Photo: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) · Public domainChesterfield has higher unemployment (9.7%) than 94% of U.S. towns
About one in ten work in Chesterfield; the top destination outside it is Plattsburgh (19%, 16 miles). Jobs and income earn Chesterfield D; getting around on foot earns it C−. For 4% of workers, the job is at home (New York 15%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Chesterfield: the figures worth knowing
Commutes from Chesterfield are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Chesterfield than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Chesterfield fell from 424 in 2013 to 282 in 2023, −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 ↓
Few Chesterfield workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 15% across New York. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 956 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Chesterfield’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chesterfield is better than 9% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Chesterfield’s grade up ($65,278, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Chesterfield could be anywhere from D− to B−.
Getting to work from Chesterfield takes about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chesterfield workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 881 commuters (the 4% 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.
What the 282 jobs in Chesterfield are
282 jobs are based in Chesterfield.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chesterfield, 2013 → 2023: 424 → 282. 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 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Chesterfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Chesterfield for work, and who comes in
On a workday 870 residents head out to work, 86 work right here, and 196 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in Chesterfield on a workday afternoon, 28% fewer than live here.
0.29 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 2023, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Chesterfield’s residents
Where Chesterfield clocks in
19% of workers
13% of workers
8% 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.
How far Chesterfield’s workers travel
About 22% 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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Most trips from Chesterfield start in a car
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 1.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 32.9% across New York, on an EPA index of 4.7.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 916 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). 1.8% of Chesterfield households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Chesterfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
4,409th of 4,995: where Chesterfield ranks among U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Atlantic Beach NY | 1,723 | $166K | 1.8% | 3.1% | 3% | A+ |
| 7 | Village of the Branch NY | 1,764 | $174K | 1.5% | 3.1% | 2% | A+ |
| 8 | Old Brookville NY | 2,098 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,407 | Hayward WI | 2,614 | $46K | 22.1% | 5.0% | 33% | D |
| 4,408 | Center Township IN | 2,801 | $53K | 16.2% | 8.2% | 22% | D |
| 4,409 | Chesterfield NY | 2,402 | $65K | 18.5% | 9.7% | 9% | D |
| 4,410 | Vado NM | 2,895 | $37K | 25.7% | 8.2% | 2% | D |
| 4,411 | Gila Bend AZ | 1,816 | $52K | 12.2% | 0.0% | 22% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,995 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Chesterfield, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
Bordering towns draw 10% of Chesterfield’s workers
The biggest share goes to Au Sable (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chesterfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesterfield | – | D | C− | 21 min | $65,278 |
| Au Sable | 8% | C | C− | 26 min | $95,069 |
| Willsboro | under 2% | C− | C | 24 min | $69,766 |
| Lewis | under 2% | B− | D− | 25 min | $82,083 |
| Jay | 2% | B− | C− | 28 min | $72,380 |
| Willsboro Point | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Willsboro Point: 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 Chesterfield’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 2023, 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 Chesterfield: questions
What is the median household income in Chesterfield?
$65,278 (±$23,723) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chesterfield?
18.5%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chesterfield?
21 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chesterfield work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Plattsburgh (19%, 16 mi), Plattsburgh (13%, 17 mi), Au Sable (8%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chesterfield walkable?
Chesterfield is more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 4.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chesterfield without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chesterfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chesterfield
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, 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.