Sterling, Michigan
10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Deep River Township. It lies in ZIP code area 48659. The Survey maps it on the Sterling quadrangle. 474 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 748 feet above sea level.
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Population over time
2 figuresSterling fell from 530 to 474 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 530 | |
| 2020 | 474 | -56 (-11%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 10 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1954 USGS Traverse City quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1958 USGS Traverse City quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1968 USGS Sterling quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1983 USGS Houghton Lake quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS Traverse City quadrangle1:250000
Fires near this place
90 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 90 fires within 5 miles of Sterling between 1992 and 2020, burning about 349 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 3 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 29 |
| Debris and open burning | 20 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 13 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 6 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Natural | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 September 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7.0 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 23 September 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.5 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 17 September 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | ARENAC 05 |
| 8 August 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.8 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | ARENAC 06 |
| 23 August 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | ARENAC 04 |
| 11 August 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 17 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 10 August 2005 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 3 July 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | GIBSON TOWNSHIP FD 2020-20 - 2020 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Sterling: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mk Perlberg Clay Pit | Clay | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
30 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Sterling in 30 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 14 hail, 11 thunderstorm wind, 3 flood, 1 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sterling | $75,000 | Four homes suffered wind damage, with roofing and windows damaged by fallen trees. |
| August 2018 | Tornado (EF0) | Sterling | $45,000 | A tornado with estimated maximum winds of 85 mph briefly touched down along the Rifle River, about 4 miles northeast of Sterling. A number of hardwood and softwood trees were knocked over or snapped, damaging a few structures in the process. |
| May 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sterling | $45,000 | Trees were downed in Sterling, while the roof was blown off of a home in Standish. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sterling | $34,000 | Trees and power lines were downed. A pickup truck was damaged by falling trees. A large barn roof was ripped off, and was deposited onto a nearby residence. |
| May 2004 | Flash Flood | Sterling | $22,000 | Old 76 was flooded in Sterling, and Kerr Road was washed out. Several culverts were heavily damaged. |
| August 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sterling | $20,000 | Numerous trees were downed, some of which were left leaning against structures. |
| November 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sterling | $18,000 | Numerous trees were downed, knocking down utility lines as well. Old M-76 was closed for a period due to downed trees. Shingles were removed from several homes. |
| May 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sterling | $15,000 | Numerous trees were blown down. |
| March 2006 | Flood | Sterling | $15,000 | no account filed |
| August 2015 | Hail | Sterling | $10,000 | Some vehicles were damaged by golfball-sized hail. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sterling | $10,000 | Scattered trees were uprooted or snapped off in Sterling. Two light poles were downed at a gas station. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sterling | $10,000 | Many trees and power lines were downed. |
| March 2007 | Flood | Sterling | $10,000 | The Rifle River near Sterling crested at 9.6 feet, above the estimated flood stage of 8 feet. In Clayton Township, water encroached on North and Main Roads, and near Town Line and Dobler Roads. In Standish Township, high water impacted Foco and Palmer Roads, and Arenac State Road just north of Worth Road. |
| July 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sterling | $8,000 | Trees and power lines were downed. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sterling | $7,000 | Trees and power lines were downed in Sterling. Some driveways were blocked by fallen trees. |
| July 2024 | Hail | Sterling | - | Social media report relayed by WFO GRR. |
| September 1998 | Hail | Sterling | - | Large hail damaged crops and injured some livestock at area farms. Some trees were nearly stripped of leaves. Several homes suffered damage to siding...roofs and broken windows. Several satellite dishes were also destroyed. Cars and campers were dented to varying degrees with many broken windows. |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sterling | - | A spotter reported trees and power lines knocked down over an estimated 40 acres. The trees ranged in diameter from six to eight inches. In addition, some injuries were reported by emergency services directors. |
| May 2013 | Hail | Sterling | - | no account filed |
| April 2011 | Hail | Sterling | - | no account filed |
| April 2011 | Hail | Sterling | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Flood | Sterling | - | no account filed |
| July 2007 | Hail | Sterling | - | no account filed |
| October 2006 | Hail | Sterling | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Sterling | - | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Hail | Sterling | - | no account filed |
| July 2001 | Hail | Sterling | - | no account filed |
| September 1998 | Hail | Sterling | - | no account filed |
| July 1997 | Hail | Sterling | - | no account filed |
| June 1994 | Hail | Sterling | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morres Junction | 4.1 miles | 10 | |
| Standish | 4.8 miles | 10 | |
| Melita | 5.5 miles | 10 | |
| Knights Mill | 7.1 miles | 11 | |
| Pine River | 7.9 miles | 10 | |
| Worth | 8.0 miles | 10 | |
| Alger | 8.2 miles | 9 | |
| Arenac | 8.9 miles | 10 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Sterling | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1869918 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 638795. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.




