Chester County, South Carolina

• White (non-Hispanic) 18,579 57.7%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race) 974 3.0%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 11,102 34.5%
• Asian (non-Hispanic) 126 0.4%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 1,243 3.9%
• American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 49 0.2%
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 11 0.0%
• Some other race (non-Hispanic) 98 0.3%

• Under 18 7,183 22.3%
• 18–24 2,516 7.8%
• 25–44 7,520 23.4%
• 45–64 8,774 27.3%
• 65 and over 6,189 19.2%

Median household income

$55,584

90% interval $50,459–$60,709

−$16,923 vs SC · 30th of 46

Below poverty line

16.4%

90% interval 13.2%–19.6%

+3.1 pp vs SC · 25th of 46

Unemployment (12-mo)

5.7%

+1 pp vs. state

County GDP

$1.8B

0.51% of state

Avg. annual pay

$61,267

Establishments

671

• Manufacturing 3,632 34.3%
• Trade, transportation & utilities 2,332 22.0%
• Construction 771 7.3%
• Leisure & hospitality 680 6.4%
• Professional & business services 425 4.0%
• Education & health services 314 3.0%
• Other services 165 1.6%
• Information 158 1.5%
• Financial activities 152 1.4%
• Natural resources & mining 106 1.0%
• Public administration 6 0.1%

The sectors listed cover 82.6% of covered employment; BLS withholds the rest to avoid disclosing individual employers.

Home ownership

78.4%

+6.5 pp vs SC · 8th of 46

Median gross rent

$853

−$327 vs SC · 29th of 46

Owner-occupied

10,321

Renter-occupied

2,838

• Moderately concentrated

  Top three sectors employ 64% of the county workforce. Substantial intra-sector overlap among panelists is likely; confirm employer relationships before sector-specific framing.

• Wide wage spread

  Highest-paid sector (Information, $93,913/yr) pays 4.6× the lowest (Leisure & hospitality, $20,322/yr). Stark intra-economy class divisions on the panel; calibrate damages and lost-wages framing to that range.

• Mixed business scale

  Average establishment employs 16 workers, a mix of institutional employers and small businesses. Both employed-by-large-institution and small-business-owner perspectives are likely on the panel.

• Republican 9,030 58.0%
• Democratic 6,353 40.8%
• Other / third-party 173 1.1%

• Spanish 470 1.5%
• Vietnamese 97 0.3%
• Chinese 24 0.1%
• Russian, Polish, or other Slavic 15 0.0%
• Arabic 1 0.0%

Households

13,159

Family households

8,855

67.3% of households

Married couples w/ children

1,366

15.4% of families

Single-mother families

959

10.8% of families

Veterans

2,081

8.4% of civilians 18+

• Evangelical Protestant 13,688 42.4%
• Black Protestant 5,206 16.1%
• Mainline Protestant 1,865 5.8%
• Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 964 3.0%
• Catholic 381 1.2%

Health insured

88.3%

±2 pp

Uninsured

11.7%

±2 pp

11th of 46

With a disability

14.2%

±1.4 pp

37th of 46

Bachelor's or higher

14.0%

±1.6 pp

−18.1 pp vs SC · 40th of 46

Uninsured, under 65 (2024)

13.1%

90% interval 11.7%–14.5% · Census SAHIE

The under-65 uninsured rate is not comparable to the ACS insurance figures, which cover all ages.

Trial court

6th Judicial Circuit Court

Judges

2 (Resident Circuit Court judgeships authorized for this circuit by S.C. Code Ann. 14-5-610, as amended by 2026 Act No. 154. Authorized seats, not seated judges; South Carolina also elects at-large circuit judges statewide who are not counted in any circuit.)

Court seats

Chester, Lancaster, Winnsboro

This judicial district spans multiple counties.

Traffic fatalities

8

32 per 100k adults (18+)

Fatal crashes

8