Chester Waterside Station of the Philadelphia Electric Company · Photo: Jack Boucher · Public domainHow is Chester run?
Chester’s city government spent $68.1 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, about $2,035 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Chester didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Chester is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
Chester-Upland School District
Chester’s K–12 school district, shared with Chester Township, Upland. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $24,532 per pupil, $11,128 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Pennsylvania districts overall: 55% local, 37% state, 8% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
About $2,035 per resident a year, or $5.58 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: police, at 31%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Chester didn’t report all of its 2024 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for Chester yet
Every year of Chester’s figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the city reported none of its dollars for 2022–2024. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →full-time in March 2025, up from 213 in 2022. Both are Census estimates.
The typical homeowner pays $1,675 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 2.02% of the home’s value, vs 1.30% across Pennsylvania.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Chester’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Chester’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Chester →
Who’s in charge in Chester
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Chester’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on chestercity.com ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 151 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (a Census estimate). Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (33,449).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Chester’s votes are counted by county
Pennsylvania reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Chester alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Delaware County’s results.
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat61.3%201,324 votes
Donald J TrumpRepublican37.6%123,421 votesOthers: 1.0% (3,427 votes).
Most votes in Delaware County: Kamala D Harris
Pennsylvania: Trump 50.4%, Harris 48.7%
100% of Chester lies in Delaware County. Every 2024 race in Delaware County is on the county’s page.
Delaware County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Chester.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: chestercity.com ↗
- 2Pennsylvania HouseState representatives
- 3Pennsylvania SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Pennsylvania
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
How Chester compares with the towns next door
Chester’s own figures are Census estimates, so it isn’t placed among its neighbors. 8 of the 8 towns next door reported 2022 figures, from $609 to $2,129 per resident. Tap a town to see its page.
| Town | Day-to-day, per resident (2022) | Tax bill |
|---|---|---|
| Parkside | $609 | $3,928 |
| Nether Providence Township | $858 | $10,000+ |
| Ridley Township | $883 | $6,039 |
| Brookhaven | $888 | $4,742 |
| Chester Township | $1,243 | $2,346 |
| Upland | $1,561 | $2,672 |
| Trainer | $1,634 | $3,590 |
| Eddystone | $2,129 | $3,741 |
| Chester | estimate | $1,675 |
Day-to-day spending in 2022, the last year every government was counted, for governments that reported it; hospital and utilities left out. Tax bill: the typical homeowner’s bill (Census ACS, 2020–24).
Reach Chester’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Chester’s government
How much does Chester spend per resident?
About $2,035 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, a Census Bureau estimate (Chester didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $68.7 million.
What is the property tax rate in Chester?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,675 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 2.02% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.30% across Pennsylvania. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see chestercity.com.
Who runs Chester’s government?
See chestercity.com for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Chester yet.
How did Chester vote in 2024?
Pennsylvania counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Chester alone. Delaware County, where 100% of Chester lies, voted Harris 61.3%, Trump 37.6% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Chester?
222 full-time and 68 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $1.5M (about $17.7M a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents Chester in the state legislature?
State Senate District 9 (John Kane) and State House District 159 (Carol Kazeem). The House district also covers six other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Chester’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (for Chester, the Bureau’s estimates); day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →