Chester County residents have more than $126 million in unclaimed property waiting for them, according to the Pennsylvania Treasury, which returned nearly $50,000 to 160th Legislative District residents in September.

Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity and state Rep. Craig Williams, R-160, announced Thursday, Sept. 24, that the returns followed an event at Williams' Chester County office. One constituent recovered more than $14,000.

"One constituent was able to recover over $14,000," Williams said in the announcement. "It was a very successful day for our neighbors …"

The 160th District covers portions of Chester and Delaware counties. Delaware County has more than $185 million in unclaimed property awaiting owners, according to Treasury.

The event was part of a statewide summer initiative. Treasury held 35 "Claim Your Unclaimed Property" events across Pennsylvania in 2026, returning more than $1.4 million total, according to the Pennsylvania Treasury.

More than one in 10 Pennsylvanians have unclaimed property. The average claim exceeds $1,000, Treasury said. The money can come from dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, forgotten stocks, and even physical items like jewelry and savings bonds from safe deposit boxes.

State law requires businesses to report unclaimed property to Treasury after three years of dormancy.

Treasury also returned nearly $49,000 to West Chester Borough itself in May. That return covered nine properties ranging from $25 to $45,900, including funds from accounts payable checks, cashier checks, credit balances and uncashed checks. West Chester Borough Manager Sean Metrick said May 4 that the return helped the borough recover deferred revenue it could not otherwise track down.

Garrity has returned more than $1.2 billion in unclaimed property since taking office in 2021, MyChesCo reported. Treasury is working to return more than $5 billion statewide.

The state launched a revamped search website, searchandclaimpa.gov, on Wednesday, Sept. 23. The new system automatically identifies additional property tied to a claimant and returns qualifying claims of $500 or less without extra paperwork. Treasury said the matching feature has already connected $5 million in additional property with filers.

Residents can search for unclaimed property at searchandclaimpa.gov. Those who have lived in other states can also check MissingMoney.com.