What is the median rent in Chester, CT?

Name: Median rent in Chester, CT, 2020–2024
Creator: US Census Bureau
License: https://www.census.gov/data/developers/about/terms-of-service.html

The median gross rent in Chester, CT is $1,549 (±$247) a month, according to the US Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey.

That is across 431 rented homes; gross rent is the contract rent plus the utilities and fuels a renter pays separately.

In Chester, the median gross rent went from $1,219 in 2015–2019 to $1,549 in 2020–2024 (+27.1%).

Prices (CPI-U) rose 22.7% over the same years; the change is not measurably different from the rise in prices.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Median gross rent: $1,549 (±$247)
Rented homes: 431 (±107)
$2,000 or more: 23.2%
Since 2015–2019: +27.1%

How much rent costs in Chester

Share of rented homes in each gross-rent range, 2020–2024
Monthly gross rent	Chester	Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region	Connecticut	United States
Less than $500	2.1% (±3.5 points)	5.4%	7.8%	6.3%
$500 to $999	17.2% (±11.4 points)	11.9%	12.5%	20.2%
$1,000 to $1,499	27.8% (±14.2 points)	36.2%	30.4%	28.1%
$1,500 to $1,999	29.7% (±16.7 points)	27.1%	25.9%	21.1%
$2,000 to $2,499	16.7% (±11.3 points)	12.7%	12.0%	12.0%
$2,500 to $2,999	0.0% (±9.4 points)	1.8%	5.2%	5.5%
$3,000 or more	6.5% (±6.0 points)	5.0%	6.1%	6.8%

The most common range is $1,500 to $1,999, paid by 29.7% of renting households.

23.2% of rented homes in Chester cost $2,000 or more a month.

Chester against Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, its state and the nation

Estimate (90% margin of error)
	Chester	Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region	Connecticut	United States
Median gross rent	$1,549 (±$247)	$1,454 (±$44)	$1,488 (±$10)	$1,413
Rented homes paying rent	431 (±107)	16,991 (±907)	462,698 (±4,638)	42,849,984

In Chester, median gross rent is not measurably different from Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region ($1,454).

It is not measurably different from Connecticut ($1,488).

It is not measurably different from the national figure ($1,413).

In Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Chester ranks 8 of 16 places with a published estimate, from highest to lowest median gross rent.

Statewide, it ranks 67 of 163.

Rankings use the estimates alone; where margins of error overlap, neighboring ranks may not truly differ.

How rent in Chester has changed since 2015–2019

2015–2019 and 2020–2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates
	2015–2019	2020–2024	Amount of change	Verdict
Median gross rent	$1,219 (±$161)	$1,549 (±$247)	+27.1%	No measurable change after inflation
Households that rent	23.5% (±6.5 points)	26.8% (±5.6 points)	+3.3 percentage points	Not a measurable change
Rental vacancy rate	9.5% (±9.4 points)	0.0% (±9.3 points)	−9.5 percentage points	Not a measurable change

The Census Bureau publishes 2015–2019 dollars in 2019 dollars and 2020–2024 dollars in 2024 dollars.

Prices (the CPI-U, US Bureau of Labor Statistics) rose 22.7% between 2019 and 2024, so a dollar figure’s verdict compares the two after raising the earlier one by that much, using the Census Bureau’s test for a difference.

The two periods do not overlap, as the Census Bureau recommends for 5-year estimates.

Median gross rent in places near Chester

Nearest places with a published estimate, compared with Chester
Place	Distance	Median gross rent	Compared with this place
Chester	—	$1,549 (±$247)	—
Deep River	3.1 mi	$1,221 (±$185)	Lower
Deep River Center	3.3 mi	$1,242 (±$224)	Not measurably different
Essex	5.7 mi	$1,623 (±$326)	Not measurably different
Haddam	5.7 mi	$1,567 (±$258)	Not measurably different
Essex Village	6.2 mi	$2,056 (±$836)	Not measurably different
Higganum	6.6 mi	$1,707 (±$528)	Not measurably different
East Haddam	6.7 mi	$1,242 (±$331)	Not measurably different
Moodus	6.8 mi	$1,157 (±$164)	Lower

Nearby places with a measurably lower figure: Deep River, CT ($1,221), Moodus, CT ($1,157).

Distance is measured in a straight line between the Census Bureau’s internal points for each place.

Median gross rent across Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, place by place

Rank	Place	Median gross rent
2	Old Lyme	$2,238 (±$295)
3	Old Saybrook	$1,846 (±$325)
4	Lyme	$1,719 (±$1,083)
5	Cromwell	$1,628 (±$154)
6	Essex	$1,623 (±$326)
7	Haddam	$1,567 (±$258)
8	Chester	$1,549 (±$247)
9	Middletown	$1,446 (±$45)
10	Westbrook	$1,425 (±$176)
11	Clinton	$1,395 (±$105)
12	East Hampton	$1,393 (±$150)
13	East Haddam	$1,242 (±$331)
14	Deep River	$1,221 (±$185)

Showing 13 of 16 places in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, ranked from highest to lowest.

The figures for Chester include the places inside it that have pages of their own: Chester Center.

Survey years: 2020–2024 (American Community Survey 5-year estimates), compared with 2015–2019.

Margins of error are at the 90% confidence level.

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Questions about Chester

What is the average rent in Chester, CT?

The Census Bureau publishes the median rather than the average: the median gross rent in Chester is $1,549 (±$247) a month (2020–2024 American Community Survey), so half of renting households pay less and half pay more.

How much has rent gone up in Chester?

In Chester, the median gross rent went from $1,219 in 2015–2019 to $1,549 in 2020–2024 (+27.1%).

Prices (CPI-U) rose 22.7% over the same years; the change is not measurably different from the rise in prices.

How many rentals in Chester cost more than $2,000 a month?

23.2% of rented homes in Chester have a gross rent of $2,000 or more a month, and 2.1% cost less than $500.

Is rent in Chester higher than in Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region?

In Chester, median gross rent is not measurably different from Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region ($1,454).

It is not measurably different from Connecticut ($1,488).

It is not measurably different from the national figure ($1,413).

Is this the rent for an apartment listed today?

No: these are rents households reported paying across 2020–2024, not asking rents for vacant homes, which usually run higher.

Sources

To check these figures in the Census Bureau’s own API, request the variables below from the 2024 ACS 5-year data profile (acs/acs5/profile) for Chester town, Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Connecticut (county subdivision:14300, in state:09 county:130).

Each estimate (E or PE) has a margin of error beside it (M or PM).

The 2015–2019 figures are B25064_001E, B25064_001M, DP04_0047PE, DP04_0047PM, DP04_0005E, DP04_0005M from the 2019 release.

The API needs a free key.

Request a Census API key.

DP04_0134E, DP04_0134M, DP04_0126E, DP04_0126M, DP04_0127PE, DP04_0127PM, DP04_0128PE, DP04_0128PM, DP04_0129PE, DP04_0129PM, DP04_0130PE, DP04_0130PM, DP04_0131PE, DP04_0131PM, DP04_0132PE, DP04_0132PM, DP04_0133PE, DP04_0133PM

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are published by the US Census Bureau, HUD, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the FBI; Seayora reproduces them and does not adjust them, except where a sentence says it compares dollar figures after inflation. They describe the whole place, not any one building or street, and are not an appraisal, a rent determination, a tax bill, a safety rating or legal advice.