Chester, South Carolina

Population

Growing. Up 1.0% since 2020.

5,324

people, the 65th-largest of South Carolina's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among South Carolina's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

9 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

92.7%

of 2,166 jobs located in Chester are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 66% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$902

a month. South Carolina's median is $1,180.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $1,007 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Chester County.

• $391 Tract 209
• $1,398 Tract 207

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

Local wages can carry more rent than the median charged today.

$951–$1,426

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $902 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 94% of all homes were built before 2000

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.4–0.9% to the 2,462 homes here.

9–22

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 53% less than South Carolina's.

$123,000

median home value in Chester.

• $123,000 Chester
• $259,000 South Carolina
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year