Sterling, MA
Worcester County42.4374°N, 71.7602°W
Tracking 3,942 properties across Sterling, Massachusetts — a community where the median home dates to 1980 and the oldest to 1700. Every parcel mapped with building characteristics, environmental exposure, hazard risk, and ownership history assembled from 140+ sources.
3,942
Properties Tracked
1980
Median Year Built
$459K
Median Assessed Value
2%
FEMA Flood Zone
1.14M
NEP Data Facts Tracked
Zone 1
Radon Zone
Click any parcel to view intelligence
Sterling, MAInc. 1720
Sterling is a suburban-rural town in the northeastern part of Worcester County, with a housing stock that has grown significantly as the Route 190 and I-190 corridors have developed. The town retains a semi-rural character with farms, orchards, and conservation land alongside newer residential subdivisions. The Wachusett Reservoir forms part of the town's southern boundary.
For property professionals, Sterling is a moderate suburban market with a mix of older and newer construction, good highway access, and assessed values that reflect its position between the Worcester suburbs and the more rural towns to the north and west.
Risk Profile
FEMA flood zones, fire protection grades, radon — parcel by parcel
FEMA Flood Zones
73 properties (2%) are in FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas, where flood insurance is required for federally-backed mortgages.
X
3,869
A
49
AE
24
Fire Protection Grades
Fire protection grades reflect proximity to fire stations and hydrant infrastructure. Grade affects insurance pricing in every New England state.
Grade A
3
Grade B
540
Grade C
1,700
Grade D
1,309
Grade E
390
Zone 1
Radon Risk
123 mph
Design Wind Speed
ASCE 7 standard
50 psf
Ground Snow Load
ASCE 7 standard
Relatively Low
FEMA Risk Index
NRI composite rating
The Property Landscape
3,942 properties · Median year built 1980 · Avg 2,121 sf
Property Types
Single Family
2,630
Vacant Land
301
Institutional
300
Two-Family
212
Multi-Family
133
Industrial
106
Agricultural / Open Space
90
Commercial
78
Mixed Use
49
Other
30
Construction by Era
Pre-1800
44
1800-1849
75
1850-1899
76
1900-1949
349
1950-1979
1,028
1980-1999
1,010
2000+
585
Architectural Styles
Colonial
893
Ranch
541
Vacant Land
526
Cape Cod
408
Condominium
222
Conventional
215
Contemporary
188
Raised Ranch
165
Market Activity
Recorded transactions from Worcester County Registry of Deeds
23
Sales (12 mo)
Arms-length transactions
$625K
Median Sale Price
Past 12 months
64%
Owner-Occupied
2%
Out-of-State Owners
NE Provenance tracks recorded deeds, mortgages, and liens for 98% of Sterling properties. Ownership intelligence includes transaction history, entity detection, portfolio identification, and lien analysis — assembled from public registry records into a single property-level profile.
Building Permits & Maintenance
6,625 municipal building permits on file · 51% of properties
NE Provenance tracks 6,625 building permits across 2,004 Sterling properties — 51% coverage. 1,620 properties have permit activity in the last five years.
Each permit record reveals maintenance decisions: roof replacements, electrical upgrades, kitchen renovations, solar installations. For insurance, lending, and appraisal professionals, permit history is the most objective evidence of property condition available from public records.
6,625
Permits on File
51%
Coverage
Properties with permits
1,620
Active (5yr)
Recent permit activity
80%
Condition Rated
NEP assessment
Living in Sterling
Worcester County · Massachusetts
Zip Codes015290154101564
7,985
Population
2020 Census
3,942
Properties
$459K
Median Assessed
64%
Owner-Occupied
31.7
Square Miles
Sterling covers 31.7 square miles in Worcester County, Massachusetts. The median assessed property value is $459K.
Single-family homes account for 2,630 of Sterling's 3,942 properties and 346 multi-family buildings. There are 78 commercial properties and 301 parcels of vacant land. About 64% of properties are owner-occupied, and 2% are owned by someone out of state.
Assessed values range widely — the middle 50% of properties fall between $320K and $607K, with the highest assessed property at $14.8M. For professionals working in this market, the value spread tells you a lot about what you'll encounter door to door.
Most properties rely on private septic systems, and 84% have public water service. Electric service is provided by TOWN OF STERLING - (MA). 427 properties have identified commercial activity — restaurants, retail, professional offices, and services that give Sterling its character.
What Sterling Property Intelligence Means for Professionals
Insurance & Underwriting
Sterling's fire protection grade distribution (3 Grade A, 540 Grade B) directly affects premium calculation. Parcel-level hazard data provides the granularity that ZIP-level aggregation misses.
Insurance solutionsReal Estate & Appraisal
Sterling's 10 property types, spanning construction from 1700 to present, require local market knowledge for accurate comparable selection and valuation. NEP assembles building characteristics, environmental exposure, and condition signals into a single property profile.
Real estate solutionsLending & Title
Collateral assessment requires flood zone verification, environmental screening, and ownership chain validation. 2% of Sterling properties are in SFHAs where flood insurance is a federal lending requirement. NEP provides property-level compliance data from public records.
Lending solutionsInspection & Property Services
6,625 permits across 51% of properties means most Sterling inspection assignments can start with documented renovation and system history, not a blank slate.
Inspection solutionsExplore Sterling property intelligence.
3,942 Sterling properties — each with risk profiles, building data, permit history, and ownership analysis from 140+ sources. Open any property and see the full picture.
Newburyport, MA · Federalist · 3,524 sq ft · 4 bed / 3 bath · Built 1800 · Historic District
NEP Property Intelligence Summary
ConditionC1Fire ClassBFlood ZoneXOwnerIndividualOccupancyOwner-Occupied
Purchased2018 (8yr)Permits11 totalSystems3 updatedLiensClearAssessed$1.6MOcean0.3 mi
EraPre-1940HistoricDesignatedRenovationRecentRadonZone 1
Cite this data
Source: NE Provenance, “Professional Property Intelligence for New England,” neprovenance.com/insights/town/sterling-ma. For references or attribution, please link back to this page or neprovenance.com. Thank you, we appreciate it.