2026 Compare Cities Economy:
Chester, VA vs Decatur, IL

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Highlights
- Household income in Decatur, is 43% less than it is in Chester and is 53% below the National Average.
- Chester unemployment rate is 4.8%.
- Decatur unemployment rate is 10.3%.
 Chester, VADecatur, ILUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock10.3%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock1.7%1.6%
 Future Job Growth37.5%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes5.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock5.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$34,539  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$45,111$69,021
 Family Median Income$91,195  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Chester, VADecatur, ILUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock16.2%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K2.5%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock11.4%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K9.6%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock11.2%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K7.2%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock10.6%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K15.1%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock10.5%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K10.2%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock3.6%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Chester, VADecatur, ILUnited States
 Management, business, finance18.5%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock3.7%6.5%
 Community, social services1.5%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock0.6%1.2%
 Education, library6.7%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock1.2%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology5.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.0%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement2.1%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock7.7%5.4%
 Building maintenance3.0%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.5%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support20.8%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.6%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair8.3%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock20.6%13.1%
Reviews for Chester    6 Reviews

I just recently discovered a little suburb of Richmond, called Chester. Yes, it is small and not much going on in that area - but if you want a peaceful area to live -  More

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I grew up in Chester and it really isn't a bad place to live if you like living in a very populated area. It has great schools, low crime, easy access to both Richmond  More

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Chester, because of its location midway between Richmond, VA and Petersburg, VA, was once just a train station. With residential growth in affluent Chesterfield County  More

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Reviews for Decatur    14 Reviews

I was sent here by the company I worked for in the '90's and was not initially impressed with midwest living. However, over the years I got used to living in the "Pride  More

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I grew up in Decatur and I still have family there, but it depresses me to see what it has become. It has a high unemployment rate, many business have closed or are run  More

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Over 15 years ago

If you enjoy drinking & driving, Decatur's fifteen drive-thru liquor windows, three times the # of drive-thru's than the ten largest cities in Illinois, COMBINED, will  More

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