Chester, Pennsylvania demographics

Chester, PA demographics: median age 33.9; 14.4% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Chester city, Pennsylvania · Incorporated city · GEOID 4213208. The survey estimates a population of 33,619 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Chester is 33.9 years, with a 90% margin of error of 2.0 years. There are 12,537 households (±631). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	33.9 ±2.0	40.9 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 33,619
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Under 18	7,897 ±825	23.5% ±2.5 pp	20.4%	22.0%
18–34	9,308 ±870	27.7% ±2.6 pp	21.9%	22.8%
35–64	11,188 ±883	33.3% ±2.6 pp	38.1%	38.0%
65 and older	5,226 ±596	15.5% ±1.8 pp	19.5%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 33,619
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Male	16,357 ±659	48.7% ±2.0 pp	49.3%	49.5%
Female	17,262 ±656	51.3% ±1.9 pp	50.7%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 33,619
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
White alone	4,622 ±636	13.7% ±1.9 pp	74.5%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	24,192 ±1,031	72.0% ±3.1 pp	10.6%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	1 ±3 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.9%
Asian alone	266 ±133	0.8% ±0.4 pp	3.8%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0 ±25 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	2,886 ±871	8.6% ±2.6 pp	3.7%	7.1%
Two or more races	1,652 ±488	4.9% ±1.5 pp	7.1%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 33,619
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	29,889 ±862	88.9% ±2.6 pp	91.3%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	3,730 ±857	11.1% ±2.5 pp	8.7%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 12,537
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Married-couple family	1,769 ±329	14.1% ±2.5 pp	46.2%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	932 ±288	7.4% ±2.3 pp	4.7%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	3,905 ±481	31.1% ±3.5 pp	11.5%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	5,243 ±683	41.8% ±5.0 pp	30.9%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	688 ±218	5.5% ±1.7 pp	6.7%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 12,537
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Households with people under 18	3,668 ±414	29.3% ±3.0 pp	27.0%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	8,869 ±774	70.7% ±5.0 pp	73.0%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 12,537
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	5,243 ±683	41.8% ±5.0 pp	30.9%	28.7%
Two-person households	3,129 ±500	25.0% ±3.8 pp	34.7%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,956 ±400	15.6% ±3.1 pp	14.9%	15.3%
Four-person households	1,133 ±270	9.0% ±2.1 pp	11.7%	12.6%
Five-person households	585 ±198	4.7% ±1.6 pp	5.0%	5.9%
Six-person households	282 ±124	2.2% ±1.0 pp	1.7%	2.2%
Seven or more people	209 ±124 · low precision	1.7% ±1.0 pp · low precision	1.1%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 33,619
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Native	31,914 ±606	94.9% ±1.8 pp	92.3%	85.9%
Foreign born	1,705 ±594	5.1% ±1.8 pp	7.7%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 31,904
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
English only	29,099 ±971	91.2% ±2.8 pp	87.6%	77.7%
Spanish	2,301 ±715	7.2% ±2.2 pp	5.6%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	70 ±69 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	0 ±25 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.9%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	41 ±43 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.8%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	48 ±38 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.7%	2.0%
Korean	24 ±31 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	60 ±57 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.8%	1.1%
Vietnamese	0 ±25 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	31 ±38 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	76 ±92 · low precision	0.2% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.7%	1.1%
Arabic	83 ±58 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	71 ±78 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 20,681
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	3,239 ±571	15.7% ±2.7 pp	7.9%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	9,463 ±868	45.8% ±3.9 pp	32.9%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	3,560 ±545	17.2% ±2.6 pp	15.1%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	1,448 ±327	7.0% ±1.6 pp	8.9%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	1,929 ±410	9.3% ±2.0 pp	20.9%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	1,042 ±265	5.0% ±1.3 pp	14.3%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 33,460
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Same house	30,092 ±676	89.9% ±2.0 pp	89.3%	87.7%
Moved within same county	1,744 ±584	5.2% ±1.7 pp	5.6%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	942 ±305	2.8% ±0.9 pp	2.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	586 ±192	1.8% ±0.6 pp	1.9%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	96 ±81 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

5.7% of Chester residents (±1.4 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 5.6% in Pennsylvania and 8.4% nationally. 88.6% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Chester	Pennsylvania	U.S.	Compared with Pennsylvania
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	5.7% ±1.4 pp	5.6%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	88.6% ±2.2 pp	89.7%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	5.4% ±1.3 pp	6.1%	6.2%	Not statistically different

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Chester . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Chester housing and cost context or return to the city profile.