South African Population in Chester County, PA by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights
The South African population in Chester County, PA is reported at 222 residents, according to recent U.S. Census estimates. Most cities in Chester County - including East Caln township, Easttown township, West Chester, and others - report some South African presence. With a total matching the county''s, this suggests a fully urbanized footprint for the group. The section below compares this even spread with similar counties in Pennsylvania.
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Top 5 cities with the largest South African population in Chester County
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1East Caln townshipSouth African population in East Caln township is 821.49% of East Caln township population is South African
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2Easttown townshipSouth African population in Easttown township is 410.37% of Easttown township population is South African
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3West ChesterSouth African population in West Chester is 400.21% of West Chester population is South African
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4New Garden townshipSouth African population in New Garden township is 250.22% of New Garden township population is South African
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5East Goshen townshipSouth African population in East Goshen township is 120.07% of East Goshen township population is South African
Overview of South African population in Chester County
- Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data document Chester County with 222 South African residents (0.041% of 540,896 total county population), positioning the jurisdiction at the 96th percentile nationally among counties and 94th percentile within Pennsylvania for South African population concentrations, despite absolute population figures.
- Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS show Chester County's South African population of 0.041% surpassing both Pennsylvania's state average of 0.017% and the national average of 0.025%, positioning the county as a high-concentration jurisdiction exceeding demographic benchmarks across all geographic scales.
- Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey indicate Chester County's 222 South African residents constitute 10.1% of Pennsylvania's total South African population of 2,193, placing the county among jurisdictions with the highest demographic concentrations, with 10.1% of all Pennsylvania South African Americans residing within county boundaries.
- Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey document Chester County with 0.3 South African Americans per square mile, exactly six times Pennsylvania's average density of 0.049 per square mile, placing the county among the most densely concentrated jurisdictions within the state.
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73 Cities in Chester County Ranked by South African Population
ACS data [1] show South African populations distributed across multiple cities in the county, led by East Caln township, Easttown township, West Chester, and New Garden township. The table below provides additional context, including total population, population density, and demographic distributions, based on current ACS data for 73 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
Methodology
This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Chester County, PA by their South African population, using the most recent ACS data available.
How the Census defines South African population
The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having South African ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
- Some people identify as South African alone, while others identify as South African along with another race (such as South African and German).
- We’ve used the “South African alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the South African population in each area.
How We Ranked the Data
This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as South African alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
- % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as South African .
- % of Total Chester County South African Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. South African population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.
Things to Keep in Mind
Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
- In places with very small South African populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
- Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
- City that don’t have any reported South African population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where South African populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles 2023.
