HomeSouth CarolinaChester CountyChester
Chester, South Carolina: commercial real estate data.
Chester is a Census city of 5,218 people across 3.30 square miles of land, in Chester County. Median household income is $46,138, 59.1 percent of occupied homes are owned, and the SBA record carries 4 7(a) approvals to borrowers here worth $2.4 m since FY2020.
Underlined figures are computed by MMCG Analytics, not published by the agency.
Chester
What Chester is
- Census place typecity
- Land area3.3 sq mi
- Water area0 sq mi
- Population per square mile of land1,579
- County holding the largest share of its areaChester 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
- Population5,218
- Median age38.8
- Population under 181,289 plus or minus 299
- Share under 1824.7 percent plus or minus 5.7
- Population 65 and over805 plus or minus 182
- Share 65 and over15.4 percent plus or minus 3.5
- Households2,115
- Family households1,304
- Share of households that are families61.7 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$46,138
- Per capita income$22,647
- Civilian labor force2,365
- Employed2,185
- Unemployed180 plus or minus 104
- Unemployment rate7.6 percent plus or minus 4.3
- Adults 25 and over3,483
- Adults 25 and over with a high school diploma or higher81.9 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher14.0 percent plus or minus 5.3
- Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree2.2 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 units2,462
- Occupied units2,115
- Vacant units347 plus or minus 165
- Vacancy rate14.1 percent plus or minus 6.5
- Owner occupied1,251 plus or minus 268
- Renter occupied864 plus or minus 211
- Ownership rate59.1 percent
- Median owner-occupied home value$123,000 plus or minus $34,447
- Median gross rent, monthly$902
- Annual rent as a share of median income23.5 percent
- Single family units1,787
- Share single family72.6 percent
- Units in buildings of two or more503 plus or minus 178
- Share in buildings of two or more20.4 percent plus or minus 6.8
- Mobile homes172 plus or minus 103
- Median year structure built1962
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 commute2,101
- Commuting under 15 minutes530 plus or minus 193
- Share commuting under 15 minutes25.2 percent plus or minus 8.4
- Commuting 30 minutes or more1,150 plus or minus 280
- Share commuting 30 minutes or more54.7 percent
- Drove alone85.3 percent
- Carpooled10.4 percent plus or minus 5.6
- Public transport0.0 percent
- Walked1.7 percent plus or minus 2.2
- Worked from home1.6 percent plus or minus 1.8
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Chester
SBA loans in Chester (7(a))
- Approvals4
- Gross approval$2,354,000
- Average approval$588,500
- Median approval$568,000
- Largest approval$850,000
- Jobs supported46
- Jobs per approval11.5
- Loans with a final outcome0
- Paid in full0
- Charged off0
- Median term211 months
- Share on real estate terms of 20 years or more50.0 percent
- Share to franchises0.0 percent
- Distinct lenders4
- Distinct industries by NAICS4
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)
- Approvals1
- Gross approval$475,000
- Average approval$475,000
- Median approval$475,000
- Largest approval$475,000
- Jobs supported3
- Loans with a final outcome0
- Charged off0
- Median term300 months
- Distinct CDCs1
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Chester, in any county, FY2010 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, 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 number450048
- Participating in the NFIPYes
- Community Rating System classNone
- Currently effective map date09/16/11
The City of Chester participates in the National Flood Insurance Program as community 450048 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.
Chester County, not Chester
Chester County context, not Chester figures
- Establishments in Chester County560
- Covered employment, Chester County10,409
- Average annual pay, Chester County$58,462
- Housing units permitted, Chester County269
Every figure in this section is published for Chester 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, South Carolina?
5,218, in 2,115 households. Chester city covers 3.30 square miles of land, which is 1,579 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?
Chester 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?
$46,138. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $123,000. Median gross rent is $902 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?
4 7(a) approvals totaling $2.4 m since FY2020, across 4 lenders, median approval $568,000, plus 1 504 approvals worth $475,000 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 450048, 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 Chester 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.
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