Welcome to Chester ...
The city of Chester is located in Hancock County<1>.
The location of Chester has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Chester, you might consider that their post office opened in 1884.
When the people of Chester refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Chesterite<3>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Chester has a population of 2,339 people<4> (see below for details).
Chester is 700 feet [213 m] above sea level.<5>.
Time Zone: Chester lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area codes for Chester: (304) & (681)<6>
The ZIP code for Chester: 26034<7>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Chester had an population of 2,339 people. This is a decrease of 9.52% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 9.76% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Chester had a population of 2,585 people (which is 8.43% of the total population of Hancock County). This makes Chester the county's most populous community.
The population of Chester represents 0.14% of the total population of West Virginia (which has 1,852,994 people), making it the state's 49th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 2,585 people, the population of Chester has remained roughly the same as the 2000 Census (which had a count of 2,592 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 Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
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.
- Weirton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weirton
- Weirton is located in Hancock County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,068 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Weirton <8>
- Steubenville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steubenville
- Steubenville is located in Jefferson County (OH)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,586 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Steubenville <8>
- Economy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east) - Aliquippa
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aliquippa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aliquippa
- Aliquippa is located in Beaver County (PA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,743 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aliquippa <8>
- Beaver Falls
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Falls
- Beaver Falls is located in Beaver County (PA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,255 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beaver Falls <8>
- Ambridge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ambridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambridge
- Ambridge is located in Beaver County (PA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,535 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ambridge <8>
- New Brighton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Brighton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Brighton
- New Brighton is located in Beaver County (PA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,622 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Brighton <8>
- Monaca
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monaca
- Monaca is located in Beaver County (PA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,364 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Monaca <8>
- Toronto
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toronto have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toronto
- Toronto is located in Jefferson County (OH)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,902 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Toronto <8>
- East Palestine
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Palestine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Palestine
- East Palestine is located in Columbiana County (OH)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,382 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Palestine <8>
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 document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>
From that list, the Chester post office opened in 1884.
We also found Chester on a map titled Rand McNally Map of West Virginia (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 West Virginia: https://www.wv.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of West Virginia's counties, including Hancock, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Chester. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Chester - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | Area code (681) is an overlay for area code (304). |
| <7> | 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). |
| <8> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <9> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |