Stirling is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Long Hill Township in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 07980.

The Stirling train station is located along the Gladstone Branch of the New Jersey Transit Morristown Line.

As of the 2000 United States Census, the population for ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) 07980 was 2,499.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2020	2,555		—
U.S. Decennial Census

Stirling was first listed as a census designated place in the 2020 U.S. Census.

2020 census

Stirling, New Jersey – Racial and Ethnic Composition
(NH = Non-Hispanic)
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity	Pop 2020
White alone (NH)	1,833	71.74%
Black or African American alone (NH)	40	1.57%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	1	0.04%
Asian alone (NH)	189	7.40%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	2	0.08%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	27	1.06%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)	955	3.72%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	368	14.40%
Total	2,555	100.00%

History

Stirling was settled in 1740. A manufacturing and residential community was developed in the area of the railroad in the decades after the Civil War.

It was named by Fred Simpson Winston who purchased about 500 acres (2.0 km) of land in the area for development. He named the area after William Alexander, Lord Stirling, an American Revolutionary War General who had owned 1,000 acres (4.0 km) of land lying on both sides of the Passaic River.

The Assyrian National School Association was established in Stirling, New Jersey in 1899 by Assyrian immigrants from Diyarbakır, Turkey.

Education

Stirling is home to Central Middle School, which is one of the four schools in the Long Hill Township School System. Central Middle School educates students from grades 6–8.

St. Vincent de Paul School was a Catholic school in Stirling that operated under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson. The school closed in June 2016 in the wake of declining enrollment and financial challenges. The school was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence in 2012.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Stirling include:

• George Estock (1924–2010), MLB pitcher who played for the Boston Braves in 1951.