Best PlacesChesterfield, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Chesterfield, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Chesterfield ranks 17,025th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Chesterfield
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Chesterfield's strengths and weaknesses
Where Chesterfield ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of towns
- Short commute20.6 minutes each way, better than 86% of towns
- School gradeB+, better than 85% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 83% of towns
Where Chesterfield ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 3% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 3% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 7% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 19% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Chesterfield
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Chesterfield home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $59,872, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Chesterfield's effective rate of 0.56%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Chesterfield
Chesterfield runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Chesterfield.
Who works in Chesterfield, and how
Work in Chesterfield centers on manufacturing and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Chesterfield
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Chesterfield.
What the weather is like in Chesterfield, month by month
Chesterfield sees roughly 79 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 39° | 30° |
| April | 74° | 59° | 46° |
| July | 90° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 74° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Chesterfield
The nearest airport, Asheville Regional, is about 55 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 62 miles away.
The best schools in and around Chesterfield
Schools across Chesterfield average a B+, better than 85% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Drexel ElementaryB+ · 54% proficient
- Oak Hill ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Heritage MiddleA · 64% proficient
- Walter R Johnson MiddleB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Burke Middle CollegeA+ · 93% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Chesterfield school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Chesterfield measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Chesterfield against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Chesterfield
Is Chesterfield a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Chesterfield ranks 17,025th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on tree cover, state finances, and short commutes, and lowest on cell coverage and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Chesterfield expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $288,200. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $59,872 median income, cost of living beats 46% of towns.
Is Chesterfield safe?
Yes, Chesterfield is safer than 83% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $224 per resident a year.
Compare Chesterfield with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Chesterfield. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Chesterfield represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Chesterfield detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Chesterfield: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Chesterfield: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Chesterfield: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Chesterfield: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Chesterfield detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.