The town soon grew to 300 residents and had its own newspaper, a hotel, a post office, several other businesses, a school, and three churches.

[6] Sterling City was a stop on the Santa Fe Railroad by 1910, but the service was eventually abandoned.

When it was incorporated in August 1955, Sterling City had a population of some 800 and had added three more churches, a hospital, a bank, and a library.

On May 25, 1955, 15 United States Air Force personnel, flying in a B-36 bomber under the callsign Abbot 27, perished in a crash near Sterling City.

[7] Sterling City is located on the Edwards Plateau in west-central Texas along the North Concho River at 31°50′21″N 100°59′9″W / 31.83917°N 100.98583°W / 31.83917; -100.98583 (31.839066, –100.985871).

[9] Today, most of Sterling City's windmills are giant turbines in modern wind farms on a ridge approximately 20 miles northwest of the town and visible from U.S. Highway 87.

[10] As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,121 people, 344 households, and 291 families residing in the city.