Cost of living in Sterling, Kansas

Sterling, Kansas has about 2,411 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.

A typical home is worth about $133,000.

HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in Rice County is $961 a month. That is the county number, not an apartment listing in Sterling. It runs from October 2026 through September 2027.

Kansas's prices sit at 90.1 when the U.S. average is 100. This place is not in a metro area with its own index, so this is the state number from BEA for 2024.

Kansas taxes wages. A typical combined sales tax is 8.7% as of January 1, 2026. That mix is statewide, not Sterling's exact store tax.

In July 2026, a typical Kansas home paid 15.27¢ per kilowatt-hour. That is a state average from EIA, not Sterling's bill.

EIA does not publish a Kansas gasoline price. For the week of October 12, 2026, the Midwest (PADD 2) all-grades price was $4.237 a gallon. At 12,000 miles a year and 25 mpg, the index counts that as $2,033.76 a year. Those miles are our standard, not a Census figure, and every town in Kansas shares this price.

Among 184 places we list in Kansas with a rent figure, 153 have higher typical rent than Sterling.