Editor’s Note: This is not investment advice, and we are not financial advisers.
Suppose real estate is the most significant investment a majority of people make in their lifetime. In that case, it’s best to understand the places in Delaware with best potential return on investment.
After working in real estate adjacent roles for over a decade, I had the hypothesis that the best place to buy for a return on investment would be up-and-coming cities. Smaller cities where crime might be high now, but people still move to.
To test my hypothesis, we are going to look at places in Delaware that are growing faster than average, but where home prices are below average, and crime rates are higher than average.
In everyday terms, these might be “deals”. The best deal in Delaware at the moment according to Saturday Night Science? That would be Millville.
18.0% population growth · 2.3% home price growth
16.9% population growth · 1.6% home price growth
The Old Town area of Cheswold is located at the intersection of Main Street and Commerce Street west of the Delmarva Central Railroad tracks and serves as the oldest settled part of the town. Cheswold is made up of several residential communities, including Parkers Run, Strimmels Mobile Home Park, Fox Pointe Mobile Home Park, Blanton Mobile Home Park, Stonington, and Nobles Pond.
Cheswold has a post office for P.O. boxes with a ZIP code of 19936. However, the delivery of mail in Cheswold is handled by the Dover post office with a ZIP code of 19904. The Cheswold name may be used for mail delivered to addresses in town with the 19904 ZIP code.
-6.0% population growth · 1.2% home price growth
1.1% population growth · -0.1% home price growth
35.4% population growth · -11.8% home price growth
19.8% population growth · -0.6% home price growth
3.1% population growth · -0.6% home price growth
1.4% population growth · 2.0% home price growth
7.6% population growth · 4.3% home price growth
3.3% population growth · -0.6% home price growth
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Delaware’s statewide median.
Delaware statewide median: $402,891
On the map
Where Delaware’s best buys are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine the best places to buy a home in Delaware for 2026?
We were in real estate for almost five years and have worked on this site for over a decade. Suffice it to say we’ve put a lot of thought into finding an excellent place to buy a home.
So all that thinking has come to this moment where we get to spell out how we’d approach finding an up-and-coming place to live in Delaware. Put differently, the analysis will try to find places in Delaware with undervalued homes relative to pent-up demand using Saturday Night Science.
To do that, we looked at the most recent American Community Survey Census data for 2020-2024 and compared it to the previous vintage. Specifically, we used the following criteria:
- Y-o-Y Change In Population (People want to live here)
- Y-o-Y Change In Median Home Prices (People are willing to pay for it)
- Home Prices Relative To The State Average (It’s still kinda cheap)
We want places that are growing, have seen home prices increase in recent years, and are still “cheap” for Delaware, with these caveats: home prices had to be within 20% of the state average, home prices increased in the last year, and the city had above 2,000 people.
So of the 77 cities and towns in Delaware, only 42 places made it through our initial filters to even be considered.
We then ranked each place from 1 to 42 for the above criteria, with 1 being the best. We averaged the rankings to create a “best place to buy” index, with the place having the lowest index being the best.
Turns out that Millville is the best potential gem in the not-so-rough in the First State. The median Delaware home is 38 years old — old enough that it pays to compare home warranty plans before something expensive breaks.
The full plate
Best Places To Buy A Home In Delaware
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Median Home Price | Population Change | Home Price Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Millville | 2,430 | $565,993 | 18.0% | 2.3% |
| 2 | Cheswold | 2,143 | $360,084 | 16.9% | 1.6% |
| 3 | Kent Acres | 2,388 | $345,381 | -6.0% | 1.2% |
| 4 | Delmar | 2,412 | $334,952 | 1.1% | -0.1% |
| 5 | Woodside East | 2,274 | $378,512 | 35.4% | -11.8% |
| 6 | Greenville | 3,713 | $1,216,113 | 19.8% | -0.6% |
| 7 | Selbyville | 3,097 | $531,432 | 3.1% | -0.6% |
| 8 | Townsend | 2,832 | $497,294 | 1.4% | 2.0% |
| 9 | Riverview | 2,596 | $366,150 | 7.6% | 4.3% |
| 10 | Ocean View | 2,851 | $532,880 | 3.3% | -0.6% |
| 11 | Long Neck | 2,161 | $214,723 | -8.9% | 1.2% |
| 12 | Milton | 3,567 | $477,517 | 2.8% | -0.2% |
| 13 | Lewes | 3,505 | $588,290 | 2.6% | -1.1% |
| 14 | Clayton | 4,222 | $405,885 | 3.3% | 1.3% |
| 15 | Bridgeville | 2,745 | $356,953 | 3.2% | 0.0% |
| 16 | Camden | 4,106 | $403,644 | 2.4% | 1.1% |
| 17 | Dover Base Housing | 2,962 | $0 | -2.1% | |
| 18 | Harrington | 3,838 | $275,984 | 0.9% | 2.4% |
| 19 | Highland Acres | 3,752 | $350,698 | 2.5% | -2.1% |
| 20 | Rising Sun-Lebanon | 4,163 | $446,271 | -0.8% | -5.9% |
| 21 | Laurel | 4,152 | $305,530 | 2.7% | -0.5% |
| 22 | Millsboro | 7,424 | $396,649 | 3.8% | -1.2% |
| 23 | New Castle | 5,579 | $280,916 | 1.1% | 2.0% |
| 24 | Elsmere | 6,203 | $239,941 | 0.2% | 3.5% |
| 25 | Edgemoor | 6,349 | $332,385 | -4.8% | -6.4% |
| 26 | Pike Creek | 7,129 | $483,584 | -0.8% | -4.4% |
| 27 | Georg | 7,660 | $322,084 | 2.7% | -0.8% |
| 28 | North Star | 7,834 | $668,090 | -4.2% | -3.3% |
| 29 | Seaford | 8,485 | $310,072 | 2.8% | -0.5% |
| 30 | Wilmington Manor | 8,214 | $275,385 | 2.3% | 2.4% |
| 31 | Claymont | 8,786 | $320,060 | -7.9% | 3.1% |
| 32 | Pike Creek Valley | 12,431 | $389,500 | 3.7% | 6.6% |
| 33 | Milford | 12,803 | $343,315 | 5.0% | -0.1% |
| 34 | Smyrna | 13,165 | $400,874 | 1.0% | 1.2% |
| 35 | Brookside | 15,115 | $320,138 | -1.0% | -0.9% |
| 36 | Hockessin | 13,439 | $600,793 | -1.2% | 2.2% |
| 37 | Glasgow | 15,546 | $427,957 | -3.4% | 1.3% |
| 38 | Bear | 22,370 | $414,666 | -1.0% | 1.3% |
| 39 | Middl | 24,661 | $468,819 | 2.5% | -3.8% |
| 40 | Newark | 30,330 | $364,096 | 0.1% | 1.8% |
| 41 | Dover | 39,837 | $339,650 | 0.9% | 1.7% |
| 42 | Wilmington | 71,727 | $325,758 | 0.8% | 2.2% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024 via Saturday Night Science. 42 Delaware cities cleared the filters.
Summary
Summary: The Best Places To Purchase A House In Delaware for 2026
There’s our analysis of the best places to buy a house in Delaware. And, to be clear, we aren’t necessarily saying these places are the best places to live, just that it looks like they might be in a couple of years based on the data.
In fact, every place in the following table meets our criteria, so even though it may not look super long, remember we started off with all 77 places in the state.
The best cities to buy a house in Delaware are Millville, Cheswold, Kent Acres, Delmar, Woodside East, Greenville, Selbyville, Townsend, Riverview, and Ocean View.
So if we could rent or buy in these cities, we’d definitely buy. Not sold on Delaware? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Best Places To Buy A House In Delaware FAQs
What is the best city in Delaware to buy a house?
Millville is the best place to buy a house in Delaware for 2026. Its population is growing, home values are rising, and the median home still costs $565,993. Cheswold and Kent Acres are next on the list.
What are the best cities to buy a home in Delaware?
The best cities to buy a house in Delaware are Millville, Cheswold, Kent Acres, Delmar, Woodside East, Greenville, Selbyville, Townsend, Riverview, and Ocean View. Only 42 of the 77 places in Delaware cleared our filters on growth and home prices.
How much does a house cost in Millville?
The median home value in Millville is $565,993, versus $402,891 across Delaware. Across the full top ten, the median home runs $437,903.
How do you pick the best places to buy a home in Delaware?
We look for Delaware places where the population is growing, home prices are climbing, and homes are still cheap relative to the state average, using Census American Community Survey data. Cities that hit all three get the highest Buy Index scores.
Is this a guarantee home values will go up?
No. This is not investment advice — just where the data points to potential value. The Buy Index says these markets look healthier than most of Delaware, not that any single house is a good deal.
