There were 29 Asian students enrolled in Sterling Community Unit School District 5 in the 2024-25 school year, 3.6% more than the previous year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.
Data showed that Sterling Community Unit School District 5 welcomed 3,160 students during the 2024-25 school year. Among them, Asian students comprised 0.9% of the student body to be the least represented ethnicity in the district.
Sterling Community Unit School District 5 roughly covers schools within Whiteside County and has a main office in Sterling.
Among the six schools in Sterling Community Unit School District 5, Sterling High School recorded the highest enrollment of Asian students in the 2024-25 school year, with a total of 12 students.
Nationwide, public K-12 education spending has approached roughly $857 billion, with average per-student spending near $17,000, funded primarily through state and local sources. Spending varies widely by state, and Illinois ranks above the national average, with roughly $22,000 spent per student when state, local, and federal funding are combined.
Illinois public school enrollment continues a long-term downward trend. According to statewide reporting and education data analyses, total enrollment fell to about 1.85 million students as of the 2023-24 school year, and major districts such as Chicago Public Schools saw further declines—for example, CPS reported a drop of more than 9,000 students between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 counts.
| Year | Total District Enrollment | Total of Asian Students | Asian students (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 3,160 | 29 | 0.9% |
| 2023-24 | 3,151 | 28 | 0.9% |
| 2022-23 | 3,184 | 26 | 0.8% |
| 2021-22 | 3,161 | 25 | 0.8% |
| 2020-21 | 3,106 | 32 | 1% |
Information in this article was obtained from the Illinois Report Card. The source data can be found here.
