† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
20042024
Boundary by 2024 margin · Precinct returns · VEST · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupChesterPennsylvaniaUnited States
African American†57.9%8.7%9.9%
African3.6%0.4%0.5%
Liberian3.0%——
Jamaican2.3%0.3%0.4%
Haitian1.6%0.2%0.3%
Nigerian1.0%—0.2%
Sierra Leonean1.0%——
Ghanaian0.7%——
Irish4.9%14.8%9.4%
Italian3.2%10.6%4.8%
German2.6%21.6%12.5%
English1.7%8.3%9.5%
Polish0.8%5.4%2.2%
American0.6%4.4%5.3%
Scottish0.3%1.1%1.3%
French0.2%—1.6%
Puerto Rican3.6%3.7%1.8%
Mexican2.0%1.4%11.3%
Ecuadorian1.1%——
Honduran0.7%—0.3%
Cuban0.4%0.2%0.7%
Dominican0.4%1.4%0.7%
Colombian0.4%0.2%0.4%
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Chester
Pennsylvania
United States
Median age
33.9
41.2
39.1
Age 18–24
15.0%
8.9%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
15.4%
19.5%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Chester
Pennsylvania
United States
Median household income
$41,342
$77,971
$84,427
Poverty rate
29.0%
11.7%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
14.4%
35.2%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Chester
Pennsylvania
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
8.8%
12.4%
22.3%
Spanish
7.2%
5.6%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Chester
Pennsylvania
United States
Catholic
—
21.9%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
—
9.3%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
—
53.1%
51.5%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Chester, Pennsylvania
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2004–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
2004
+85.2%
2008
+86.5%
2012
+89.2%
2016
+86.3%
2020
+84.5%
2024
+79.1%
DemocraticRepublican
6 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year. Third-party votes in 2012 are allocated from certified county totals by this place's share of each county's two-party vote — that cycle's precinct source records two-party splits. † 2004 sub-county results are estimated: the source's block-level detail for this cycle was unreliable — either county/municipality-level consolidated reporting (COVID-era) or a precinct-to-block allocation that misplaced votes — so the figures are allocated from the constituent county totals in proportion to the place and scaled to certified totals.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
D
89.1%Harris10,802
10.0%Trump1,215
0.9%
D+79.1
R+5.4
D+80.6
12,122
D
92.0%Biden11,613
7.4%Trump939
0.6%
D+84.5
R+1.7
D+80.1
12,627
D
92.5%Clinton12,847
6.2%Trump859
1.4%
D+86.3
R+3.0
D+84.2
13,895
D
94.1%Obama14,622
4.9%Romney757
1.0%
D+89.2
D+2.8
D+85.4
15,538
D
92.9%Obama14,553
6.4%McCain1,009
0.7%
D+86.5
D+1.3
D+79.2
15,664
D
92.3%Kerry13,242
7.2%Bush1,026
0.5%
D+85.2
—
D+87.6
14,345
Chester turns in some of Pennsylvania's most lopsided Democratic margins — routinely above 85% — while grappling with a state-appointed receiver overseeing its finances, making it an outlier in an otherwise competitive suburban county.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 89.2 points in 2012. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 5.4 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 79.1 points.
A population of 33,619, a 14% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $41,342 describe the city. The city's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Calumet City and Milford Mill.
Akashic
Political twins — cities
The cities whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
In 2024, Chester, Pennsylvania voted Democratic by 79.1 points (D+79.1), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 12,122 votes cast, 10,802 went Democratic and 1,215 went Republican.
How many people live in Chester, Pennsylvania?
Chester, Pennsylvania has a population of 33,619 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Chester, Pennsylvania?
Median household income in Chester, Pennsylvania is $41,342 — below the national median of $80,734. The Pennsylvania state median is $77,971.
What is the political history of Chester, Pennsylvania?
Akashic tracks 6 presidential elections in Chester, Pennsylvania from 2004 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 0 went Republican.
