61081
ZIP 61081 is Sterling, Illinois, mostly in Whiteside County; area codes 815 and 779; Central time.
- Type
- Standard
- Time zone
- America/Chicago
- County
- Whiteside +1 more
- Metro area
- Sterling, IL
- Population
- 20,844
- Coordinates
- 41.8500, -89.7394
Weather right now
Asking the National Weather Service…
Where 61081 is
Approximate ZIP boundary (Census ZCTA 2020). ZIP codes are mail routes, not areas, so the shape shown is the Census tabulation area that approximates it.
- 🔢 Type 61081 into a pocket calculator and turn it upside down: IBOIg — not quite a word, sorry.
- ➕ As a number, 61,081 = 17 × 3593. Its digits add up to 16, a total 1,922 other ZIP codes share.
- 💾In binary, the way a computer stores it:
1110111010011001 - 🏠 Its numerical neighbours: 61080 (South Beloit, IL, 58 mi away) and 61084 (Stillman Valley, IL, 34 mi away).
- 🔄 Backwards, 61081 becomes 18016 — and that is a real ZIP code: Bethlehem, PA, 744 miles away.
- 👥 25 other ZIP codes are made of exactly the same digits (06118, 06811, 08611, 10168, 16018, 16108, …). The farthest-flung twin is 86011 in Flagstaff, AZ, 1,267 miles away.
- 🧭 Farther north than 74% of all ZIP codes, and farther west than 55%.
- 🎯482 miles east of the geographic center of the Lower 48, near Lebanon, Kansas.
- 🌏 Dig straight through the Earth from 61081 and you would come out at 41.85°S, 90.26°E — 1,094 miles from Port-aux-Français, French Southern Territories, the nearest big city to that spot.
- ☀Longest day of the year: 15h 13m of daylight. Shortest: 9h 08m.
- 📏 At 124.4 square miles of land, 61081 is bigger than 83% of ZIP codes — room for about 94 Central Parks.
- Working out the sun…
- Checking the USGS…
Source: USGS.
People and housing
| Population | 20,844This ZIP20,844 |
|---|---|
| Households | 8,884This ZIP8,884 |
| Housing units | 9,829This ZIP9,829 |
| Median age | 43.3This ZIP43.3Illinois39.0US 38.9 |
| Median household income | $67,586This ZIP$67,586Illinois$83,390US $80,734 |
| Median home value | $123,400This ZIP$123,400Illinois$263,300US $332,700 |
| Median gross rent | $870This ZIP$870Illinois$1,274US $1,413 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 22.2%This ZIP22.2% |
| Mean commute | 19.9 minThis ZIP19.9 min |
| Population density | 167.6 / sq miThis ZIP167.6 / sq mi |
Business and tax activity
| Business establishments | 490This ZIP490 |
|---|---|
| Employees | 10,763This ZIP10,763 |
| Annual payroll | $560,399,000This ZIP$560,399,000 |
| Tax returns filed | 10,180This ZIP10,180 |
| Total adjusted gross income | $667,164,000This ZIP$667,164,000 |
Land area
| Land area | 124.39 sq miThis ZIP124.39 sq mi |
|---|---|
| Water area | 2.12 sq miThis ZIP2.12 sq mi |
Counties 61081 spans
A ZIP code is a mail route and ignores county lines. Shares are by overlapping land area.
| County | Share of this ZIP |
|---|---|
| Whiteside County | 94.7% |
| Lee County | 5.3% |
Other place names in 61081
Census places whose land this ZIP code overlaps. The Postal Service may accept other city names in an address, too.
ZIP codes near 61081
| ZIP | City | Distance |
|---|---|---|
61037 | Galt, IL | 4.4 mi |
61071 | Rock Falls, IL | 8.9 mi |
61051 | Milledgeville, IL | 9.3 mi |
61091 | Woosung, IL | 10.4 mi |
61014 | Chadwick, IL | 11.5 mi |
61270 | Morrison, IL | 11.6 mi |
61261 | Lyndon, IL | 11.8 mi |
61064 | Polo, IL | 12.4 mi |
61021 | Dixon, IL | 13.6 mi |
61042 | Harmon, IL | 14.2 mi |
Find every ZIP code within 10 miles of 61081 →
Questions about this ZIP code
Where is ZIP code 61081?
61081 is in Sterling, Illinois, in Whiteside County, part of the Sterling, IL micropolitan area. Its published point location is 41.8500, -89.7394.
What county is 61081 in?
61081 spans 2 counties: Whiteside County and Lee County. Most of it falls in Whiteside County, measured by overlapping land area — the county holding the most land in a ZIP code is not always the one holding the most residents.
What area code is 61081?
Sterling uses area codes 815 and 779, from NANPA's telephone records.
What time zone is 61081 in?
61081 uses America/Chicago.
How many people live in 61081?
About 20,844 people live in ZIP code 61081, in 8,884 households, at 167.6 people per square mile. These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates for the ZIP Code Tabulation Area, not a headcount.
What is the median household income in 61081?
$67,586 a year, against $83,390 across Illinois.
What ZIP codes are near 61081?
The closest are 61037 (4.4 mi), 61071 (8.9 mi), 61051 (9.3 mi), 61091 (10.4 mi) and 61014 (11.5 mi).
Is 61081 a PO Box ZIP code?
61081 is a standard ZIP code. A normal ZIP code with street delivery.
Download or cite
Cite this page
zipcodes.pro. “61081 ZIP Code — Sterling, Illinois (Whiteside County).” Data release 2026-10-12. Retrieved 2026-10-20. https://zipcodes.pro/zip/61081
Machine-readable version of these facts:
curl https://zipcodes.pro/zip/61081.json Underlying data is public domain or openly licensed — sources, vintages and licences.