CHESTER COUNTY
T
he welcome mat is out in Chester County for businesses, residents, and visitors, so “Ya’ll come!” Southern hospitality and charm are personified in the county’s small towns and farms. Centered between the Charlotte, N.C., Columbia, S.C., and Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C. metropolitan areas, Chester County is strategically located for commercial growth. A variety of industry sectors provide job opportunities for the reliable local work force.
CHESTER COUNTY POPULATION
ESRI demographic data shows Chester, the county’s largest city, has a population of 6,174. The county population has remained stagnant since 2000, when the figure was 34,068. In 2006, the population dropped very slightly to 33,482, and in 2011, the figure is projected to be 32,732. The annual population growth rate is -0.45 percent, lower than the national figure of 1.2 percent. Persons in age ranges are fairly evenly distributed between 25-34, 35-44 and 45-54 years at 12.8 percent, 14.3 percent and 14.5 percent; with the percentage 18+ years at 75.2 percent.
Per U.S. Census Block Group
The services, manufacturing, retail, and construction industry sectors are providing jobs to most county residents who are working. According to ESRI data, Chester County’s unemployment rate for those aged 16+ years averaged 14.0 percent in 2006.
613-765 766-927 928-1,177 1,178-1,476 1,477-1,844
© ESRI 2006
CHESTER COUNTY COMMUNITY™ TAPESTRY™
Work force education data shows that nearly 36.1 percent of county residents are high school graduates; 16 percent have attended more than one year of college, and 6.1 percent hold a bachelor’s degree. Figures show very slight increases for per capita and household median incomes: 2000 per capita income was $14,709; in 2006 the figure was $18,192, and the projected figure for 2011 is $21,253. Median household income rose from $32,547 in 2000 to $38,523 in 2006, and is projected at $43,566 for 2011. Residents of Chester County can also be viewed by ESRI segmentation data. Here is a list and descriptive phrase for each group that is found in Chester County: • Factories & Farms: Small settled communities near jobs • Metropolis: Varied ages and household types in America’s large and small cities • American Quilt: Households in small towns and rural areas • Senior Styles: Seniors vary by income, age, housing type • Traditional Living: Hard working, settled families
Dominant LifeMode by U.S. Census Block Group Factories & Farms Metropolis American Quilt Senior Styles Traditional Living
64
© ESRI 2006
ESRI Retail MarketPlace data provides a direct comparison between retail sales and consumer spending by industry for Chester County. This data concludes that current retail offerings are not meeting the consumer demand across most of the surveyed industry sectors. The most significant leakages occur in the Electronics & Appliance Stores and Motor Vehicle & Parts Dealers sectors. A surplus appears in the Furniture & Home Furnishing Stores sector.
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