Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 10/100
F
Median home value$83,100
Philadelphia $351,900
Median rent$1,091/mo
Philadelphia $1,480/mo
Cost-burdened households47%
Philadelphia 32%
Chester
Delaware County33,619 residentsChester-Upland SD
41
D−
Suburbgrade score
46th of 50 Philadelphia suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by housing & affordability.
41
Philadelphia median 58
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Chester yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 41 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Chester is like to live in, by category
Bars show Chester against Philadelphia. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 28/100
F
Within-state proficiency6th pct
Philadelphia median 48th pct
Student–teacher ratio14.0
Philadelphia median 13.0
Graduation rate74%
Philadelphia median 89%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 76/100
B
Housing cost index65
Philadelphia 100
Eff. tax rate1.75%
Philadelphia 1.37%
Local sales tax6.34%
Philadelphia median 6.34%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 67/100
C+
Mean commute22.9 min
Philadelphia 28.7 min
Under 30 minutes74%
Philadelphia 56%
Transit stops / sq mi5.1
Philadelphia median 0.4 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 71/100
B−
Restaurants & cafés45
Philadelphia median 53 · within 2 miles
Groceries6
Philadelphia median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks42
Philadelphia median 41 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 10/100
F
Median household income$41,342
Philadelphia $91,289
Unemployment18%
Philadelphia 5.9%
Professional occupations24%
Philadelphia 49%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Chester yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Chester on housing & affordability
Chester's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Hockessin17 mi from ChesterA 71 B− Haddonfield18 mi from ChesterB+ 71 B− Bala Cynwyd14 mi from ChesterB− 75 B Greentree22 mi from ChesterB− 64 C+ Moorestown-Lenola23 mi from ChesterB− 66 C+ Broomall9 mi from ChesterB− 71 B− Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Chester
Is Chester, PA a good place to live?
Chester scores 41 out of 100, 46th of 50 Philadelphia suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Chester expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B. The median home is $83,100, 76% below the Philadelphia median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.75%. $1,091/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Chester?
Schools grade F. The districts serving Chester sit at the 6th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 74% graduation rate and a 14.0 student–teacher ratio. Chester is served by Chester-Upland SD. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Chester?
The mean commute is 22.9 min, with 74% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 9.5% working from home. Transit density is 5.1 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Chester?
Within two miles there are 6 groceries, 45 restaurants and cafés and 42 parks, which grades B− on amenities.
Are the homes in Chester old or new?
The median home in Chester was built in 1949 — older than the Philadelphia median of 1966. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 70% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.