Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 54/100
C−
Median home value$327,200
Richmond $353,500
Median rent$1,603/mo
Richmond $1,447/mo
Cost-burdened households27%
Richmond 30%
Chester
Chesterfield County24,474 residentsChesterfield County Public Schools
62
C
Suburbgrade score
13th of 20 Richmond suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by commute & transport.
62
Richmond median 63
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Chester yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 62 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 Richmond. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 67/100
C+
Within-state proficiency—
percentile among districts in the same state
Student–teacher ratio13.3
Richmond median 14.2
Graduation rate88%
Richmond median 87%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 72/100
B−
Housing cost index98
Richmond 100
Eff. tax rate0.75%
Richmond 0.72%
Local sales tax5.77%
Richmond median 5.77%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 52/100
D+
Mean commute27.8 min
Richmond 25.4 min
Under 30 minutes62%
Richmond 65%
Transit stops / sq mi0.0
Richmond median 0.1 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 62/100
C
Restaurants & cafés53
Richmond median 53 · within 2 miles
Groceries2
Richmond median 5 · within 2 miles
Parks37
Richmond median 17 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 67/100
C+
Median household income$95,104
Richmond $86,679
Unemployment2.5%
Richmond 4.5%
Professional occupations47%
Richmond 47%
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 commute & transport
Chester's weakest grade is D+. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCommuteOverall
Lakeside18 mi from ChesterB+ 67 C+ Short Pump23 mi from ChesterB+ 73 B Richmond13 mi from ChesterB+ 62 C Tuckahoe18 mi from ChesterB+ 67 C+ Manchester11 mi from ChesterB 65 C+ Glen Allen22 mi from ChesterB− 63 C+ Mean commute: ACS 2020–24 · Commuting under 30 minutes: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Chester
Is Chester, VA a good place to live?
Chester scores 62 out of 100, 13th of 20 Richmond suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on commute & transport. 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 $327,200, 7% below the Richmond median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.75%. $1,603/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Chester?
Schools grade C+. The districts serving Chester sit at the — within-state proficiency percentile, with a 88% graduation rate and a 13.3 student–teacher ratio. Chester is served by Chesterfield County Public Schools. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Chester?
The mean commute is 27.8 min, with 62% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 17% working from home. Transit density is 0.0 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Chester?
Within two miles there are 2 groceries, 53 restaurants and cafés and 37 parks, which grades C on amenities.
Are the homes in Chester old or new?
The median home in Chester was built in 1990 — newer than the Richmond median of 1984. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 74% 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.