Tokyo Metropolis Kanagawa Prefecture Chōfu has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall.

The area of present-day Chōfu has been inhabited since Japanese Paleolithic times, and numerous remains from the Jōmon, Yayoi and Kofun periods have been discovered.

In the post-Meiji Restoration cadastral reform of April 1, 1889, Chōfu Town and neighboring Jindai Village were established within Kanagawa Prefecture.

Chōfu has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 28 members.

Chōfu is primarily a regional commercial center, and a bedroom community ("bed town" ベッドタウン, beddotaun) for central Tokyo.