Chester is a very small city located in the state of West Virginia. With a population of 2,123 people and just one neighborhood, Chester is the 102nd largest community in West Virginia. Chester has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities.
Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Chester is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Chester is a city of professionals, sales and office workers, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Chester who work in healthcare (14.91%), teaching (14.91%), and office and administrative support (12.42%).
Overall, Chester’s crime rate is one of the lowest in the nation, which makes a great place to live if safety is an important concern.
Chester is a small city, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.
The percentage of people in Chester who are college-educated is somewhat higher than the average US community of 21.84%: 26.70% of adults in Chester have at least a bachelor's degree.
The per capita income in Chester in 2022 was $34,641, which is wealthy relative to West Virginia, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $138,564 for a family of four. However, Chester contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
The people who call Chester home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Chester residents report their race to be White, followed by Native Hawaiian. Important ancestries of people in Chester include Irish, German, English, Italian, and Scots-Irish.
The most common language spoken in Chester is English. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and Polish.
The way a neighborhood looks and feels when you walk or drive around it, from its setting, its buildings, and its flavor, can make all the difference. This neighborhood has some really cool things about the way it looks and feels as revealed by NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.
If you are planning to retire in West Virginia, this neighborhood should be on your must-see list. For many reasons, may be considered a retiree's dream neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and metrics, it's peaceful and quiet, has above average safety from crime compared to other neighborhoods in West Virginia, while also offering a diverse range of housing options. This, along with the vibrant mix of very educated seniors and other age groups who choose to live here, makes the neighborhood more retiree-friendly than 98.9% of neighborhoods in WV. If a West Virginia retirement is in your future, this neighborhood should be one of the places you visit.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Scots-Irish ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 10.8% of this neighborhood's residents have Scots-Irish ancestry.
How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in Chester are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 74.4% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 12.9% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 55.8% of U.S. neighborhoods.
A neighborhood is far different if it is dominated by enlisted military personnel rather than people who earn their living by farming. It is also different if most of the neighbors are clerical support or managers. What is wonderful is the sheer diversity of neighborhoods, allowing you to find the type that fits your lifestyle and aspirations.
In the neighborhood, 32.3% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants, with 31.4% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (28.5%), and 7.8% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
The languages spoken by people in this neighborhood are diverse. These are tabulated as the languages people preferentially speak when they are at home with their families. The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 100.0% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and Polish.
Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.
In the neighborhood in Chester, WV, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (21.8%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (17.7%), and residents who report Irish roots (15.6%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (10.9%), along with some Scots-Irish ancestry residents (10.8%), among others.
Even if your neighborhood is walkable, you may still have to drive to your place of work. Some neighborhoods are located where many can get to work in just a few minutes, while others are located such that most residents have a long and arduous commute. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (34.6% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (81.1%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (11.4%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.