Carleton, NE

Chester, NE

Chester: A Farming Community in Thayer County, Nebraska

A small village in south central Nebraska, where resident Stephen Epler from Chester, developed Six-man football in 1934 as an alternative means for small high schools to field a football team during the Great Depression. Miss Nebraska 2017, Allison Tietjen calls Chester home. Chester earned its description as the small town with a big heart through it’s outpouring of love and support for an unknown nine year old boy whose body was found near Chester on Christmas Eve in 1985. He was referred to as Little Boy Blue because his body was found in blue pajamas. Filled with beautiful people inside and out, Chester really is the small town with a big heart.

Community Information

Address: 621 Thayer Avenue, Chester, NE
Village Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:00 PM (1st -15th) Monday-Friday 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM (16th-20th) Closed (20th-remainder of the month)
Village Clerk/Treasurer: Judy Smith

Email: chestervillage81@yahoo.com
Phone: (402) 324-5755

For utilities: Come to the village office, the utility deposit is 250.00. Utilities include water, sewer, trash, and electricity. Internet/Phone is provided by Great Plains Communications and gas is provided by Black Hills Energy.

Population

Population	2000	2010	2024	2029
Chester, NE	294	232	199	190

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-26

Population by Age

Population	2024
0-4	8
5-9	11
10-14	17
15-19	10
20-24	5
25-29	5
30-34	11
35-39	17
40-44	14
45-49	4
50-54	14
55-59	11
60-64	21
65-69	17
70-74	17
75-79	7
80-84	2
85+	8
18+	158
Median Age	47

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-26

Population by Race

Chester, NE	2024
Total	199.00
White Alone	97.99%
Black Alone	0.5%
American Indian Alone	0%
Asian Alone	0.5%
Pacific Islander Alone	0%
Some Other Race	0%
Two or More Races	1.01%
Hispanic Origin	2.01%
Diversity Index	7.70

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-26

Growth Rate

Chester, NE	2024 - 2029
Population	-0.92%
Households	-0.61%
Families	1.30%
Median Household Income	-4%
Per Capita Income	2%

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-26

Housing

Households

Population	2000	2010	2024	2029
Households	140	111	99	96
Housing Units	180	150	122	117
Owner Occupied Units			83	74
Renter Occupied Units			16	22
Vacant Units			23	21

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-26

Home Value

Chester, NE	2024	2029
Median Home Value	$92,647	$120,000
Average Home Value	$202,711	$229,730
<$50,000	27	24
$50,000 - $99,999	17	9
$100,000 - $149,999	9	10
$150,000 - $199,999	7	6
$200,000 - $249,999	0	2
$250,000 - $299,999	4	4
$300,000 - $399,999	1	0
$400,000 - $499,999	1	0
$500,000 - $749,999	17	19
$1,000,000 +	0	0

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-26

Housing Year Built

Year Range	Houses Built
2010 or Later	0
2000-2009	0
1990-1999	11
1980-1989	4
1970-1979	5
1960-1969	10
1950-1959	6
1940-1949	11
1939 or Before	70

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-26

Income

Chester, NE	2024	2029
Median Household	$52,792	$44,177
Average Household	$70,449	$77,729
Per Capita	$35,048	$39,274

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-26

Household Income

Chester, NE	2024
<$15,000	12
$15,000 - $24,999	26
$25,000 - $34,999	3
$35,000 - $49,999	6
$50,000 - $74,999	16
$75,000 - $99,999	6
$100,000 - $149,999	15
$150,000 - $199,999	12
$200,000+	3

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-26

Employees

Commute

Category	Commuters
Workers 16+	125
In-County Residents	90
Out-of-County Residents	6
Drive Alone	108
Carpooled	12
Public Transport	0
Work at Home	3
Motorcycle	0
Bicycle	0
Walked	2
Other	0
Less than 5 minutes	10
5-9 minutes	30
10-14 minutes	10
15-19 minutes	52
20-24 minutes	13
25-29 minutes	1
30-34 minutes	3
35-39 minutes	2
40-44 minutes	0
45-59 minutes	1
60-89 minutes	0
90+ minutes	0
Average Travel Time	0

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-26

Employees by NAICS

Category	Number
Total Employees	83
Agr/Forestry/Fish/Hunt	9
Mining	0
Utilities	0
Construction	5
Manufacturing	3
Wholesale Trade	3

Retail Trade	2
Motor Veh/Parts Dealers	0
Furn & Home Furnish Str	0
Electronics & Appl Store	0
Bldg Matl/Garden Equip	2
Food & Beverage Stores	0
Health/Pers Care Stores	0
Gasoline Stations	0
Clothing/Accessory Store	0
Sports/Hobby/Book/Music	0
General Merchandise Str	0

Transportation/Warehouse	12
Information	0

Finance & Insurance	7
Cntrl Bank/Crdt Intrmdtn	5
Sec/Cmdty Cntrct/Oth Inv	0
Insur/Funds/Trusts/Other	2

Real Estate/Rent/Leasing	0
Prof/Scientific/Tech Srv	0
Legal Services	0
Mgmt of Comp/Enterprises	0
Admin/Support/Waste Mgmt	0
Educational Services	0
HealthCare/Social Assist	6
Arts/Entertainment/Rec	0

Accommodation/Food Srvcs	3
Accommodation	0
Food Srv/Drinking Places	3

Other Srv excl Pub Admin	5
Auto Repair/Maintenance	0
Public Administration Emp	28

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-26

Educational Attainment (25+)

Chester, NE	2024
<9th Grade	1
Some High School	4
GED	8
Graduated High School	32
Some College/No Degree	45
Associates Degree	21
Bachelor's Degree	27
Graduate Degree	10

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-26

Businesses

Businesses by NAICS

Category	Number
Total Businesses	19
Agr/Forestry/Fish/Hunt Bus	1
Mining Bus	0
Utilities Bus	0
Construction Bus	1
Manufacturing Bus	1
Wholesale Trade Bus	1

Retail Trade Bus	1
Motor Veh/Parts Dealers Bus	0
Furn & Home Furnish Str Bus	0
Electronics & Appl Store Bus	0
Bldg Matl/Garden Equip Bus	1
Food & Beverage Stores Bus	0
Health/Pers Care Stores Bus	0
Gasoline Stations Bus	0
Clothing/Accessory Store Bus	0
Sports/Hobby/Book/Music Bus	0
General Merchandise Str Bus	0

Transportation/Warehouse Bus	3
Information Bus	0

Finance & Insurance Bus	2
Cntrl Bank/Crdt Intrmdtn Bus	1
Sec/Cmdty Cntrct/Oth Inv Bus	0
Insur/Funds/Trusts/Other Bus	1

Real Estate/Rent/Leasing Bus	0
Prof/Scientific/Tech Srv Bus	0
Legal Services Bus	0
Mgmt of Comp/Enterprises Bus	0
Admin/Support/Waste Mgmt Bus	0
Educational Services Bus	0
HealthCare/Social Assist Bus	2
Arts/Entertainment/Rec Bus	0

Accommodation/Food Srvcs Bus	1
Accommodation Bus	0
Food Srv/Drinking Places Bus	1

Other Srv excl Pub Admin Bus	3
Auto Repair/Maintenance Bus	0
Public Administration Bus	3

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-26