2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Chester, VA vs Fort Dodge, IA

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Highlights
- Household income in Fort Dodge, is 36% less than it is in Chester and is 37% below the National Average.
- Chester unemployment rate is 4.8%.
- Fort Dodge unemployment rate is 4.9%.
 Chester, VAFort Dodge, IAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock4.9%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock0.6%1.6%
 Future Job Growth37.5%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes5.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock7.4%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$34,539  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$50,409$69,021
 Family Median Income$91,195  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Chester, VAFort Dodge, IAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock13.5%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K2.5%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock10.9%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K9.6%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock7.3%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K7.2%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock11.7%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K15.1%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock12.0%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K10.2%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock1.9%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Chester, VAFort Dodge, IAUnited States
 Management, business, finance18.5%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock1.8%6.5%
 Community, social services1.5%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock0.3%1.2%
 Education, library6.7%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock0.9%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology5.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.6%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement2.1%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock8.5%5.4%
 Building maintenance3.0%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.4%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support20.8%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.7%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair8.3%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock17.8%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 Fort Dodge    4 Reviews

Corrupt politicians always scheming to funnel public money to wealthy private interests, creating a welfare dependent economy that will be imploding sooner than later,  More

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Over 10 years ago

Before moving to the Fort Dodge area please consider other options. The city is a decaying town, streets have definitely seen better days and are filthy. There are not  More

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Over 15 years ago

I see that everyone is rather hard on Fort Dodge. I grew up and lived there until I married and (like a failed pioneer) moved east to Gettysburg, Pa. It was the best  More

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