Cost of living in Delaware

Delaware at a glance

Median rent

$1,401

Census ACS, B25064, monthly

Median household income

$84,954

Census ACS, B19013, yearly

Median home value

$352,000

Census ACS, B25077

Median property tax bill

$1,768

Census ACS, B25103, yearly, current owners

Mean commute

26 min

Census ACS, DP03, one way

Unemployment

5.1%

Census ACS, DP03

Delaware's own published state rows, never an average of its counties. Prices overall run level with the national average (BEA regional price parity, 2024).

Census ACS 2024 five-year estimates, checked November 2026.

The three most populous counties in Delaware

These are the most populous places in Delaware, not a match to you. Set what matters to you on Find your fit and this becomes your three closest matches here. Made-up answers work too. This is a tool, not a survey.

• New Castle County

  Population

  578K

  Rent

  $1,448

  Household income

  $91,166

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $2,499

  Set as targetPlan

• Sussex County

  Population

  256K

  Rent

  $1,238

  Household income

  $81,497

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $1,222

  Set as targetPlan

• Kent County

  Population

  188K

  Rent

  $1,354

  Household income

  $74,477

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $1,363

  Set as targetPlan

Delaware, worth the trip

Ratified the Constitution on December 7, 1787, as the first state. The Dutch and the Swedes colonized the area before it became an English colony in 1664. Delaware's three counties, New Castle, Kent and Sussex, were all established by 1682.

• First State National Historical Park

  Sites across Delaware that trace the colony's early history and its place as the first state to ratify the Constitution.

• Cape Henlopen State Park

  Ocean and bay beaches, dunes, maritime forest and the World War II bunkers of Fort Miles, where Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic.

• Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge

  One of the largest remaining tidal salt marshes in the mid-Atlantic, managed for migratory birds along Delaware Bay.

History: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Each place links to the page of the agency that looks after it.

Property tax in Delaware

Current owners in Delaware pay a median 0.50% of home value a year in property tax. Example: $1,768 a year, the median bill. By county, the median bill runs from $1,222 in Sussex County to $2,499 in New Castle County. These are bills that current owners pay, as the Census measures them. Each county's own figure is in the table below.

Health in Delaware

Life expectancy

76.8 yrs

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS vital statistics

No health insurance

6.9%

County Health Rankings, from Census SAHIE, people under 65

Poor or fair health

15.9%

County Health Rankings, from CDC BRFSS. Modeled, not counted

Injury deaths per 100K people

99

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS, counted deaths

Each is the figure County Health Rankings publishes for Delaware as a whole, never an average of its counties. Each county's own health readings are on its page.

Natural hazards in Delaware

Expected yearly loss, statewide

$377M

All natural hazards, an average year. Larger states lose more

Building loss rate

$1.28

Per $1,000 of building value, each year. Fair to compare between states

Costliest hazard

Inland flooding

$217M of the expected yearly loss, the largest share of any hazard FEMA assesses

Air quality

—

The EPA publishes air quality by county and metro area, never by state. It is on each county's page

FEMA publishes a risk score for counties and none for states, so none is shown here. Each county's score is on its own page.

New homes permitted in Delaware

Side by side

New Castle County, DE is the largest county here. Set it beside another place, reading by reading.

The largest counties in Delaware

By population, from the Census release named below. Each opens its own page.

1. 1New Castle County578K
2. 2Sussex County256K
3. 3Kent County188K

All 3 counties in Delaware

Each has its published readings on its own page. Press a column to sort by it. Pick one, or open the map to see them shaded side by side.

Household income, home value and population are on each county's own page, and in this table on a wider screen.

Where these numbers come from

Each reading is the published figure, not an estimate. A dash means the source did not publish one, or published one too uncertain to print.

• State figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 20245-year estimates, the state's own row (tables B25064, B19013, B25077, B25103, B01003, DP03).
• County figures: the same survey, each county's own row, as on every county page.
• Price level: Bureau of Economic Analysis, regional price parities, 2024, all items, state-level.
• Health: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025, University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the state's own row. Poor or fair health is a modeled estimate from CDC survey data. The other three are counted or calculated.
• Natural hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025, state table, expected annual loss. This product uses FEMA data but is not endorsed by FEMA.
• Air quality has no state figure: the EPA publishes it by county and metro area only.
• Photographs: Wikimedia Commons and the county photo feed, each credited to its photographer under its own licence, beneath the picture.

What to do with these numbers

Every number here is public. The site adds your side of it: Delaware next to your own state, by what you value.

• See Delaware beside your own state

  Find your fit puts it next to where you live and the states next door, by what matters to you. Made-up answers are fine, since this is a tool, not a survey. No account needed.

  Find your fit

• Pick a county here and make it your target

  The three counties above each carry Set as target. From there the Journey lays out the runway and the steps. An account keeps it private and yours across devices.

  See the three counties