Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Earning a living in Chester Center
Only 5% work in Chester Center; the top destination outside it is Chester (11%, 2 miles). The trip to work takes 25 minutes on average; Connecticut averages 27, the U.S. 26. 529 jobs are based in Chester Center; 793 of its residents have a job.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Chester Center apart
Fewer jobs are based in Chester Center than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Chester Center fell from 793 in 2014 to 529 in 2024, −33%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Chester Center’s workforce skews older
40% of Chester Center’s working residents are 55 or older. That’s about two in five. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 793 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The kinds of work in Chester Center
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chester Center, 2014 → 2024: 793 → 529. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Chester Center’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Chester Center on a workday afternoon
On a workday 756 residents head out to work, 37 work right here, and 492 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,800 people are in Chester Center on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.67 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Where people from Chester Center work
Where Chester Center clocks in
11% of workers
8% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Time on the road from Chester Center: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chester Center workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 784 commuters (the 20% who work from home are left out). Across Connecticut: 82% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The distance from Chester Center to work
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Work in the towns next to Chester Center
The biggest share goes to Deep River (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chester Center workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chester Center | – | — | — | 25 min | $89,375 |
| Deep River | 4% | B+ | A− | 24 min | $90,253 |
| Deep River Center | under 3% | — | — | 20 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Deep River Center: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Chester Center’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Chester Center: questions
What is the median household income in Chester Center?
$89,375 (±$43,353) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chester Center?
17.1%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chester Center?
25 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chester Center work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chester (11%, 2 mi), Essex (8%, 4 mi), New Haven (5%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Chester Center without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chester Center, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chester Center
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.