HomePennsylvaniaDelaware CountyChester
Chester, Pennsylvania: commercial real estate data.
Chester is a Census city of 33,619 people across 4.83 square miles of land, in Delaware County. Median household income is $41,342, 40.0 percent of occupied homes are owned, and the SBA record carries 20 7(a) approvals to borrowers here worth $10.7 m since FY2020.
Underlined figures are computed by MMCG Analytics, not published by the agency.
Chester
What Chester is
- Census place typecity
- Land area4.83 sq mi
- Water area1.17 sq mi
- Population per square mile of land6,956
- County holding the largest share of its areaDelaware County, 100.0 percent
US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Chester
How many people live in Chester
- Population33,619
- Median age33.9
- Population under 187,897
- Share under 1823.5 percent
- Population 65 and over5,226
- Share 65 and over15.5 percent
- Households12,537
- Family households6,606
- Share of households that are families52.7 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Chester
Income and work in Chester
- Median household income$41,342
- Per capita income$23,100
- Civilian labor force15,692
- Employed12,931
- Unemployed2,761
- Unemployment rate17.6 percent
- Adults 25 and over20,681
- Adults 25 and over with a high school diploma or higher84.3 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher14.4 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree5.0 percent plus or minus 1.3
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Chester
Housing in Chester
- Housing units14,929
- Occupied units12,537
- Vacant units2,392
- Vacancy rate16.0 percent
- Owner occupied5,010
- Renter occupied7,527
- Ownership rate40.0 percent
- Median owner-occupied home value$83,100
- Median gross rent, monthly$1,091
- Annual rent as a share of median income31.7 percent
- Single family units10,416
- Share single family69.8 percent
- Units in buildings of two or more4,513
- Share in buildings of two or more30.2 percent
- Mobile homes0
- Median year structure built1949
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Chester
How Chester gets to work
- Workers 16 and over who commute11,332
- Commuting under 15 minutes3,560
- Share commuting under 15 minutes31.4 percent
- Commuting 30 minutes or more2,972
- Share commuting 30 minutes or more26.2 percent
- Drove alone58.1 percent
- Carpooled11.1 percent plus or minus 2.6
- Public transport9.7 percent plus or minus 2.7
- Walked8.7 percent plus or minus 2.5
- Worked from home9.5 percent plus or minus 2.5
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Chester
SBA loans in Chester (7(a))
- Approvals20
- Gross approval$10,658,500
- Average approval$532,925
- Median approval$218,000
- Ninetieth percentile approval$963,500
- Largest approval$5,000,000
- Jobs supported136
- Jobs per approval6.8
- Loans with a final outcome0
- Paid in full0
- Charged off0
- Median term120 months
- Share on real estate terms of 20 years or more15.0 percent
- Share to franchises0.0 percent
- Distinct lenders17
- Distinct industries by NAICS19
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Chester, in any county, FY2020 to FY2026. Only 0 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Chester
SBA loans in Chester (504)
- Approvals4
- Gross approval$6,027,000
- Average approval$1,506,750
- Median approval$407,000
- Largest approval$5,000,000
- Jobs supported94
- Loans with a final outcome1
- Charged off0
- Median term240 months
- Distinct CDCs3
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Chester, in any county, FY2010 to FY2026. Only 1 loan has reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.
US Small Business Administration, 504 FOIA release, FY2010 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Chester
Flood risk in Chester
- NFIP communityCity of Chester
- NFIP community number420404
- Participating in the NFIPYes
- Community Rating System classNone
- Currently effective map date11/03/17
The City of Chester participates in the National Flood Insurance Program as community 420404 and carries no Community Rating System class, so no CRS premium discount applies to it.
Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26.
Delaware County, not Chester
Delaware County context, not Chester figures
- Establishments in Delaware County13,165
- Covered employment, Delaware County218,536
- Average annual pay, Delaware County$73,172
- Housing units permitted, Delaware County281
Every figure in this section is published for Delaware County as a whole and is not a measurement of Chester.
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages. US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
Coverage
What this page does not hold.
Parcel detail, zoning and the flood zone at an address are not on this page; they resolve at the address in the platform. How this page was built →
Common questions
Chester questions, answered from the record.
How many people live in Chester, Pennsylvania?
33,619, in 12,537 households. Chester city covers 4.83 square miles of land, which is 6,956 people per square mile. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
What county is Chester in?
Delaware County, which holds 100.0 percent of the place by area. Source: US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage.
What is the median household income in Chester?
$41,342. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $83,100. Median gross rent is $1,091 per month. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
How much SBA lending goes to Chester businesses?
20 7(a) approvals totaling $10.7 m since FY2020, across 17 lenders, median approval $218,000, plus 4 504 approvals worth $6.0 m since FY2010. These count approvals to borrowers whose address is in Chester, not projects sited inside the place boundary, and they are approvals recorded in the release rather than loans disbursed.
Do SBA loans to Chester borrowers get paid back?
No rate is published for Chester. Only 0 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published. The counts are shown instead.
Is Chester in the National Flood Insurance Program?
Yes. Chester appears in the FEMA Community Status Book as Chester, city of, community 420404, with no Community Rating System class, so no CRS discount applies. Whether a specific parcel sits in a mapped special flood hazard area is an address level question the platform answers.
Are the county figures on this page Chester figures?
No, and they are labeled so. County Business Patterns, QCEW, the Building Permits Survey, BEA product and IRS migration are published for Delaware County as a whole and there is no place level equivalent. They appear in one clearly marked section as context and are never presented as measurements of Chester.
Is zoning published for Chester?
No. Nothing on this page presents parcel level zoning.