Because of many things, Chatham is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Chatham really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Chatham perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic nightlife, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live.

As is often the case in a small town, Chatham doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.

The education level of Chatham citizens is very high relative to the national average among all cities (21.84%): 34.82% of adults in Chatham have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in Chatham in 2018 was $28,699, which is middle income relative to Virginia and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $114,796 for a family of four. However, Chatham contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Chatham is a very ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Chatham home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Chatham residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Chatham include English, German, Irish, Scots-Irish, and Scottish.

The most common language spoken in Chatham is English. Other important languages spoken here include French and Spanish.