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Towns / South Carolina

Chester, South Carolina

Chester is a small town of about 5,300 people in Chester County, South Carolina. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.7 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, Charlotte, is about 41 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
5,324
up 1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$123,000
Chester County prices up 23% since 2022
Household income
$46,138
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Charlotte area
97.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Musc Health Chester Medical Center
To Charlotte
41 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 2.7% below the U.S. average in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Chester itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town6 public schools: 4 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byMusc Health Chester Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityCharlotte is about 41 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
$123,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 23%Chester County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$902 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$46,138U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
59%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,075 a yearSouth Carolina: $1,251
Homes built before 1940
16%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
97.3U.S. average = 100 (the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area)

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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area, 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
5,3242020: 5,271
Median age
38.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
14%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
8%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 (25%); manufacturing (24%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (14%)
Unemployment rate
8%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
28 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
2%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
19%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Musc Health Chester Medical Center, Chester, SC, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

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

6 public schools in Chester, run by Chester 01.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on South Carolina'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
57%U.S.: 76%

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
30°F
July average high
90°F
Days 90°F or hotter
54 a year
Nights at or below freezing
82 a year
Rain and melted snow
43.2 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
509 feet

Weather stations: Chester 1 SE (1 mile away) and Lockhart (15 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: Rock Hill, Charlotte.

Chester County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

10 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Chester Historic District, Chester Historic District (Boundary Increase) and the Colvin-Fant-Durham Farm Complex.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Kings Mountain National Military Park31 miles
  • Cowpens National Battlefield44 miles
  • Ninety Six National Historic Site59 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

  • Eureka Mill, SC (unincorporated)1,813 people, 1 mile
  • Gayle Mill, SC (unincorporated)974 people, 2 miles
  • Lowrys, SC188 people, 7 miles
  • Richburg, SC275 people, 11 miles
  • McConnells, SC288 people, 12 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.