What is the population of Chester city?

Chester city has 5,241 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #102 of 475 in South Carolina.

What is the median household income in Chester city?

Median household income in Chester city is $41,231 a year, 47.5% below the national figure of $78,538.

How much does it cost to rent or buy in Chester city?

Median gross rent is $905 a month and the median home value is $106,400, so rent absorbs about 26.3% of median household income.

Is Chester city affordable compared with the rest of the US?

Homes cost about 2.6× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Chester city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 26.3% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.

Aerial view of a dense city center, illustrating the US cities ZIP code directory

South Carolina · Census place 14095

Chester, SC population, income and ZIP codes

Quick answer

The population of the city of Chester, South Carolina (Chester, SC — Census place “Chester city”) is 5,241 residents, ranking #102 of 475 places in South Carolina. Median household income is $41,231, the median home is worth $106,400 and median gross rent runs $905 a month. Looking for the Chester South Carolina ZIP code list? 1 ZIP codes serve Chester, SC: 29706.

Population: 5,241Chester city residents
Median household income: $41,231Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value: $106,400Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent: $905Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age: 37.3 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate: 54.4%Owner-occupied households

Chester ZIP codes (South Carolina)

Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Chester.

The Chester SC ZIP code list below covers 1 ZIP code. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.

29706

What the numbers mean in Chester city

Housing cost measured against local earnings.

A household earning the Chester city median would spend about 26.3% of gross income on the median rent. The 30% mark is the federal threshold for cost burden, so anything above it signals a stretched rental market. The median home costs 2.6× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 25% of residents and 54.4% of households own their home.

Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year

Chester city, SC in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

Chester city is a mid-size town in South Carolina, with 5,241 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #102 of 475 ranked by population — larger than 78% of them. The median age here is 37.3 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly younger profile than the country as a whole. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.

Households in Chester city earn a median of $41,231 a year, 47.5% below the national figure of $78,538 and 22% below the $53,071 median for the 263 South Carolina cities we cover. Household income here is measured before tax and pooled across everyone at the address, which is why it reads higher than typical individual earnings in the same area. Poverty reaches 25% of residents here, well above the 12.4% national rate, which is the single clearest signal in this dataset that median income here is carried by a narrow band of households.

The typical owner-occupied home in Chester city is valued at $106,400, 64.9% below the national figure and 40% below the $177,100 peer median, while median gross rent runs $905 a month, 35.6% below the national figure, or roughly $10,860 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 26.3% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is within the standard affordability guideline. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 2.6×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 54.4% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans more heavily on renters. Gross rent folds in the utilities a tenant pays separately, so it is closer to the real monthly outlay than a headline rent figure.

Every value on this page is published directly by the Census for this area — nothing is modelled or interpolated. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.

Compare with nearby places

Places of similar size in South Carolina.

More South Carolina coverage.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about this area.

What is the population of Chester city?: Chester city has 5,241 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #102 of 475 in South Carolina.
What is the median household income in Chester city?: Median household income in Chester city is $41,231 a year, 47.5% below the national figure of $78,538.
How much does it cost to rent or buy in Chester city?: Median gross rent is $905 a month and the median home value is $106,400, so rent absorbs about 26.3% of median household income.
Is Chester city affordable compared with the rest of the US?: Homes cost about 2.6× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Chester city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 26.3% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
How current is this Chester city data?: All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.