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Towns / Illinois

Chester, Illinois

Chester is a small town of about 6,800 people in Randolph County, Illinois. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 1.4 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, St. Louis, is about 54 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
6,847
up 0.4% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$111,700
Randolph County prices up 23% since 2022
Household income
$80,625
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Illinois
87.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Memorial Hospital
To St. Louis
54 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.6% below the U.S. average in the parts of Illinois outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 1.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood3 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 1.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byMemorial Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySt. Louis is about 54 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Chester meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$111,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 23%Randolph County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$760 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$80,625U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
74%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,807 a yearIllinois: $5,298
Homes built before 1940
28%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
87.4U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Illinois outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 23% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Illinois outside metro areas, not Chester alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
6,8472020: 6,817
Median age
43.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
12%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
10%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
9%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (27%); government (23%); manufacturing (16%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
2%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
22%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Memorial Hospital, Chester, IL, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Parkland Health Center, Farmington, MO, about 35 miles away. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

2 public schools in Chester, run by Chester CUSD 139.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Illinois's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
67%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
89%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
24°F
July average high
89°F
Days 90°F or hotter
58 a year
Nights at or below freezing
99 a year
Rain and melted snow
43.9 inches a year
Snow
12 inches a year
Elevation
568 feet

Weather stations: Kaskaskia Rvr Navigation Lock (8 miles away) and Chester (2 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: St. Louis.

Randolph County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park10 miles
  • Gateway Arch National Park51 miles
  • Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site52 miles

Read about Chester's history on Wikipedia.

Know Chester?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Ellis Grove, IL324 people, 7 miles
  • St. Mary, MO312 people, 8 miles
  • Brewer, MO (unincorporated)413 people, 11 miles
  • Evansville, IL533 people, 13 miles
  • Ozora, MO (unincorporated)299 people, 13 miles
  • Percy, IL905 people, 13 miles
  • Willisville, IL560 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.