Chester, California

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chester is a census-designated place (CDP) in Plumas County, California, United States. The population was 2,316 at the 2000 census. The town is located along California State Route 36 and on the shore of Lake Almanor. The US Postal Service ZIP code for the community is 96020. Wired telephones in Chester central office have numbers that follow the format (530) 258-xxxx and (530) 259-xxxx (covering the west shore of Lake Almanor).

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Economy
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Chester is located at 40°18′9″N, 121°14′5″W (40.302395, -121.234672)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 18.9 km² (7.3 mi²). 18.7 km² (7.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (1.23%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 2,316 people, 956 households, and 647 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 123.7/km² (320.5/mi²). There were 1,130 housing units at an average density of 60.3/km² (156.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 92.62% White, 0.22% Black or African American, 2.12% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 1.55% from other races, and 2.89% from two or more races. 6.04% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 956 households out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 27.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $33,413, and the median income for a family was $45,195. Males had a median income of $33,417 versus $26,164 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $17,569. About 9.6% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.7% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Economy

The primary industries in Chester are lumber manufacturing and tourism. Collins Pine has been in operation since the 1940s under a truly "sustained yield" management plan using selective harvesting. The company's forest management practices have been certified by Scientific Certification Systems, which designated it a "state-of-the-art well-managed forest." [1] Lake Almanor has developed as a vacation/tourist destination and Chester serves as the retail center for the area.