Chester, New Jersey.
. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA metro.
to buy the typical home at today's mortgage rate — +$1,729 (+134%) since Jan 2020.
Monthly payment to buy the typical home
Home value × that month's 30-year mortgage rate, 20% down, principal and interest. This is the line households feel: prices and rates compound each other.
- New Jersey$3,019
- United States$1,922
Living in Chester, Morris County, New Jersey
Chester is a borough of 1,681 people in Morris County. 79% of its homes are lived in by their owners and 21% are rented. Unemployment in Morris County was 3.9% in August 2026, and the county had 0.9% more jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most residents work in schools and health care, then professional services.
Written by AI Claude Sonnet 5.5 wrote this on 23 October 2026 from the figures here, a list of nearby places and what it knows. It can be wrong or out of date.
What it’s like
The place. Chester is a small borough in Morris County, and most homes there are lived in by their owners. Residents tend to be somewhat older than in many places, and a large share of adults hold a four-year degree. Winters are cold, with January the coldest month, summers turn warm by July, and the year brings a good deal of rain and melted snow.
Work. Many residents work in schools, hospitals and social care, in professional and business services, in shops, and in manufacturing. Across Morris County, some of the largest workplaces are Morristown Medical Center, Novartis Pharmaceutical US Headquarters and UPS. Commutes run on the long side, and a fair number of people work from home.
Things to do. Black River Wildlife Management Area and Black River County Park are protected areas in or beside town, and the Elizabeth D. Kay Environmental Center, a museum, is there too. A short drive away are Willowwood Arboretum, a botanical garden, and Hacklebarney State Park, a protected area. For something farther afield, Lake Hopatcong, a reservoir, is a longer drive away.
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- 584households
- 65%of adults have a degree
- 6%below the poverty line
- 32 mintypical commute
- 22%work from home
What residents work in
Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Morris County had 301,376 jobs in 2025, 0.9% more than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Weather through the year
Coldest in January, with highs near 39° and lows near 21°; warmest in July, with highs near 86° and lows near 63°. About 45 inches of rain and melted snow a year.
Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Somerville Somerset Airport weather station, 12 miles away (NOAA).
Largest workplaces in Morris County
- Skanska USA BuildingConstruction management, commercial and institutional building5,854
- Morristown Medical CenterGeneral hospital5,384FTE
- Novartis Pharmaceutical US HeadquartersPharmaceutical preparations manufacturing3,887
- Novartis Pharmaceutical Sales ForcePharmaceutical preparations manufacturing3,311
- Zelis HealthcareOffice automation computer systems integration design services2,482
- UPSCouriers and express delivery services1,591
- Greystone Park Psych. HospitalPsychiatric hospital1,480FTE
- St. Clares HospitalGeneral hospital1,458FTE
Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 426 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 82,478 people in all across the county; Chester has two of its own. Hospitals come from their Medicare cost reports (CMS, 2023); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.
Natural hazards
- Winter weatherRelatively moderate
- Strong windRelatively moderate
FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Chester’s census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, very low. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.
From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Morris County and the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA metro.
Chester home values
Zillow measures a city over its municipal boundary. Against the state and national figures, mid-tier homes, smoothed and seasonally adjusted.
Not enough data to draw this yet.
Sellers are cutting prices on about 1 in 5 Chester listings — the market is roughly in balance.
Market heat, inside the city limits
Share of listings with a price cut
The early-warning dial: sellers cut when buyers stop reaching. Rising cuts cool a market months before prices notice.
- Chester21.27%
- United States26.90%
Homes for sale
Active for-sale inventory. More supply hands power to buyers.
- Chester36
New listings per month
Sellers arriving at the market.
- Chester11
Zip codes with a Chester address
A different geography, not a breakdown. The figure above covers the municipality; these zips cover everywhere the Post Office calls Chester — often including townships beyond the city limits. Both come straight from Zillow, and they are not expected to average out.