head on the lists where both towns are ranked: a point for each list where one town places higher. Tap a town for its own rankings.
Where Sterling lands in every VA ranking
41 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Groveton · 53.8%
#56
U
Most trails#1 University of Virginia · 10.3 mi / sq mi
#20
O
Most walkable#1 One Loudoun · 214 / sq mi
#32 Health
Healthiest#1 Tysons · 100 / 100
#128
N
Lowest obesity#1 Navy · 20%
#103
Fewest smokers#1 Great Falls · 5%
#109
Most active#1 Wyndham · 14%
#167
Fewest uninsured#1 Great Falls · 4%
#241
Lowest depression#1 Loudoun Valley Estates · 15%
#29
Closest to a top hospital#1 Charlottesville · 0.0 mi
#108 Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Quantico Base · 11.5 min
#88 
Cost of living
Most affordable#1 Covington · 0.9 yrs
#157
Cheapest rent#1 Clifton Forge · $592/mo
#172
Lowest property tax#1 Covington · $681/yr
#153
Rent easiest to afford#1 Franconia · 28.6%
#48 People
N Most educated#1 Navy · 87.8% #151 U Youngest#1 University of Virginia · 19.6 #54 N Oldest#1 North Shore · 62.6 #200 N Most residents 65+#1 North Shore · 44.9% #202 F Most kids#1 Fort Belvoir · 47.5% #106Climate
Snowiest#1 Norton · 47 in
#23
Least snow#1 Emporia · 1.4 in
#184
Mildest winters#1 Norfolk · 33.2°
#156
Hottest summers#1 Colonial Heights · 89.7°
#128
Coolest summers#1 Wise · 79.9°
#93
Longest growing season#1 Norfolk · 252 days
#155
Wettest#1 Big Stone Gap · 52 in
#148 Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Chincoteague · 54%
#105
Most new homes#1 Falls Church · 12.8 per 1,000
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Crewe · +71.5%
#143
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Manassas Park · 61.4 per home
Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 Bristol · 11.5 per resident
Most library borrowing#1 Falls Church · 30.8 per resident
Best libraries for kids#1 Falls Church · 49.3 per child
Safety
Safest#1 Broadway · 5.7
The number on the right is Sterling’s spot. All of Virginia’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every VA list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.