Gateway Reporter

Chester ranked 236th in Virginia for the percentage of households receiving food stamps in 2020, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

There were 808 Chester households (9.7 percent) who received food stamps. Chester's population was 22,098 in 2020.

The city with the largest percentage of households receiving food stamps in the state was Lovingston, which had 287 of 330 households receiving food stamps, 77.3 percent more than Chester. In 2020 the population of Lovingston was 584.

The city with the lowest percentage of households receiving food stamps in the state was Brandermill, which had 23 of 5,772 households receiving food stamps, 9.3 percent less than Chester. In 2020 the population of Brandermill was 13,887.

See the cities with the highest percentage of households receiving food stamps below.

Rank	City	Total Households	Total households receiving food stamps	Percentage of households receiving food stamps
1	Lovingston	330	287	87
2	Oak Hall	67	49	73.1
3	Bayside	73	46	63
4	Parrott	150	91	60.7
5	St. Charles	44	26	59.1
6	Nottoway Court House	55	31	56.4
7	Jonesville	600	309	51.5
8	Haysi	128	64	50
9	Fairview Beach	196	90	45.9
10	Boston	237	107	45.1
11	Shipman	164	73	44.5
12	Cleveland	98	43	43.9
13	Clinchco	133	58	43.6
13	Keysville	369	161	43.6
15	Coeburn	665	288	43.3
16	Lawrenceville	478	196	41
17	Tasley	69	28	40.6
18	Pennington Gap	829	331	39.9
19	Appalachia	577	228	39.5
20	Dungannon	132	51	38.6
21	Mathews	399	153	38.3
22	Bland	173	65	37.6
23	Augusta Springs	70	26	37.1
24	Scotland	54	20	37
25	Pungoteague	74	27	36.5
26	Courtland	493	179	36.3
27	Horntown	109	39	35.8
28	Blackstone	1,234	434	35.2
29	Dryden	319	109	34.2
30	Drakes Branch	223	76	34.1
31	Emporia	2,076	705	34
32	Keokee	113	37	32.7
33	Sugar Grove	297	96	32.3
34	Exmore	599	193	32.2
35	St. Paul	404	129	31.9
36	Brookneal	420	133	31.7
37	Norton	1,877	583	31.1
38	McKenney	216	67	31
39	Temperanceville	68	21	30.9
40	Motley	338	104	30.8
41	Craigsville	519	158	30.4
42	Appomattox	771	233	30.2
42	Ferrum	437	132	30.2
44	Ivanhoe	167	50	29.9
45	Dendron	122	36	29.5
46	Cheriton	208	61	29.3
47	Saltville	848	242	28.5
48	Port Royal	68	19	27.9
49	Crewe	1,036	288	27.8
50	Heathsville	94	26	27.7
50	Nickelsville	173	48	27.7
52	Marion	2,309	628	27.2
53	Seven Mile Ford	326	88	27
54	Saxis	130	35	26.9
55	Southampton Meadows	127	34	26.8
56	Independence	504	134	26.6
57	Honaker	581	154	26.5
57	Stony Creek	102	27	26.5
59	Kilmarnock	732	192	26.2
60	Belspring	54	14	25.9
61	Pulaski	3,665	922	25.2
62	Riverview	263	66	25.1
63	Dante	204	51	25
64	Stuart	567	141	24.9
65	Charlotte Court House	254	62	24.4
66	Ridgeway	334	81	24.3
67	Bassett	417	101	24.2
68	Altavista	1,429	344	24.1
68	Cats Bridge	83	20	24.1
70	Raven	870	209	24
71	Hillsville	982	234	23.8
71	Hopewell	9,362	2,227	23.8
71	New Church	80	19	23.8
74	Big Stone Gap	1,685	399	23.7
75	Phenix	137	32	23.4
76	Danville	18,266	4,218	23.1
77	Petersburg	13,231	3,035	22.9
77	Pocahontas	144	33	22.9
79	New Castle	119	27	22.7
80	Kenbridge	435	97	22.3
81	Boswell's Corner	397	88	22.2
81	Dillwyn	243	54	22.2
83	Tappahannock	928	202	21.8
84	Bellwood	2,801	608	21.7
84	Martinsville	5,597	1,213	21.7
86	Gretna	677	144	21.3
87	Cedar Bluff	496	105	21.2
88	Bedford	2,650	559	21.1
88	Clifton Forge	1,575	333	21.1
88	Deltaville	399	84	21.1
91	Passapatanzy	410	86	21
92	Nassawadox	193	39	20.2
93	Mappsville	209	42	20.1
94	Pound	456	91	20
94	Wakefield	431	86	20
96	Damascus	324	64	19.8
97	Victoria	854	167	19.6
98	Bristol	7,482	1,457	19.5
98	South Boston	2,921	571	19.5
100	Belview	413	80	19.4