Sterling is a town of 7,750 in Worcester County, about 12 miles north of downtown Worcester · Updated November 2026
Is Sterling, MA safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Sterling: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 88% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. Every neighborhood in Sterling grades A+.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 957 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
88% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Sterling as a whole, and 12% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Sterling scores 957.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Sterling, MA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Sterling, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in Sterling
Thefts are uncommon. Sterling has thefts at a small fraction of the US rate: 3.0 a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 nationally.
Crime rates and types in Sterling
CrimeGrade™ estimates Sterling has about 9.3 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 75% less than the US as a whole and 65% less than Massachusetts.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
The largest share of crime reported in Sterling is assault, about 38% of the total. It also makes up the largest share of what crime costs here.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
How Sterling compares with nearby cities
Sterling has less crime than 4 of its 8 nearest cities.
Empty homes, night lighting and walkability in Sterling
Two things set Sterling apart: it has 0.9% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 7% of the land where people live lit at night, against 78% nationally. Places like that tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, and vandalism runs low here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.0.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 99% of US city residents
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.7% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 98% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft and assault. 98% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.F (3 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 96% of US city residents
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.under 1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 94% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.8.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 71% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.33 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 65% of US city residents
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Sterling
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Sterling about $308 a year per household, 74% less than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $3.0 million a year, or $391 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$110,000
$14
Rape
$100,000
$13
Robbery
$16,000
$2
Assault
$360,000
$47
Burglary
$54,000
$7
Theft
$120,000
$15
Vehicle theft
$33,000
$4
Arson
$14,000
$2
Vandalism
$74,000
$10
Total
$880,000
$114
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Sterling means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them. Sterling is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Sterling, MA average a SchoolGrade of A: 55% of students test proficient, against 48% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Sterling on SchoolGrade
