Welcome to the best places to live in Delaware.You could throw a dart at any of these places and be happy to live wherever it landed.
Needless to say, it wasn’t easy to narrow down the top ten best places to live in The First State.
But we did it.
How’d we do it?
We consulted Census, FBI, and Zillow data around important factors like cost of living, crime, unemployment rates, rent, and median home values for every place with over 2,000 residents. In total, we analyzed 23 cities in Delaware.
It turns out cities like Wilmington, college towns like Dover, and environmentally conscious towns like Newark didn’t even crack the top ten.
People in Delaware live 76.5 years on average — 33rd in the nation; see how every state stacks up in our life expectancy by state ranking.
$153,000 median income · $497,294 median home · #1 best place in Delaware
Townsend, Delaware, may seem like an unassuming town of 2,832 residents. But this quaint community isn’t your average burb. It’s the number 1 best place to live in the state.
With good schools and quick access to nearby commercial hubs, Townsend acts as a magnet for young professionals. The city has a median income of $153,000, putting it 1st in the state in that category. Home values are high as well, with a median home value of $497,294.
Townsend is situated in the northern part of the state. A quick trip down the road will take you to Wilmington, Delaware’s biggest city. It also sits a little more than an hour outside of Philadelphia.
In terms of local amenities, you can tour the picturesque Townsend Historic District, with more than 200 charming buildings. Meanwhile, a 20-minute drive will take you to the Delaware River and access to robust outdoor activities at places like the Augustine Wildlife Area.
$96,393 median income · $588,290 median home · #2 best place in Delaware
Lewes is used to coming in first; it brands itself as “The First Town in The First State”, but it’s now 2nd on our tally of best places to live in Delaware.
Situated where the Atlantic meets Cape Henlopen, Lewes is a walking town replete with historically-rich architecture, museums, boutique-lined streets, and waterfront dining. It’s both a hidden treasure and perhaps the most beloved place in Delaware, for locals and tourists alike.
On the statistical side of things, Lewes shines in several ways. The city has the 10th lowest unemployment rate and 10th lowest poverty rate in Delaware at 4.1% and 7.9% respectively. And it’s not like people are just getting by in Lewes either; we did, after all, name it the richest place in Delaware.
Folks here earn the 4th highest median household income in the state at $96,393/year. Which is good when you’re also paying the highest median price for homes at $588,290. On the bright side, property taxes in Lewes are relatively low and both income and property value have risen by roughly 8% in the last year.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$107,307 median income · $405,885 median home · #3 best place in Delaware
Clayton sits around the mid-point between two of Delaware’s two most important cities. A 45-minute drive north will take you to Wilmington, the state’s largest population center. Head a half hour south and you’ll arrive at the state capital of Dover.
More than just a stopover between more famous locations, Clayton has a lot to offer on its own. For instance, the town’s crime rate sits nearly 50% below the national average and it boasts an above-average school district.
The main draw, though, is economic. The 4,222 residents of Clayton enjoy a median income of $107,307, the 2nd best level in Delaware. Homes in the area represent a good investment as well. Median home values sit at $405,885.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$91,500 median income · $532,880 median home · #4 best place in Delaware
We’re driving back down south along the coast to reach our 4th best place in Delaware, Ocean View. A neighbor of Bethany Beach, Ocean View gets all the perks of having a seaside resort next-door with none (or at least fewer) of those pesky summertime tourists.
Ocean View ranks as one of the safest places in Delaware with a crime rate less than half the national average. Poverty and unemployment rates in Ocean View both rank in the top ten statewide and only 0.8% of folks require food stamps to get by, the lowest rate of places covered on this list.
Nearly 90% of folks in Ocean View decide to buy rather than rent, and who can blame them for being 100% positive they scored an awesome “Place to Come Home To”; it is the town’s motto after all. Homes in Ocean View are the 3rd costliest in the state at $532,880, but we’re sure most residents would agree it’s worth every penny.
$80,875 median income · $477,517 median home · #5 best place in Delaware
Located a short drive inland from Lewes, Milton is a town of 3,567 in the rapidly-expanding Cape Region. Just because Milton isn’t right on the coast, it doesn’t mean you’ll be short on entertainment.
About a third of Milton’s population chooses to rent instead of buy and it’s easy to see why. The median rent in Milton is only $1,310/month, which is slightly lower than the statewide average. Homes, on the other hand, are the 6th priciest in Delaware, with a median price tag of $477,517. It shouldn’t be hard to come up with the cash though, seeing as Milton’s unemployment rate is the 16th lowest in the state at 6.2%.
And you don’t have to worry about getting carjacked on the way to work, seeing as Milton also has the 6th lowest total crime rate in Delaware, as well as the 8th lowest amount of violent crime.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$76,912 median income · $364,096 median home · #6 best place in Delaware
Located in
New Castle County, Delaware
Delaware’s third biggest and 3rd most densely-populated city, Newark, comes in as the 6th best place to live. Being home to the University of Delaware helps explain Newark’s status as the youngest place on this list, with a median age of 22. It also explains why about half the population has a college degree and a quarter have a master’s degree or higher. Public schools here spend nearly twice as much per student as the statewide average and have the 3rd lowest high school dropout rate in Delaware.
Being a college town comes with other perks, like being the Delaware’s best city for singles. Evidently, people are copping on to the awesomeness that is Newark, because the city has grown by about 7% since 2010. While the median income in Newark is the lowest on this list at $76,912/year.
The cost of living in Newark is slightly higher than your average city in Delaware, with housing costing about 15% more on average. A home in Newark will set you back around $364,096 while a typical rental will cost about $1,654/month.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$89,205 median income · $280,916 median home · #7 best place in Delaware
New Castle is a historic city located just 15 minutes south of Wilmington’s downtown Rodney Square. A key part of Delaware’s (and America’s) past, New Castle’s cobblestone streets and stately townhouses work to imbue the place with a Colonial charm that makes for a memorable day out strolling and shopping. Pay a visit to the First State National Historical Park to brush up on your history or just enjoy the lovely green spaces. It’s things like this that landed New Castle at the top of our list of Delaware’s best family cities.
As for statistics, New Castle has low unemployment and poverty rates, a high rate of residents with health insurance, and some great public schools. Additionally, the cost of living is actually slightly lower than your average city in Delaware, with housing costs about 10% cheaper. Rent is a bit pricier at $1,739/month, but homes are among the cheapest on this list at $280,916.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$63,267 median income · $403,644 median home · #8 best place in Delaware
Next up on our list of the best places to call home in Delaware is Camden, a southern suburb of Dover. Home to plenty of green space, stunning historic homes, and plenty of bike trails, Camden is an idyllic little town of 4,106 with plenty to love. For starters, Camden has an insanely low unemployment rate of just 1.5%, which is the 3rd lowest rate in Delaware. Those of the 99.9% that have jobs also enjoy the perk of having the 2nd shortest commute time in the state at just 20 minutes. Possibly owing to the high rate of employment, Camden has the 6th highest rate of residents with health insurance anywhere in the state. And everyone gets in on the good times in Camden because the poverty rate here is the 5th lowest in Delaware at 5.3%.
While home prices are reasonable at $403,644, Camden’s median rent of $1,836/month outstrips Delaware’s median rent by 40%. No wonder three-quarters of residents choose to buy instead of rent.
As for entertainment, having Dover nearby really opens up your options. The Firefly Music Festival always pulls big-name acts and visitors from across the country. Those who never quite got over their obsession with race cars will also appreciate having the Dover International Speedway just 15 minutes up the road.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$75,592 median income · $531,432 median home · #9 best place in Delaware
Selbyville, located on the Maryland border in southeast Delaware off of Route 113, finds itself on our list of the best places to live in Delaware. Some of the things that make Selbyville a great place to live include Freeman Arts Pavilion for some outdoor theater fun, Synergy Cafe where they make you feel like family, and La Sierra where you can grab some high quality mexican food.
On the numbers side of things, the town has some of the best economic indicators you could ask for in a place to live. The unemployment rate is the 8th lowest in Delaware per the latest Census data. Median incomes rank 11th in Delaware and home prices rank 4th. Those home values indicate that Selbyville is a place where a lot of people want to be — and are willing to pay for it.
$99,776 median income · $565,993 median home · #10 best place in Delaware
If you’re looking for a small Delaware town where the volunteer fire company pulls sub-five-minute response times, Millville is your town. Home values rank 2nd highest in the state, the unemployment rate sits at 3.9%, and the 5.8% poverty rate lands in the top ten statewide.
The volunteer-run Millville Fire Company is the kind of local institution that tells you everything you need to know about a small town. That’s not the stats talking, that’s just another reason Millville is one of the best places to live in Delaware.
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Delaware’s statewide median.
Delaware statewide median: $84,954
Delaware statewide median: $402,891
Delaware statewide median: 5.1%
On the map
Mapping The Best And Worst Places To Live in Delaware
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Calculated The Best Cities To Live In Delaware
Before we even started to collect data on the best places to live in Delaware, we had to answer a tough question: Is it fair to pit cities with populations over 100,000 against places with a population of 18?
We firmly decided no, that just isn’t fair.
So, to create our ranking, we broke the best places to live into three tiers:
- Cities — Populations over 2,000
- Towns — Populations between 1,000 and 2,000
- Small Towns — Populations below 1,000
We then decided no matter how much anyone loves their town, the best cities to live in Delaware have more of everything, and therefore, you need over 2,000 people to truly be ‘the best.’
Now that we had our set of the best possible cities, it was time to rank them using Saturday Night Science.
We ranked each place in Delaware across a number of criteria from one to 23, with one being the best.
We then took the average rank across all criteria, crowning the city posting the lowest overall score, the “Best Place To Live In Delaware.”
The criteria we looked to determine the best places were:
- Median Home Values
- Median Income
- Population Density (Higher is better)
- Unemployment Rate
- Commute Time
- Crime
- Education Levels
- Health Insurance Coverage
- Poverty rates
Sources of criteria include the New Census Data, FBI Crime Data, and Zillow. We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking Delaware’s best places to live.
If your city or town isn’t among the top 10, jump down to the bottom of the post to see a detailed chart of the best places in Delaware. Otherwise, buckle up for a ride down good living lane with Townsend at the end of the cul-de-sac.
The full plate
Best Places To Live In Delaware Table
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Best Score | Population | Unemployment Rate | Home Value | Median Income | Rent | Total Crime /100k |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Townsend | 5.20 | 2,832 | 3.7% | $497,294 | $153,000 | 388 | |
| 2 | Lewes | 6.70 | 3,505 | 4.1% | $588,290 | $96,393 | 742 | |
| 3 | Clayton | 7.50 | 4,222 | 1.3% | $405,885 | $107,307 | 663 | |
| 4 | Ocean View | 8.00 | 2,851 | 2.6% | $532,880 | $91,500 | 666 | |
| 5 | Milton | 8.50 | 3,567 | 6.2% | $477,517 | $80,875 | 1,346 | |
| 6 | Newark | 9.10 | 30,330 | 6.7% | $364,096 | $76,912 | 2,285 | |
| 7 | New Castle | 9.15 | 5,579 | 1.3% | $280,916 | $89,205 | 3,890 | |
| 8 | Camden | 9.50 | 4,106 | 1.5% | $403,644 | $63,267 | 4,798 | |
| 9 | Selbyville | 10.50 | 3,097 | 3.8% | $531,432 | $75,592 | 1,614 | |
| 10 | Millville | 11.10 | 2,430 | 3.9% | $565,993 | $99,776 | 11,934 | |
| 11 | Cheswold | 11.45 | 2,143 | 7.2% | $360,084 | $86,875 | 1,400 | |
| 12 | Harrington | 11.65 | 3,838 | 2.9% | $275,984 | $72,679 | 2,475 | |
| 13 | Wyoming | 12.15 | 2,000 | 12.3% | $302,796 | $69,603 | 1,300 | |
| 14 | Millsboro | 12.35 | 7,424 | 2.9% | $396,649 | $78,707 | 2,950 | |
| 15 | Smyrna | 13.45 | 13,165 | 5.6% | $400,874 | $67,048 | 2,491 | |
| 16 | Bridgeville | 13.90 | 2,745 | 5.8% | $356,953 | $64,879 | 1,530 | |
| 17 | Elsmere | 14.10 | 6,203 | 4.8% | $239,941 | $67,944 | 1,999 | |
| 18 | Milford | 15.35 | 12,803 | 5.1% | $343,315 | $59,464 | 4,866 | |
| 19 | Dover | 15.35 | 39,837 | 8.0% | $339,650 | $60,199 | 7,127 | |
| 20 | Delmar | 16.00 | 2,412 | 4.6% | $334,952 | $61,250 | 2,736 | |
| 21 | Wilmington | 16.00 | 71,727 | 7.3% | $325,758 | $58,671 | 4,300 | |
| 22 | Seaford | 18.90 | 8,485 | 13.1% | $310,072 | $54,016 | 6,046 | |
| 23 | Laurel | 20.10 | 4,152 | 15.9% | $305,530 | $48,644 | 4,745 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024, FBI UCR, Zillow research. 23 places with more than 2,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: The Best Places In Delaware
If you’re looking at areas in Delaware with the best economic situations, where there’s lower than average crime, and a lot to do, this is an accurate list.
The best places to live in Delaware are Townsend, Lewes, Clayton, Ocean View, Milton, Newark, New Castle, Camden, Selbyville, and Millville.
Townsend made a strong showing to take in the overall number one spot for the best place to live in Delaware for 2026. 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 Live In Delaware FAQs
What is the best place to live in Delaware?
Townsend is the best place to live in Delaware for 2026. It pairs a $153,000 median household income with a $497,294 median home value. Lewes and Clayton round out the top three.
What are the 10 best places to live in Delaware?
The ten best places to live in Delaware are Townsend, Lewes, Clayton, Ocean View, Milton, Newark, New Castle, Camden, Selbyville, and Millville. We ranked all 23 places with more than 2,000 residents across nine criteria, from home values to commute times.
How expensive is it to live in the best parts of Delaware?
The median home across the ten best places runs $487,406, versus $402,891 statewide. Quality shows up in the price tag; in Townsend the typical home costs $497,294.
What is the worst place to live in Delaware?
Laurel lands at the bottom of this ranking, making it the worst place to live in Delaware by the numbers. The full ordering of all 23 places is in the table above.
How do you rank the best places to live in Delaware?
We score every Delaware place with more than 2,000 residents on nine criteria covering jobs, housing, safety, and daily life, using Census American Community Survey and FBI crime data. The place with the best average rank, Townsend, wins for 2026.
