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Everyone wants a home that mixes affordability with comfort and Delaware does this very well. Families love the First State's beaches, midlands, and mountains as tourists before moving here and calling it home.
But before you decide to relocate, you have to do some research into the exact cost of living around the state -- and that's how we're going to help you.
These are the places in Delaware that cost a pretty penny -- the most expensive cities in the state.
After we saved up for months and could finally afford it, we landed on this list of the ten most expensive cities in Delaware for 2021.
So where is the most expensive place to live in Delaware? That would be Millville.
the 2015-2019 American Community Survey for the 32 places in Delaware with more than 1,000 people.
Here are the 10 most expensive places to live in Delaware for 2021:
What's the most expensive place to live in Delaware? Well, HomeSnacks crunched the numbers and discovered that Millville is the most expensive place to live in Delaware.
So hopefully Cheswold (the cheapest place to live in Delaware) can show these guys how to live on a budget in the coming years. Read on for how these places had costs rise faster than inflation.
And if you already knew these places were expensive, check out some more reading about Delaware and the most expensive cities in the country:
The 10 Most Expensive Places To Live In Delaware For 2021
/10
Population: 1,755
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.9x (6th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 44.9x (4th most expensive)
More on Millville: Real Estate | Data
The median income in Millville comes in at $68,816 and the median home value is $334,500 for 2021.
/10
Population: 1,182
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.8x (3rd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 35.5x (most expensive)
More on Newport: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Newport comes in at $36,071 and the median home value is $210,800 for 2021.
/10
Population: 33,448
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.8x (7th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 44.7x (3rd most expensive)
More on Newark: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Newark comes in at $58,434 and the median home value is $277,800 for 2021.
/10
Population: 2,272
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 3)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.1x (12th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 51.9x (14th most expensive)
More on Ocean View: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Ocean View comes in at $85,417 and the median home value is $346,400 for 2021.
/10
Population: 4,342
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 5)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.3x (10th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 46.8x (7th most expensive)
More on Millsboro: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Millsboro comes in at $49,737 and the median home value is $215,200 for 2021.
/10
Population: 1,400
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 8.9x (most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 90.9x (32nd most expensive)
More on Rehoboth Beach: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Rehoboth Beach comes in at $114,583 and the median home value is $1,017,100 for 2021.
/10
Population: 2,893
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.2x (5th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 61.2x (22nd most expensive)
More on Milton: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Milton comes in at $57,754 and the median home value is $300,900 for 2021.
/10
Population: 3,198
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.3x (2nd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 83.6x (3most expensive)
More on Lewes: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Lewes comes in at $88,984 and the median home value is $558,200 for 2021.
/10
Population: 3,484
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.2x (20th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 40.4x (2nd most expensive)
More on Camden: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Camden comes in at $65,568 and the median home value is $208,800 for 2021.
/10
Population: 7,259
Rank Last Year: 13 (Up 3)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.6x (9th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 55.4x (17th most expensive)
More on Georg: Real Estate | Data
The median income in Georg comes in at $48,468 and the median home value is $220,800 for 2021.
How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The First State For 2021
The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford if you can live comes down to:
- How much do money do I make?
- How much do I have spend to live there?
You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.
For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing it's actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.
With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2015-2019 around incomes and costs. They are:
- Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
- Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
- Median Home Price
We added simply median home price because high home prices generally correlate with higher expenses for all costs related to homes (heating, electricity, etc).
You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in Delaware to figure out which is the most expensive.
What you are left with is a "Cost of Living Index" by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.
So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 32 places in Delaware that have more than 1,000 people.
The place with the highest cost of living in Delaware according to the data is Millville. You can download the data here.
Taking A Chunk Out Of Your Paycheck In Delaware For 2021
Well there you have it, the places in Delaware that have the highest cost of living, with Millville ranking as the most expensive city in the First State.
Here's a look at the most affordable cities in Delaware according to the data:
- Cheswold
- Felton
- Elsmere
For more Delaware reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Delaware
- Cheapest Places To Live In Delaware
- Most Dangerous Cities In Delaware
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Delaware
- Safest Places In Delaware
- Worst Places To Live In Delaware
Detailed List Of The Most Expensive Cities In Delaware
| Rank | City | ExpensiveScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Millville | 4.67 |
| 2 | Newport | 6.33 |
| 3 | Newark | 6.33 |
| 4 | Ocean View | 9.67 |
| 5 | Millsboro | 10.33 |
| 6 | Rehoboth Beach | 11.33 |
| 7 | Milton | 11.33 |
| 8 | Lewes | 11.67 |
| 9 | Camden | 12.67 |
| 10 | Georg | 13.0 |
| 11 | Selbyville | 13.67 |
| 12 | Milford | 14.0 |
| 13 | Bridgeville | 14.67 |
| 14 | Dover | 15.0 |
| 15 | Wilmington | 15.33 |
| 16 | Laurel | 16.33 |
| 17 | Middl | 17.0 |
| 18 | Harrington | 18.67 |
| 19 | Clayton | 19.33 |
| 20 | Greenwood | 19.33 |
| 21 | Smyrna | 20.33 |
| 22 | New Castle | 20.33 |
| 23 | Delaware City | 20.67 |
| 24 | Seaford | 20.67 |
| 25 | Delmar | 20.67 |
| 26 | Townsend | 21.33 |
| 27 | Bellefonte | 22.33 |
| 28 | Blades | 23.0 |
| 29 | Wyoming | 23.67 |
| 30 | Elsmere | 24.67 |
| 31 | Felton | 24.67 |
| 32 | Cheswold | 25.0 |
