Chester is a very small borough located in the state of New Jersey. With a population of 1,678 people and three associated neighborhoods, Chester is the 444th largest community in New Jersey. Housing costs in Chester are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in New Jersey.Chester is neither predominantly blue-collar nor white-collar, instead having a mixed workforce of both blue-collar and white-collar jobs. Overall, Chester is a borough of professionals, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Chester who work in management occupations (15.72%), sales jobs (11.82%), and business and financial occupations (9.18%). Of important note, Chester is also a borough of artists. Chester has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Chester’s character. Also of interest is that Chester has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. A relatively large number of people in Chester telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 19.18% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Because of many things, Chester is a great place for families with children to consider. First of all, many other families with children live here, making Chester a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families, as well as find family-oriented services and community. The borough’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic values. With regard to real estate, Chester has a high rate of owner-occupied single family homes, which tends to reflect stability in the local community. Finally, Chester’s overall crime rate is lower than average for the country. One downside of living in Chester, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 30.55 minutes every day commuting to work. If knowledge is power, Chester is a pretty powerful place. 59.78% of the adults in Chester have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns. The per capita income in Chester in 2022 was $74,526, which is wealthy relative to New Jersey and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $298,104 for a family of four. Chester is a somewhat ethnically-diverse borough. The people who call Chester home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Chester residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Chester include Italian, Irish, German, English, and Polish. The most common language spoken in Chester is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Scandinavian languages.
