county

Chester County, SC

Demographic and economic profile of Chester County, SC, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Chester County's economy produces $39,629 in GDP per capita against a median household income of $52,458 and median worker earnings of $35,272, reflecting a cost structure well below national norms, with median home values at $143,800 and gross rent at $918 per month. The labor pool of roughly 18,180 workers (56.5% participation rate) skews toward high school-educated workers, with only 13.7% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 6.5% sits above typical regional benchmarks. The county's population of 32,177 has edged down 0.5% over five years, a poverty rate of 19.3% signals persistent economic stress, and a 78.4% homeownership rate points to a largely settled, owner-occupant residential base.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

32,177

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$52,458

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

42.4 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-0.5% since 2018

Chester County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone18,737 (58.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone11,183 (34.7%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,147 (3.6%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race513 (1.6%)
  • Some Other Race Alone416 (1.3%)
  • Asian Alone126 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish264
  2. 2.Vietnamese91
  3. 3.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)21
  4. 4.Other Asian and Pacific Island12
  5. 5.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)6

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

18.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

2,081

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$39,629

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$27,656

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

6.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

19.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Manufacturing (Group)3,007
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,526
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)1,447
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,222
  5. 5.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities1,174

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations3,754
  2. 2.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations3,168
  3. 3.Service Occupations3,020
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations2,638
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,629

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 2.18×)2,961
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.42×)310
  3. 3.Other Services (LQ 1.32×)851
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.29×)1,033
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.15×)1,714

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$143,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$918/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

78.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9991,282 (12.4%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999904 (8.8%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999838 (8.1%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999815 (7.9%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999799 (7.7%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999748 (7.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

13.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

84.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

56.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$35,272

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

31.6 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone11,877 (84.4%)
  • Carpooled1,113 (7.9%)
  • Worked At Home779 (5.5%)
  • Other217 (1.5%)
  • Walked62 (0.4%)
  • Motorcycle17 (0.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.

More on FDI Connect

Compare Chester County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.