Comedian Dave Chappelle has performed at some of the world’s most iconic venues, including Radio City Music Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. But for more than 20 years, his home base has been in a small Ohio town with a population that wouldn’t even fill up the cheap seats. However, Chappelle isn’t just living there; he’s doing business, buying more than 20 properties around the town in an effort to revive the culture and the economy.
Suggested Reading
Chappelle has a long history with Yellow Springs, Ohio, spending summers there with his father as a kid after his parents separated. The town, which recorded a population of 3,697, according to the 2020 U.S. census, was home to Antioch University, but not much else.
After his sketch comedy series “Chappelle’s Show” ended in 2005, the comedian put down permanent roots in Yellow Springs, buying a 3,150-square-foot home on 39 acres of land. And he didn’t stop there. He went on to purchase several properties around town, including a school building, a firehouse and the Wirrig Pavilion, which he converted into an outdoor concert venue.
For a town with a population that is nearly 83 percent white in the middle of a Republican-controlled state, Chappelle says he’s been able to find like-minded people in Yellow Springs.
“Ohio loves Trump, but this town I live in is like a little itty bitty Bernie Sanders island in the Trump sea,” he said in his 2025 Netflix comedy special, “Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable…”
But Chappelle went on to joke that with that ownership comes responsibility.
“I own so much property in this town…These white people think I’m responsible for their well-being,” he joked. “I’m not a public servant. I’m a capitalist.”
Although some have grumbled about the noise at his outdoor shows, most of the locals appreciate the way Chappelle’s presence has breathed new life into the small town, raising nearly $4 million for the town and $12 million for the state of Ohio during the COVID pandemic.
“A few local businesses would not exist today if it weren’t for the shows,” a local accountant told Bloomberg in an interview.
Another resident praised his efforts on social media.
“I live in Yellow Springs, and he saved our town during COVID. Not one of our businesses were lost. He had his show that brought thousands to our town. I will forever be grateful to him for that,” wrote someone on TikTok.
Chappelle says he will keep doing what he can to make Yellow Springs a cultural destination in the Buckeye State.
“My interest has always been in restoring the cultural and creative economy Antioch helped to foster and which made Yellow Springs a haven for art, music, culture and academia,” he told Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, he loves that fact that he has found a home in a place far away from New York City or Hollywood where he doesn’t feel like a celebrity.
“It’s like a nature reserve where they let me roam free. I’m a protected commodity here,” he said in a 2017 interview.
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.