Welcome to Chester ...

The city of Chester is located in Howard County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Chester, you might get a feel for it by knowing that during our research the earliest mention that we found (so far) was in a book dated 1895.

When the people of Chester refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Chesterite<2>

From the Census Estimates for 2019, Chester has a population of 120 people<3> (see below for details).

Chester is 1,210 feet [369 m] above sea level.<4>.

Time Zone: Chester lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

The area code for Chester: (563)

The ZIP code for Chester: 52134<5>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Chester had an population of 120 people. This is a decrease of 5.51% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 20.53% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Chester had a population of 127 people. This makes Chester the county's 6th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 127 people, the population of Chester decreased 15.89% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 151 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Chester.

Communities Also Named Chester ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 47 communities that are also named Chester - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas (3), Kentucky (3), Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri (2), Montana, Nebraska (2), New Brunswick (2), New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Chester.

Communities near Chester ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Chester.

Cresco
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cresco
- Cresco is located in Howard County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,744 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cresco <6>
Spring Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Spring Valley is located in Fillmore County (MN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,424 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spring Valley <6>
Preston
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
- Preston is located in Fillmore County (MN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,279 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Preston <6>
Grand Meadow
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Meadow have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Meadow
- Grand Meadow is located in Mower County (MN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,194 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grand Meadow <6>
Harmony
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harmony have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Harmony is located in Fillmore County (MN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 982 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harmony <6>
Le Roy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Le Roy have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Roy
- Le Roy is located in Mower County (MN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 932 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Le Roy <6>
Adams
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
- Adams is located in Mower County (MN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 791 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adams <6>
Riceville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riceville have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riceville
- Riceville is located in Howard County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 762 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Riceville <6>
Elma
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elma
- Elma is located in Howard County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 529 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elma <6>
Lime Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Springs
- Lime Springs is located in Howard County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 476 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lime Springs <6>

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Chester. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Chester.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Chester. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Chester.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Chester. See our Newspapers Page for Chester.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Chester ...

Looking for more information about Chester? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Chester, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Chester.

Adding Chester to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Chester in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Chester was in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

We also found Chester on a map titled Rand McNally Map of Iowa (1911).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Chester.

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Chester. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>	If you're interested in how the shape of Iowa's counties, including Howard, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>	A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Chester refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Chester may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<3>	Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Chester.
<4>	The elevation is an estimate for the area around Chester - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>	ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Chester). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Chester or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<6>	While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<7>	The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.