Welcome to Chester ...
The city of Chester is located in Chester County<1> and is the County Seat for Chester County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Chester, you might consider that their post office opened in 1803.
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 5,367 people<3> (see below for details).
Chester is 540 feet [165 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Chester lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Chester is located in the (803) area code.
The ZIP code for Chester: 29706<5>
Websites for Chester ...
Official Website: www.chestersc.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Chester had an population of 5,367 people. This is a decrease of 4.28% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 17.12% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Chester had a population of 5,607 people (which is 16.92% of the total population of Chester County). This makes Chester the county's most populous community.
The population of Chester represents 0.12% of the population of South Carolina (which has 4,625,364 people), making it the state's 56th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 5,607 people, the population of Chester decreased 13.42% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 6,476 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, Iowa, 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 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.
- Rock Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Hill
- Rock Hill is located in York County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 76,318 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rock Hill <6>
- Fort Lawn
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lawn
- Fort Lawn is located in Chester County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 889 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Lawn <6>
- Sharon
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Sharon is located in York County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 641 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sharon <6>
- Lockhart
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockhart
- Lockhart is located in Union County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 449 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lockhart <6>
- Carlisle
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
- Carlisle is located in Union County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 406 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carlisle <6>
- McConnells
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McConnells
- McConnells is located in York County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 319 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McConnells <6>
- Richburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richburg
- Richburg is located in Chester County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 259 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richburg <6>
- Lowrys
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Cornwell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Smith
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith
- Smith is located in Chester County
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. Our list includes 13 papers. 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 U.S. Post Offices (1803).
We also found Chester in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Chester.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Chester: www.chestersc.org/
The official website for State of South Carolina: https://sc.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of South Carolina's counties, including Chester, 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. |