Hudson Valley
Chester, New York
Chester is a village in Orange County, in New York's Hudson Valley region, home to about 4,000 people as of the 2020 census.
Whether you're moving in or you've been here for years, the checks that matter most are the school district, the assessment and STAR, and — outside the cities — the well, the septic, and the flood map.
- Type
- Village
- County
- Orange
- Region
- Hudson Valley
- Population (2020)
- 3,993
Local Almanac
Notes in and around Chester
Short, sourced notes tied to this place, its county, or nearby communities.
Nearby · Home & Property
Orange Fill Work Needs Floodplain and Wetland Map Checks
Before filling, grading, or building near water in Orange County, check FEMA flood maps and environmental layers before local permits.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Kiryas Joel Is Best Read Through Its Civic Map
Kiryas Joel has a compact civic identity where village services, Palm Tree town boundaries, and local government overlap closely.
Read this note ->Nearby · Cars & Driving
Orange County DMV Has Office and Mobile Routes
Orange County DMV errands can use fixed offices or the mobile unit, but permits and CDL testing may need appointment planning.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Blooming Grove Runs Through Moodna Creek
Blooming Grove's Orange County story links Moodna Creek, Washingtonville, Salisbury Mills, settlement memory, and growth pressure.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Goshen Circles the Track
Goshen's harness-racing identity gathers the Historic Track, museum, and Main Street horse-country memory.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Museum Village Gives Monroe a Hands-On Memory
Monroe's Orange County identity gathers Museum Village, lakefront recreation, and village-hamlet history into one local story.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Palm Tree and Kiryas Joel share a municipal frame
Palm Tree's local identity is tied to Kiryas Joel, a coterminous village-town government, and everyday municipal services.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Goshen's Horse Country Is a County-Seat Clue
Goshen's Historic Track and harness-racing identity give Orange County's seat a sharper local texture than courthouse-town alone.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Sugar Loaf Gives Chester Its Craft Hamlet Story
Sugar Loaf gives Chester a concrete hamlet story: farm support trades, church-and-inn life, and a later craft revival.
Read this note ->Property tax snapshot
About $12–$33 per $1,000 in Orange County
Combined full-value rate — county + town/city + school district, per $1,000 of market value (FY2025). On a $300,000 home that's about $3,539–$9,891 a year before the STAR break. A village is assessed within its town; expect the town's rate plus a separate village tax.
A planning estimate, not a bill. Your exact rate depends on your school district and any village. Confirm with the assessor.
Statewide links
Statewide starting points.
Good to know
- • Your assessed value usually isn't your market value — ask for the equalization rate.
- • Register for STAR; new applicants generally receive a credit instead of an automatic exemption on the bill.
- • Outside the cities, check the well, the septic, and the FEMA flood map before you buy.
Nearby
Nearby places
Tax rates: NYS Dept of Taxation & Finance (ORPTS), Real Property Tax Rates and Levy Data by Municipality, data.ny.gov dataset iq85-sdzs. (FY2025). Population: U.S. Census 2020. Reviewed June 2026. Source data ->
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