Photo: Roseohioresident · CC BY-SA 4.0At 1.0%, unemployment in Chester Township is lower than in 94% of U.S. towns
Only 7% stay in Chester Township for work; outside it, Wooster is the main destination (26%, 7 miles). The two grades for Chester Township are B for jobs and income and C for walkability. A typical one-way commute lasts 26 minutes; Ohio averages 23, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Why Chester Township gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chester Township is better than 62% of U.S. towns, #476 of 992 in Ohio. Unemployment holds Chester Township’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (13.6%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Chester Township could be anywhere from C to A.
Chester Township quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,171 residents head out to work, 94 work right here, and 438 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in Chester Township on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
0.42 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.
Where people from Chester Township work
Where Chester Township clocks in
5% of workers
4% 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.
Jobs in Chester Township: what the 532 are
532 jobs are based in Chester Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chester Township, 2013 → 2023: 605 → 532. 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.
The trip to work from Chester Township: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 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 1,168 commuters (the 11% 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.
Half of Chester Township commutes less than 14 miles
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.
In Chester Township, the car does most of the work
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.7% across Ohio, 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 1,319 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). 3.2% of Chester Township households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Chester Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Chester Township ranks: 1,682nd of 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% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Jersey Township OH | 2,678 | $136K | 2.4% | 1.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Silver Lake OH | 2,504 | $140K | 2.9% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Evendale OH | 2,657 | $149K | 1.5% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,680 | Lytle TX | 3,626 | $71K | 8.8% | 4.1% | 5% | B |
| 1,681 | Ervin Township IN | 2,113 | $120K | 3.4% | 6.8% | 3% | B |
| 1,682 | Chester Township OH | 3,038 | $74K | 13.6% | 1.0% | 7% | B |
| 1,683 | Daugherty Township PA | 3,035 | $88K | 6.7% | 6.1% | 2% | B |
| 1,684 | Palo Cedro CA | 3,685 | $120K | 6.6% | 5.8% | 7% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,771 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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.
Next door to Chester Township
The biggest share goes to Plain Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chester Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chester Township | – | B | C | 26 min | $73,625 |
| Perry Township | under 2% | C | D− | 31 min | $77,440 |
| Wayne Township | under 2% | B+ | B+ | 18 min | $84,746 |
| Plain Township | 2% | B | C | 24 min | $85,909 |
| Congress Township | under 2% | B | C+ | 29 min | $71,958 |
Same-state neighbors only. 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?
$73,625 (±$30,507) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chester Township?
13.6%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chester Township?
26 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chester Township work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wooster (26%, 7 mi), Ashland (5%, 14 mi), Orrville (4%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chester Township walkable?
Chester Township is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 4.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chester Township without a car?
1% 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 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.