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Traffic heat map of Sterling County, Texas: 144 miles of roads shaded from blue (light) to red (heavy traffic), busiest on 4th Street and US 87

Sterling County, Texas Traffic Counts

How busy are the roads of Sterling County, Texas? We measure 144 road miles, divided into 318 segments, with multi-sourced, cross-verified mobile and sensor data. About 1 in 6 vehicles here is a truck, against 1 in 10 across Texas. The breakdown below covers volume, trucks, congestion and driver profiles for retailers, logistics planners and engineers.
Data sourced from TrafficZoom's proprietary analytics platform.
Data current as of:
Q3 2026
Updated:
September 29, 2026
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Total Traffic Volume & Performance in Sterling County, Texas

Traffic

The average number of vehicles that travel each day over any road in the road network.

vehicles per day2,443
Trucks

The percentage of the total traffic volume composed of heavy vehicles.

15.9%
Average travel time

The average time of travel averaged among all vehicles traveling on the road network.

51.9 min
Congestion ratio

The rate at which the actual travel time exceeds free-flow travel time, averaged among all roads in the network.

5.2%
Drivers’ average age

Average age of residents in the geographic areas where the vehicle trips originated.

42.7 yrs
Drivers’ average income

Average income of residents in the geographic areas where the vehicle trips originated.

$80,387

A typical monitored road in Sterling County, Texas sees 2,443 vehicles per day, while its 144 miles of monitored roads together handle 244,110 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈89.1 million per year). About 1 in 6 vehicles is a truck, well above the 9.8% across Texas - a freight-heavy mix.

Longer trips than 95% of counties in Texas

At 2,443 vehicles per day, the average monitored road in Sterling carries 65% less traffic than the state average of 6,895, suggesting less demand on each road - quiet roads that suit freight movement more than drive-by retail. Across the whole network, that travel is less than 0.1% of Texas's statewide total. 62% of counties in Texas see more traffic than Sterling's 2,443 vehicles per day.

At 51.9 minutes, the average travel time is 59% higher than the state level. On travel time, Sterling runs longer than 95% of counties in Texas.

The congestion ratio of 5.2% is 68% lower, pointing to smoother traffic flow than the state level - free-flowing roads make scheduled deliveries highly predictable.

Highway vs. Non-Highway Traffic Analysis

highway traffic icon

Highway Traffic in Sterling County, Texas

Trafficvehicles per day4,332
Trucks16.0%
Average travel time58.3 min
Congestion ratio8.0%
Drivers’ average age42.7 yrs
Drivers’ average income$80,643

Highways carry the vast majority of travel in Sterling County, Texas, 90% of all vehicle-miles. The average highway carries 4,332 vehicles per day, 571% more than the average non-highway road in the same area, which carries 646 vehicles per day.

Highways make up 54% of the monitored road miles (77 miles, 155 segments), so they carry more than their share: 218,622 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈79.8 million per year).

Fewer highway trucks than 85% of counties in Texas

At 16.0%, highway truck share is 16% higher than the state average. Highways here lean toward freight, so highway access is a real asset for logistics operators.

By truck concentration, highways here outrank 52% of counties in Texas. Sterling's highway truck count is lower than 85% of counties in Texas, at roughly 693 trucks per day.

non-highway traffic icon

Non-highway Traffic in Sterling County, Texas

Trafficvehicles per day646
Trucks15.1%
Average travel time45.8 min
Congestion ratio2.6%
Drivers’ average age45.6 yrs
Drivers’ average income$77,789

Only a small share of travel in Sterling County, Texas happens on local roads: 10% of vehicle-miles. On the average non-highway road, that comes to 646 vehicles per day.

Spread over 66 miles and 163 segments, 46% of the road network, local roads carry a lighter load per mile: 25,488 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈9.3 million per year). The truck share on non-highway roads is 15.1%.

Local congestion 84% below the Texas average

Non-highway roads carry a truck concentration that's 6% lower than the highway network.

Non-highway congestion (2.6%) runs 84% lower than the state average, pointing to smoother local traffic flow.

Trip origins here have higher average income than 80% of counties in Texas. The driver population here skews younger than 74% of counties in Texas.

Time-of-Day & Seasonal Patterns

Data Finding: Hourly & Seasonal Patterns

In Sterling County, Texas, the peak hour concentrates about 7% of the day's traffic.

Sterling County vs. Texas Traffic Comparison

Of the four measures, average daily traffic per road differs most: Sterling County runs 65% below the Texas average. Its truck share, by contrast, is 63% above.

MetricSterling CountyTexas averageDifference
Traffic2,4436,895-64.6%
Truck % (Total Traffic)15.9%9.8%+62.8%
Truck % (Highway)16.0%13.8%+16.4%
Avg. Travel Time51.9 min32.6 min+59.1%

How Sterling County compares

Sterling County against nearby counties

Against the 4 nearest areas, Sterling County moves 33.9% of the total daily travel and sees 26.0% longer typical trips; it has the second busiest roads of the five. Trips here run longer without running slower: distance, not congestion, is what drivers spend their time on.

Sterling County and the 4 nearest county-level areas by centroid distance, with the Texas average for scale.
AreaAverage daily trafficTruck shareDaily vehicle-milesAverage travel timeCongestion ratio
Sterling County2,44315.9%244,11051.9 min5.2%
Glasscock County, Texas2,12914.5%380,18153.7 min5.0%
Mitchell County, Texas1,61827.1%742,92736.2 min5.8%
Coke County, Texas1,52713.3%188,44140.4 min4.2%
Howard County, Texas3,08921.7%1,567,44334.4 min9.2%
Texas average6,8959.8%N/A32.6 min16.4%

Sterling County ranked within Texas

Average travel time places Sterling County #14 of 254 in Texas - the top quarter of the state.

Sterling County ranked among 254 county-level areas in Texas (1 = highest); measures without data in every county rank a smaller field, down to 227.
MeasureSterling CountyTexas rank
Traffic volume (AADT)2,443#159 of 254
Highway vehicle-miles per day218,622#176 of 227
Truck share on highways16.0%#109 of 227
Highway trucks per day693#194 of 227
Average travel time51.9 min#14 of 254
Average driver income$80,387#51 of 254
Average driver age42.7 yrs#187 of 254

Sterling County ranks #14 of 254 on average travel time but #194 of 227 on highway truck volume - the two describe the same roads and are worth reading together rather than either on its own.

Busiest roads in Sterling County, Texas

The three busiest roads in Sterling County average 5,574 vehicles a day, 2.3 times the county average of 2,443 across all its monitored roads.

4th Street leads with 9,051 vehicles a day, 1,049 of them trucks (11.6%). No other road comes close: US 87, in second place, carries 4,354. It tops the truck ranking too, with the most trucks.

Trips using TX 158 are long: a median of 73.2 minutes against 51.9 county-wide, the mark of a through route.

Ranked by daily traffic (AADT)

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
14th StreetTrunk road · 9,051vehicles1,049trucks · 11.6%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
12.0%
Median trip time
55.7 min
Drivers’ median age
43.2 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$78,671

The busiest stretch of 4th Street carries 3.7 times the county average; trucks are 11.6% of it, below the county-wide 15.9%.

2US 87Trunk road · 4,354vehicles673trucks · 15.5%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
7.9%
Median trip time
59.8 min
Drivers’ median age
42.5 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$81,047

US 87 is busy by local standards, at 78% more than the county average on its busiest stretch; trucks are 15.5% of it, in line with the county-wide 15.9%.

3TX 158Trunk road · 3,318vehicles566trucks · 17.1%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
6.4%
Median trip time
73.2 min
Drivers’ median age
40.6 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$82,946

TX 158 peaks at 3,318 vehicles a day, 36% more than the county average; trucks are 17.1% of it, above the county-wide 15.9%.

4Robert Lee HighwayPrimary road · 1,303vehicles120trucks · 9.2%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
2.6%
Median trip time
43.5 min
Drivers’ median age
46.4 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$76,673

Even at its busiest, Robert Lee Highway carries 47% less than the county average; trucks are 9.2% of it, below the county-wide 15.9%.

5TX 163Primary road · 428vehicles64trucks · 14.8%
Road class
Primary road
Median trip time
56.7 min
Drivers’ median age
43.5 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$78,750

TX 163 is a quieter road: its busiest stretch carries 82% less than the county average; trucks are 14.8% of it, below the county-wide 15.9%.

Ranked by trucks per day

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
14th StreetTrunk road · #1 by traffic9,051vehicles1,049trucks · 11.6%
2US 87Trunk road · #2 by traffic4,354vehicles673trucks · 15.5%
3TX 158Trunk road · #3 by traffic3,318vehicles566trucks · 17.1%
4Robert Lee HighwayPrimary road · #4 by traffic1,303vehicles120trucks · 9.2%
5TX 163Primary road · #5 by traffic428vehicles64trucks · 14.8%
How to read these road counts
  • The first number is AADT, annual average daily traffic: the vehicles passing a point on an average day, both directions combined and trucks included. On a divided highway both carriageways are added together.
  • Traffic changes along a road, with more near interchanges and towns and less in open country. Every figure for a road describes its busiest stretch in the county, so the two rankings show the same numbers for the same road.
  • The second number is the trucks on that stretch, a part of its AADT. The bar splits the AADT into cars and light vehicles (blue) and trucks (amber).
  • See segment-level AADT for any road on TrafficZoom.

Data Sources & Methodology

The data presented on this page is derived from TrafficZoom's proprietary analytics platform, which aggregates and normalizes information from multiple sources, including:

Mobile device location data (anonymized and aggregated)

Road sensor networks and traffic counters

Historical traffic pattern databases

Public traffic count programs published by the

SterlingDepartment of Transportation

Demographic Baseline for O-D Modeling

U.S. Census Bureau
All metrics represent estimates based on statistical modeling and are intended for strategic planning purposes.
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Data current as of:
Q3 2026

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Counties near Sterling County

The same traffic breakdown for the areas closest to Sterling County, Texas.

Need segment-level traffic data?

Identify traffic patterns street by street and analyze the exact corridors that matter to your project.