Sterling

History

The town now known as Sterling was originally called "Naptowne" when it was first opened for settlement in 1947. However, the area—which had a few homesteaders by then—acquired a post office in 1954 which was given the designation of "Sterling" after the Sterling Highway that served the area. An archaeological site, containing prehistoric Dena'ina house pits, has been discovered near Sterling, showing that the area was inhabited in prehistoric times. The main industries around Sterling today are support for tourism and sport fishing and hunting.

Geography

Sterling is located on the western side of the Kenai Peninsula at (60.529635, -150.797887). It is bordered to the west by Ridgeway, to the southwest by Soldotna, and to the south by Funny River. Soldotna Creek forms the western boundary of the community, and the Kenai River forms the southern boundary. Alaska Route 1, the Sterling Highway, runs through the community, leading southwest to the center of Soldotna and east to Cooper Landing at the outlet of Kenai Lake. The city of Kenai is to the west via Soldotna. According to the United States Census Bureau, the Sterling CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 2.36%, are water. }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  773
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  727
• Bald Eagle

  Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  710
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  656
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  643
• Red-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta canadensis Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  601
• Yellow-rumped Warbler

  Setophaga coronata (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  518
• Ruby-crowned Kinglet

  Regulus calendula (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  486

Largest nearby schools

• Connections
  Other · Soldotna · 1,036 students · 64.8:1 ratio
• Soldotna Elementary
  Elementary · Soldotna · 259 students · 12.9:1 ratio
• Soldotna Montessori Charter School
  Elementary · Soldotna · 165 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• Sterling Elementary
  Elementary · Sterling · 150 students · 11.5:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2026-09-28
  22 km SSW of Susitna, Alaska
• M 2.7 — 2026-09-28
  13 km NNW of Ninilchik, Alaska
• M 2.5 — 2026-09-28
  23 km SSW of Susitna, Alaska
• M 2.8 — 2026-09-28
  45 km W of Salamatof, Alaska
• M 2.9 — 2026-09-27
  24 km WSW of Point MacKenzie, Alaska
• M 3.2 — 2026-09-23
  21 km SW of Susitna, Alaska