Almanor RR western portion route, 1956
Chester’s story
146 years in pictures
Census counts: 1,553 in 1960, 2,187 in 2020. The archive holds 9 old photos and papers going back to 1956 and 3 maps from 1956 on.
- 1880Chester is settled
ChesterCA
A town of 1,759, settled in 1880.
Population
1,759
Census survey, 2020–24
Typical home
$372K
+0.1% in a year
Household income
$47K
median
Median age
61.6
years
Jobs based here
878
Balanced
Is Chester a good place to live?
Chester’s best subject grade is an A for the outdoors; its weakest is a D for incomes. 32% of working residents work locally in Chester, against 6.6% in California’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. On incomes, just 76 of California’s 1,056 towns do worse. Chester’s trail density is 1.3 miles per square mile, above both California’s towns (1.0) and U.S. towns (0.4). Chester has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
How Chester grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Chester is from typical.
Jobs & incomeDOpen →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listC−Open →Cost of livingC−Open →HealthSeneca District Hospital 0.3 miles awayBOpen →SchoolsC+Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 12.5 of 20; 12.4% of households have no car; 0.2% of workers walk, bike or ride transitBOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
Climate–Open →Housing market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 61.6; 19% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
Moving to Chester: who provides what
Chester is unincorporated, so Plumas County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerPG&E37.5¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterChester Public U.d. water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet3 providers95% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesPlumas CountyPlumas County provides services here
Register to voteOnlineIn California you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before).vote.govWho runs elections herePlumas County Clerk-Recorder-ElectionsPlumas County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jul 2025
ZIP code9602096020 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Chester.
SchoolsC+
Chester’s public schools trail 57% of California districts
Its public schools are run by the Plumas Unified school district. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
43%of CA districts it outscoresC+School Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chester ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 171 | – |
| Chester Junior/Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 124 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
HousingCost of living grade C−
The typical home in Chester is valued at about $372K
The typical Chester home is worth about $372,000, about the same as a year ago, 51% below the California typical home. Chester’s median rent is $1,110 a month.
$372KZillow home value
| Chester | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,110 a month | $1,896 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 64% | 73% |
Typical home value
Chester$372K
California$762K
+0.1%
value change, 1 year
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C−
High risk in Chester, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 75% of U.S. communities.
75risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingEarthquakesWildfire
1
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Chester
Chester has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 22° and about 110 inches of snow falls in a winter.
110″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter23–44°
Spring31–59°
Summer45–83°
Fall33–66°
Sep 28
typical first frost
May 28
typical last frost
+1.1°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D
A job hub: Chester has 1.5 jobs for every working resident and draws in 688 commuters
About one in 3 of Chester’s working residents works in town. The median household income in Chester is $47,000. Jobs based in Chester grew to 878 in 2023, 256 more than in 2013.
32%work in town
| Chester | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $47,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 10% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
In Chester32%
Susanville5%
Reno4%
San Francisco3%
Sacramento3%
50 mi
median commute distance
878
jobs based in Chester
Balanced
jobs vs. working residents
B
Walkability grade: more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
HealthB
On CDC estimates, Chester is healthier than 62% of U.S. towns
Chester beats the California average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 38% of Chester adults have high blood pressure.
62%healthier than U.S. townsBHealth Grade
| Chester | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 31% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 77% | 72% | 79% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 16% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 29% | 35% |
32 measures vs. California
11 better13 too close to call8 worse
| What stands out | Chester | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.6% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.4% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.8% | 6.4% |
Seneca District Hospital
0.3 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
9.9%conserved
9.9%
conserved · 463 of 4,689 acres
9.5 mi
of trails · 1.3 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Chester Park | — | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Chester
18pages on Chester
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Chester; the nearest are
Feather River Community College DistrictCommunity college · Public · Quincy27.7 mi$1,465 in-state tuitionLassen Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Susanville32.8 mi$1,144 in-state tuitionCalifornia State University-ChicoUniversity or college · Public · Chico51.1 mi$8,472 in-state tuition
About 1 of every 100 Chester residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
About Chester
Place in California, United States
Chester (formerly Big Meadows) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Plumas County, California, United States. Chester is located on Lake Almanor, 30 miles (48.3 km) north-northwest of Quincy. The town is located along State Route 36. The US Postal Service ZIP code for the community is 96020. The population was 2,187 at the 2020 census, up from 2,144 at the 2010 census. The primary industries in Chester are lumber production and tourism. Chester serves as the retail center for the Lake Almanor region of California, and derives a significant portion of its economy from the tourist trade, and to a lesser degree from construction to new residents and businesses.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 7.4 sq mi
- Elevation
- 4,534 ft
- ZIP code
- 96020
Questions about Chester
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Chester, CA expensive?
Yes. That is 5.6 years of the area's median household income ($66,031 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.