Central New York
Sterling, New York
Sterling is a town in Cayuga County, in New York's Central New York region, home to about 3,200 people as of the 2020 census.
Like the rest of upstate New York, an assessed value here usually isn't the market value; the state's equalization rate reconciles the two. The local rate is below, and the STAR program can lower the school-tax part of the bill.
- Type
- Town
- County
- Cayuga
- Region
- Central New York
- Population (2020)
- 3,221
Local Almanac
Notes in and around Sterling
Short, sourced notes tied to this place, its county, or nearby communities.
This place · The Outdoors
Sterling's Lake Ontario Edge Is Bluffs, Beach, and Working Nature Rules
Sterling's Lake Ontario edge puts public beach, bluffs, woods, and preserve rules close together.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Oswego Town Has Mary Walker's Bunker Hill Story
Oswego Town's civic memory includes Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, whose Bunker Hill Road roots tie the town to medicine, war service, and suffrage.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Wolcott's Story Runs Through Falls, Apples, and Lake-Plain Edges
Wolcott's town site frames the place through early settlement, Wolcott Falls industry, and a modern agricultural identity.
Read this note ->Nearby · Cars & Driving
Oswego County DMV Has Three Local Office Routes
Oswego County drivers should check the county DMV page before license or registration errands because local office routes and hours matter.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Ira Still Reads Like Military Tract Farm Country
Ira's town story sits inside the old Cato military township, with modern clues in farmland planning, zoning, taxes, and the Cato address locals still use.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Hannibal Keeps Local Memory in the Historian and Historical Society
Hannibal's local memory runs through its town historian and a historical society rooted in the old community center.
Read this note ->Nearby · Money & Taxes
Wayne Assessment Rolls Let Marion and Wolcott Owners Check the Annual Roll
Wayne County posts annual tentative and final assessment-roll routes, including town-specific links for Marion and Wolcott.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Victory's name comes from a political win, not a battlefield
Victory's name, early tavern, mills, hotel, and old store corners make the town easier to remember than a quick map glance suggests.
Read this note ->Nearby · The Outdoors
Blind Sodus Bay pairs Wolcott beauty with shoreline checks
DEC's Blind Sodus Bay page makes Wolcott's bay setting useful and cautionary: shallow plants, invasives, and harvesting all matter.
Read this note ->Property tax snapshot
Roughly $18–$23 per $1,000
Combined full-value rate — county + town/city + school district, per $1,000 of market value (FY2025). On a $300,000 home that's about $5,283–$6,981 a year before the STAR break.
A planning estimate, not a bill. Your exact rate depends on your school district and any village. Confirm with the assessor.
Statewide links
Statewide starting points.
Good to know
- • Your assessed value usually isn't your market value — ask for the equalization rate.
- • Register for STAR; new applicants generally receive a credit instead of an automatic exemption on the bill.
- • Outside the cities, check the well, the septic, and the FEMA flood map before you buy.
Nearby
Nearby places
Tax rates: NYS Dept of Taxation & Finance (ORPTS), Real Property Tax Rates and Levy Data by Municipality, data.ny.gov dataset iq85-sdzs. (FY2025). Population: U.S. Census 2020. Reviewed June 2026. Source data ->
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