[1][2] The youngest of three brothers, he was raised in Chums Corner, a suburban area outside Traverse City, in a conservative Catholic family.

He took classes at Northwestern Michigan College before attending the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire;[5] he graduated in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in theater and global studies.

[9] While pursuing his graduate degree, he was a substitute teacher in both Chicago and South Bend public schools.

In fall 2017, Buttigieg began as a junior high humanities teacher at the Montessori Academy in Mishawaka, Indiana.

[17][18] If his husband had been elected, Chasten identified improving the nation's public schools, arts education, and mental health as the areas he would have directed his attention towards as First Gentleman.

[27] In December 2020, Buttigieg criticized Joseph Epstein's op-ed about Jill Biden's academic credentials, calling it sexist.

On September 4, Pete Buttigieg tweeted a photo of the couple with their newborn twins, a son and a daughter.