Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Chesterfield’s subject grades are an A for the outdoors and an A− for history; the weakest is a D for incomes. On incomes, just 61 of New York’s 1,216 towns do worse. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 81% of U.S. towns. 15% of the land in Chesterfield is conserved, where New York’s towns sit at 5.2% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Eagle Mountain Wilderness Preserve, at 2,416 acres with 3.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Chesterfield has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Chesterfield beats most towns.
Census counts: 667 in 1820, a peak of 4,171 in 1850, 2,476 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1850 and 3 maps from 1895 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Chesterfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Chesterfield. Close and well known come first.
Big draw8 mi LakeLake Champlain
33 mi MountainMount Marcy
in town Canyon & gorgeAusable Chasm
32 mi MountainMount Mansfield
23 mi MountainWhiteface Mountain
12 mi MuseumShelburne MuseumLake Champlain: Copernicus Sentinel-2, ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo · Mount Marcy: Daniel Tripp, Public domain · Ausable Chasm: Alan Prusila / Alanp35 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Mansfield: Original uploader was Calzarette (Joe Calzarette) at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Whiteface Mountain: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Shelburne Museum: Storylanding, CC0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Chesterfield, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Chesterfield.
Most working residents leave Chesterfield for work: only 9% work in town. 19% of residents live below the poverty line in Chesterfield, above both the New York town median (9.5%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Jobs based in Chesterfield fell to 282 in 2023, 142 fewer than in 2013.
| Chesterfield | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Chesterfield has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Chesterfield is 79°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
67 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. Chesterfield’s trail density is 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Drake mountain | 7.3 mi | 2,382 |
| 2. Wickham Marsh Wildlife Management Area | 5.8 mi | 705 |
| 3. Eagle Mountain Wilderness Preserve | 3.9 mi | 2,416 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (23% statewide); people 65 and older are 23% of residents (18% statewide). 24% of Chesterfield residents are under 18. Chesterfield has lost 2.9% of its people since 2020, down to 2,402 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Chesterfield | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 24% | 20% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 20% | 18% |
| Median age | 43.2 years | 43 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 32% | 29% |
Somewhere between 39% and 61% women
The Census survey reached too few of Chesterfield’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±11.1 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women.
| Chesterfield | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.3% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 14% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.4% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.6% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.6% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.5% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.7% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.4% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.6% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.4% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34.7% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.2% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.5% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.2% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,400, single groups can be off by several points
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1993, 8 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Chesterfield.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Chesterfield beats the New York average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 34% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Chesterfield.
| Chesterfield | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 37% | 36% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 5.5% | 5.9% | 8.1% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 21% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Chesterfield | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.5% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.4% | 17.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.9% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
4 within 15 miles of the center of Chesterfield
About 7 of every 100 Chesterfield residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York.
Where Chesterfield’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
7 places in Chesterfield on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in New York, United States
Chesterfield is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 2,445 at the 2010 census. The name possibly is from a location in New England. Chesterfield is in the northeasternmost part of the county and is 13 miles (21 km) west of Burlington, Vermont (by ferry), 16 mi (26 km) south of Plattsburgh, 77 mi (124 km) south of Montreal, Quebec, and 144 mi (232 km) north of Albany. The town is entirely inside the Adirondack Park.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Chesterfield.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesterfield | — | — | B+ | — | C | B |
| Au Sable | #533 | C | B− | — | C+ | B+ |
| Willsboro | — | — | B+ | — | C− | B |
| Lewis | — | — | B+ | — | C | B+ |
| Jay | — | — | C+ | — | C | B+ |
| Keeseville | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Willsboro Point | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Chesterfield, Willsboro, Lewis and Jay have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Chesterfield, Au Sable, Willsboro, Lewis and Jay report no FBI crime data of their own. Keeseville and Willsboro Point aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Chesterfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
