Photo: Novis-M · Public domainUnemployment in Chester (2.6%) is lower than in 76% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are higher than in 62% of U.S. towns. For jobs and income Chester is better than 55% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 42% of U.S. towns (C+). The trip to work takes 24 minutes on average, next to 33 for New York and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Chester: the gist
Commutes from Chester are quick
The average trip to work takes 24 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Chester’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Chester is Queensbury, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (124) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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.
The four measures behind Chester’s grade
Unemployment holds Chester’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 5% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Chester could be anywhere from C− to A−.
How long Chester spends getting to work: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chester workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,120 commuters (the 11% who work from home are left out). Across New York: 57% drive alone, 25% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Where in the region Chester works
About 29% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Who commutes out of Chester, and who commutes in
On a workday 991 residents head out to work, 288 work right here, and 610 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,700 people are in Chester on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.70 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.
10% of working residents work in Queensbury
Where Chester clocks in
10% of workers
6% 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.
What the 898 jobs in Chester are
898 jobs are based in Chester.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chester, 2014 → 2024: 1,010 → 898. 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’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Chester, most people drive to work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,261 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.4% of Chester households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Chester’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Chester is 2,048th among 4,771 U.S. towns of 2,100 to 4,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | East Williston NY | 2,616 | $215K | 2.3% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 10 | Lloyd Harbor NY | 3,587 | $250K | 2.1% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 46 | Great Neck Estates NY | 3,139 | $238K | 5.7% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,046 | Littlefield Township MI | 3,192 | $85K | 8.0% | 2.8% | 4% | B |
| 2,047 | Chester Township OH | 2,401 | $65K | 5.7% | 1.3% | 4% | B |
| 2,048 | Chester NY | 3,064 | $85K | 6.6% | 2.6% | 23% | B− |
| 2,049 | Pike Township OH | 3,860 | $75K | 5.1% | 7.9% | 4% | B− |
| 2,050 | Berlin Township OH | 3,390 | $74K | 11.5% | 3.1% | 4% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,771 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Chester, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
10% of Chester works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Warrensburg (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chester workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chester | – | B− | C+ | 24 min | $84,623 |
| Horicon | under 3% | C+ | C+ | 20 min | $80,750 |
| Johnsburg | 4% | C− | C | 26 min | $60,987 |
| Thurman | under 3% | D | D− | 33 min | $58,750 |
| Warrensburg | 6% | C | C+ | 21 min | $60,907 |
| Minerva | under 3% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| North Creek | under 3% | — | — | 20 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Minerva: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. North Creek: 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’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: questions
What is the median household income in Chester?
$84,623 (±$20,106) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chester?
6.6%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chester?
24 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chester work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Queensbury (10%, 24 mi), Warrensburg (6%, 13 mi), Glens Falls (5%, 28 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Chester walkable?
Chester is more walkable than 42% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chester without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chester, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chester
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.