2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Chester, PA vs Columbia, MD

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Highlights
- Household income in Columbia, is 218% more than it is in Chester and is 39% above the National Average.
- Chester unemployment rate is 14.4%.
- Columbia unemployment rate is 4.5%.
 Chester, PAColumbia, MDUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock4.5%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock0.7%1.6%
 Future Job Growth21.7%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes6.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock8.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$19,568  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$113,592$69,021
 Family Median Income$42,168  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Chester, PAColumbia, MDUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock6.2%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K9.6%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock3.7%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K13.5%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock3.4%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K7.7%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock6.4%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K9.4%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock22.5%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K2.4%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock20.1%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Chester, PAColumbia, MDUnited States
 Management, business, finance11.4%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock18.0%6.5%
 Community, social services2.4%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock2.1%1.2%
 Education, library3.8%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.6%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology4.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock2.1%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement3.3%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock4.0%5.4%
 Building maintenance6.0%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.4%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support17.6%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.1%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair4.6%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock5.7%13.1%
Reviews for Chester    7 Reviews

Over 11 years ago

EVEN THOUGH THIS IS A SMALL TOWN, THE TRANSPORTATION IS CONVENIENT FOR ALL MODES OR LINKS TO ALL AREAS OUTSIDE THE  More

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The people are the problem in Chester PA. Probably 97% of the poplulation abuses drugs. Many of the people that live there aide the drug dealers because they grew up  More

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25% of the population living below the poverty line, at times the drop out rate from the high school has been 50% (which explains why 25% of adults over 18 don't have a  More

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Reviews for Columbia    28 Reviews

Over 5 years ago

Lived here for a while, beautiful opportunities, pays well, overall nice  More

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Been here 30 years was great at first but once they added a transit bus from baltimore to columbia 15-18 years ago that was the beginning of the end. And about 5 years  More

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Columbia can be described in one word: unequal. The neighborhood I live in, River Hill, is jam-packed with almost million-dollar homes, while the neighborhoods of Long  More

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