Places/PA/Chester County, PA
County profile

Chester County, PA

United States · GDP 2024
#100 of 3,127 US counties by GDP58th-percentile growthmore diversified than 99% of counties
EA Place Score
methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$60.2B
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
+5.0%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
262,454
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
15,102
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$85.3k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
557,116
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
3.0%
Median HH income
$127.2k±$2.5k
Bachelor's degree+
57.1%±0.8%
Poverty rate
6.0%±0.5%
Business applications
6,896 · 2025
Retail establishments
1,353
24.4/10k pop
Industry mix · employment
Health care25%
Finance & insurance20%
Retail trade17%
Professional services17%
Food & accommodation11%
Management10%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 20202025
557,116
residents · 2025 · +4.2% since 2020
Income per capita $110.9k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 20212025
Domestic migration+8,397
International migration+8,408
Natural change+5,608

GDP trend

20192024 · nominal
$47.5B
2019
$46.6B
2020
$49.8B
2021
$53.8B
2022
$57.3B
2023
$60.2B
2024

Real estate & risk

FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$485.6k±$4.0k
Median gross rent
$1.8k/mo±$28/mo
Vacancy rate
3.6%±0.4%
Affordability
5.7× wages
Residential permits
$423.9M
1,400 units · 2.5/1k pop
FEMA risk score
91.9
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$1.8k/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Drought 99Winter weather 98Heat wave 96
FHFA HOUSE PRICE INDEX · 20162025
584
2016
603
2017
627
2018
646
2019
665
2020
725
2021
823
2022
907
2023
964
2024
1009
2025
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 20212025
-32% since 2021
2,056
2021
2,244
2022
1,295
2023
1,529
2024
1,400
2025

Transport access

BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
12.2 km
I-76
Nearest freight rail
2.4 km
AMTK
Nearest port
32.5 km
Wilmington, DE
Nearest commercial airport
34.9 km
NEW CASTLE
Wage trend
BLS QCEW · 20192023
$85.3k
avg. annual pay · +18% since 2019
The read

What is the GDP of Chester?

Chester's economy produced $60.2B in 2024, growing 5.0% year over yearabout the middle of the pack among US counties. Its largest employment sector is health care.

GDP: BEA (2024), USD-normalized · Jobs/employers/wages & industry mix: Census CBP (2023) · Population & migration: Census PEP · Income: BEA CAINC1 · Companies: SEC EDGAR + FMP, by HQ.