Town · Dodge County, Georgia

Chester, Georgia

Chester is a town in Dodge County, Georgia. It has 1,808 residents. Chester, Georgia has a quality-of-life score of 1 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,516 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Georgia it ranks #368 of 386 cities and towns. It ranks best on depression (low), home price to income ratio (low) and effective property tax rate (low). It ranks worst on average weekly wage (low), restaurants and bars (low) and bachelor's degree or higher (low).

1Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,516 of 15,651 cities and towns
Georgia: #368 of 386 in GA
Population: 1,808 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 2,053.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 1315900

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety7#14,472/15,637
Economy11#13,898/15,631
Housing49#7,613/14,977
Health15#13,279/15,609
Healthcare7#14,547/15,650
Environment18#12,695/15,453
Education8#14,452/15,649
Infrastructure3#15,142/15,650
Community6#14,748/15,651
Leisure & amenities2#15,389/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Chester, Georgia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Dodge County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Depression · low16.3%
95/100Georgia 19.3%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Home price to income ratio · low1.5×
94/100Georgia 3.9×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077High uncertainty
Effective property tax rate · low0.41%
93/100Georgia 0.79%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090High uncertainty
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Georgia 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDodge County value
Comfortable days · high31.5%
85/100Georgia 31.5%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationDodge County value
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100Georgia 1 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyDodge County value

Weaknesses

Average weekly wage · low$816
1/100Georgia $1,404United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDodge County value
Restaurants and bars · low2.5 /10k
1/100Georgia 8.5 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDodge County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · low5.3%
2/100Georgia 35.0%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low1.0 /10k
3/100Georgia 4.9 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDodge County value
Primary care shortage · high19.0
3/100Georgia 8.2United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationDodge County value
Loneliness · high40.9%
3/100Georgia 37.9%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
2,102 (2015-2019) → 1,808 (2020-2024)
−14%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
34.0% (2015-2019) → 80.5% (2020-2024)
+46 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$17,692 (2015-2019) → $56,048 (2020-2024)
+217%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
59.6% (2015-2019) → 43.5% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
1.4 /1k (2021) → 0.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−60%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Home price to income ratioImproving
3.5× (2015-2019) → 1.5× (2020-2024)
−58%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Chester, Georgia improved on 3 of 8 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 5 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Household income+217%$17,692 → $56,048
Broadband+46 points34.0% → 80.5%
Inequality−0.1530.586 → 0.433

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 8 measures

Change of every measure of Chester, Georgia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	32.7 min2015-2019	37.3 min2020-2024	+4.6 min	Within the margin of error	11%
Broadband subscriptions	34.0%2015-2019	80.5%2020-2024	+46 points	Improved	100%
High school diploma or higher	72.7%2015-2019	75.9%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	69%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5862015-2019	0.4332020-2024	−0.153	Improved	99%
Median household income	$17,6922015-2019	$56,0482020-2024	+217%	Improved	100%
Poverty rate	48.1%2015-2019	38.3%2020-2024	−9.8 points	Within the margin of error	92%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	29.7%2015-2019	20.1%2020-2024	−9.7 points	Within the margin of error	96%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Chester, Georgia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Chester, Georgia in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

No place that looked like Chester, Georgia five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

For comparison, Chester, Georgia itself moved +13 points in standing on average over the same 5 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,808 residents (±212)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

200 households (±72)

Chester, Georgia
Georgia share

Under $25k28%†55
$25k–50k9.5%†19
$50k–75k35%

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

200 households (±72)

Chester, Georgia
Georgia share

Own59%†118
Rent41%†82

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

283 workers (±108)

Chester, Georgia
Georgia share

Drive alone81%†228
Carpool19%†54
Public transit

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Dodge County, the county holding most of Chester's residents.

Dodge County has 311 employer establishments, 157 for every 10,000 residents (0.63× the US rate of 248; 0.67× Georgia's), with 3,117 paid employees at an average annual pay of $37,555. The Census Bureau also counts 1,630 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 311; 1,630 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 157; US 248 · Georgia 236
Paid employees: 3,117
Average annual pay: $37,555; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Dodge County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	28	14.2	0.68×Fewer than typical	353	$38,269	91
Religious organizations	20	10.1	1.82×More than typical	59	$19,288	—
Restaurants and other eating places	20	10.1	0.55×Fewer than typical	200	$17,565	5
Specialty trade contractors	20	10.1	0.65×Fewer than typical	140	$51,786	105
Gasoline stations	15	7.6	2.34×More than typical	54	$25,000	—
Limited-service restaurants	15	7.6	0.95×About typical	162	$17,870	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	10	5.1	1.00×About typical	45	$38,867	60
Building equipment contractors	10	5.1	0.84×About typical	106	$54,943	18
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	9	4.6	1.12×Too few to compare	24	$28,292	19
Grocery and convenience stores	9	4.6	1.53×Too few to compare	66	$26,015	9
General merchandise stores	8	4	2.29×Too few to compare	293	$26,334	10
Offices of physicians	8	4	0.62×Too few to compare	70	$41,471	8

Rank places for an industry Open Dodge County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 19,777 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Chester, Georgia: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

10.8FY2019

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Chester, Georgia, so they do not add up across cities.

Chester, Georgia's figures are part of those of Dodge County, GA ($290.4K in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Chester is mostly in Dodge County.

See federal money in Dodge County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Chester, Georgia is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Austin ScottR-GA-8 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.3%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Dodge County2100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Dodge County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1315900

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends