Photo: Nyttend · Public domainWith 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Chester Township works elsewhere
269 jobs are based in Chester Township, against 667 working residents. The two grades for Chester Township are C for jobs and income and D for walkability. Only 3% work in Chester Township itself; outside it, Columbus draws the most (14%, 36 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Chester Township
Chester Township’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Chester Township is Columbus, 36 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (96) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Chester Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 23 across Ohio. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 107 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (25 to 32 minutes). 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 667 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Chester Township
On income, poverty and job access, Chester Township is better than 34% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Chester Township’s grade up (8.8%, U.S. 12.5%); household income pulls it down ($60,405, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (0.0%) is left out: Chester Township’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Chester Township could be anywhere from D to B+.
Half of Chester Township commutes less than 26 miles
About 18% 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.
Getting to work from Chester Township takes about 37 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chester Township workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 764 commuters (the 8% who work from home are left out). Across Ohio: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Who works in Chester Township, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 644 residents head out to work, 23 work right here, and 246 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in Chester Township on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Chester Township: the destinations
Where Chester Township clocks in
14% of workers
6% 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 Chester Township’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chester Township, 2013 → 2023: 115 → 269. 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 Chester Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Chester Township, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chester Township is more walkable than 5% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 0.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.7% across Ohio, on an EPA index of 3.2.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 831 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). 12.2% of Chester Township households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Chester Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Chester Township ranks: 3,328th of 5,793 U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,800
| # | 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 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | New California OH | 1,672 | $162K | 0.0% | 1.1% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Jersey Township OH | 2,678 | $136K | 2.4% | 1.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Silver Lake OH | 2,504 | $140K | 2.9% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,326 | Butler Township MI | 1,415 | $71K | 9.1% | 3.6% | 1% | C |
| 3,327 | Golden Township MI | 1,704 | $67K | 6.8% | 12.8% | 11% | C |
| 3,328 | Chester Township OH | 2,062 | $60K | 8.8% | 0.0% | 3% | C |
| 3,329 | Dublin Township OH | 2,056 | $65K | 8.9% | 2.0% | 10% | C |
| 3,330 | Wiggins CO | 1,868 | $92K | 11.5% | 1.7% | 10% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,793 | 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 Chester Township, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
Around Chester Township: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to South Bloomfield Township (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chester Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chester Township | – | C | D | 37 min | $60,405 |
| Wayne Township | under 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Harmony Township | under 3% | A− | D | 32 min | $118,375 |
| Franklin Township | under 3% | C | B | 25 min | $79,485 |
| South Bloomfield Township | 4% | B | C− | 27 min | $86,935 |
Same-state neighbors only. Wayne Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Chester Township’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 Chester Township: questions
What is the median household income in Chester Township?
$60,405 (±$15,069) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chester Township?
8.8%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chester Township?
37 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chester Township work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Columbus (14%, 36 mi), Delaware (6%, 24 mi), Mount Vernon (4%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chester Township walkable?
Chester Township is more walkable than 5% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 3.2 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chester Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chester Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chester Township
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.