Population
Chester
33,209
Rantoul
12,515
Median Income
Chester
$39,809
Rantoul
$49,821
Home Value
Chester
$85,400
Rantoul
$109,200
Rent
Chester
$1,080
Rantoul
$899
Crime Rate
Chester
5.23
Rantoul
5.49
Cost of Living
Chester
81.8
Rantoul
85.0
Avg Temp
Chester
N/A
Rantoul
N/A
Unemployment
Chester
17.6%
Rantoul
3.6%
How Similar Are Chester & Rantoul?
Rantoul is Chester's #10 most similar city
4 of 10 key metrics match within 10%
Population
Chester
33,209
Rantoul
12,515
Chester (33,209) is about 2.7x larger than Rantoul (12,515).
Violent Crime
Chester
5.23
Rantoul
5.49
Both cities have similar violent crime — just a 5% difference.
Property Crime
Chester
18.17
Rantoul
17.74
Both cities have similar property crime — just a 2% difference.
Political Leaning
Chester
37.6%
Rantoul
37.2%
Both cities lean Democratic with similar vote shares — 1% difference.
Unemployment
Chester
17.6%
Rantoul
3.6%
Chester's unemployment is significantly higher than Rantoul's — 80% difference.
Median Income
Chester
$39,809
Rantoul
$49,821
Rantoul has a 20% higher median income than Chester.
Home Values
Chester
$85,400
Rantoul
$109,200
Rantoul has a 22% higher home values than Chester.
Education
Chester
8.2%
Rantoul
7.3%
Chester has a 10% higher education than Rantoul.
Demographics
Chester
16.4%
Rantoul
49.6%
Rantoul's demographics is significantly higher than Chester's — 67% difference.
Cost of Living
Chester
81.8
Rantoul
85.0
Both cities have similar cost of living — just a 4% difference.
4 out of 10 key metrics match within 10%. Chester and Rantoul share several key characteristics.
At a Glance
0
Chester
0
Rantoul
Rantoul leads in 4 of 8 categories
Cost of Living & Affordability — Chester leads
Source: City Stats Index / HUDRantoul has a fair market rent (2br) of $1,122 vs $1,810 in Chester (61% lower). Rantoul has a fair market rent (1br) of $946 vs $1,520 in Chester (61% lower). Chester scores 80.4 on the food index (100 = national avg) vs 88.1 in Rantoul.
Overall Cost Index
Housing Index
Food Index
Transportation Index
Healthcare Index
Utilities Index
Living Wage (1 Adult)
Living Wage (Family of 4)
Fair Market Rent (1BR)
Fair Market Rent (2BR)
Housing Market — Rantoul leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSChester has a median property tax of $1,676 vs $2,522 in Rantoul (34% lower). Rantoul has a median home value of $109,200 vs $85,400 in Chester (22% higher). Chester has a single-family homes of 73.4% compared to 60.5% in Rantoul.
Median Home Value
Median Rent
Median Property Tax
Owner-Occupied
Vacancy Rate
Single-Family Homes
Jobs & Economy — Rantoul leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSRantoul has a unemployment rate of 3.6% compared to 17.6% in Chester. Chester: 15,521 vs Rantoul: 5,344 for labor force. Rantoul has a poverty rate of 18.7% compared to 30.8% in Chester.
Median Household Income
Per Capita Income
Poverty Rate
Unemployment Rate
Labor Force
Mean Commute
Work from Home
Private Sector
Government Sector
Crime & Safety — Chester leads
Source: FBI UCRChester has a violent crime clearance of 57.1% compared to 18.5% in Rantoul. Chester has a murder rate (per 1k) of 0.00 compared to 0.08 in Rantoul. Rantoul has a robbery rate (per 1k) of 0.76 compared to 1.49 in Chester.
Violent Crime Rate (per 1K)
Property Crime Rate (per 1K)
Murder Rate (per 1K)
Robbery Rate (per 1K)
Assault Rate (per 1K)
Burglary Rate (per 1K)
Larceny Rate (per 1K)
Violent Crime Clearance
Property Crime Clearance
Weather & Climate
Source: NOAA / Open-MeteoAvg Annual Temperature
Avg Annual High
Avg Annual Low
Sunny Days per Year
Annual Rainfall
Annual Snowfall
Avg Humidity
Schools & Education — Chester leads
Source: NCES / U.S. Census BureauChester has a high school diploma or higher of 38.2% compared to 33.7% in Rantoul. Chester has a bachelor's degree or higher of 8.2% compared to 7.3% in Rantoul.
Public Schools
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio
Colleges & Universities
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
High School Diploma or Higher
Demographics & Community
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSChester has a population of 33,209, about 2.7x the size of Rantoul (12,515). Chester skews younger with a median age of 33.3 vs 35.0.
Population
Median Age
Avg Household Size
Married Population
Foreign Born
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Chester
Rantoul
Healthcare — Rantoul leads
Source: CMS Hospital CompareRantoul: 3.3 vs Chester: 2.8 for avg cms rating (out of 5).
Nearby Hospitals
Avg CMS Rating (out of 5)
With Emergency Services
Transportation & Commute — Rantoul leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSChester has a public transit of 9.6% compared to 0.5% in Rantoul. Rantoul has a bicycle of 0.8% compared to 0.1% in Chester. Rantoul has a work from home of 10.5% compared to 8.6% in Chester.
Mean Commute Time
Drive Alone
Public Transit
Bicycle
Work from Home
Airports
Cities Similar to Chester, PA
Compare Chester against its closest statistical matches across demographics, income, crime, health, and more.
City Comparison
8-axis fingerprint: population, income, housing, crime, education, age, climate, and cost of living. Click legend items to toggle.