Chester, Illinois

Chester is a city located high on the bluffs of the Mississippi River in Randolph County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 8,400. It is the county seat of Randolph CountyTemplate:GR.

Chester was the birthplace of Elzie Segar, creator of the comic character, Popeye. There is a statue of Popeye in the town. See the Roadside America description of the statue and its problems with vandals.

Chester High School is the local public high school and is most noted for it's excellent football teams of the 1990s. More recently, however, Chester's sports teams have struggled because it is the smallest school in the Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference.

Visit the award-winning Chester High School Website [1]

Geography

Chester is located at 37°54'50" North, 89°49'23" West (37.913947, -89.823140)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.3 km² (5.9 mi²). 15.3 km² (5.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.17% is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 5,185 people, 2,018 households, and 1,283 families residing in the city. The population density was 339.9/km² (879.9/mi²). There were 2,229 housing units at an average density of 146.1/km² (378.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.87% White, 3.59% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. 0.75% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,018 households out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 105.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,079, and the median income for a family was $49,426. Males had a median income of $36,103 versus $22,239 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,190. 9.7% of the population and 5.4% of families were below the poverty line. 11.8% of those under the age of 18 and 13.7% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.