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Sterling, Illinois has 15 accredited schools offering fire science programs, with tuition ranging from $3,252 to $14,399 per year for indexed programs. Sterling has a population of about 14,670. Median household income is $52,647 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 18.5% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In Illinois, the top-earning fire science-related role is First-Line Supervisor of Firefighting and Prevention Workers at a median $123,500 annually (BLS, May 2025).
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer fire science programs near Sterling, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Sterling city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Sterling. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:Accreditor: Higher Learning CommissionIPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Illinois schools on the Illinois fire science page.
| Occupation | Median Annual Wage (Illinois, statewide) |
|---|---|
| Firefighter | $78,380 |
| First-Line Supervisor of Firefighting and Prevention Workers | $123,500 |
| Fire Inspector and Investigator | $62,400 |
| Emergency Management Director | $83,820 |
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 14,670 | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003) |
| Median household income | $52,647 | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013) |
| Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ | 18.5% | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003) |
Our directory has 15 accredited schools offering fire science programs near Sterling. The closest is Rock Valley College in Rockford, IL (50.2 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Madison Area Technical College (93.2 miles). 6 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
Based on BLS May 2025 state wage data, the top-paying fire science-related roles in Illinois are: First-Line Supervisor of Firefighting and Prevention Workers ($123,500), Emergency Management Director ($83,820), Firefighter ($78,380). Wages for Sterling workers will track these statewide medians, adjusted for local cost of living.
Clinton, IA is 28.3 miles from Sterling and has its own set of local fire science programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Sterling’s median household income of $52,647 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Sterling while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Illinois public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Sterling:
Data verified: August 11, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
Back to Best Fire Science Schools in Illinois: Online Programs (2026)
