Best places to live in Delaware (2026)

All 4 ranked places in Delaware, by all-round score.

Ranked by an all-round score: the average of all 15 quality scores (housing costs, taxes, jobs, healthcare, schools, education, family life, safety, natural disasters, climate and more), weighted equally. Places missing from the FBI crime table are left out, since their safety is unknown. Scores are out of 100.

1. 1Newark, DECollege town · 3-bed $325k · very safe71
2. 2Wilmington, DESmall city · 3-bed $296k · higher crime64
3. 3Rehoboth Beach, DEBeach town · 3-bed $692k · higher crime52
4. 4Dover, DESmall city · 3-bed $314k · higher crime50

Cheapest places to live in Delaware

Ranked by the typical value of a 3-bedroom home (Zillow), lowest first.

1. 1Wilmington, DESmall city · rent $2,170/mo · cost of living 103$296k
2. 2Dover, DESmall city · rent $2,040/mo · cost of living 98$314k
3. 3Newark, DECollege town · rent $2,170/mo · cost of living 103$325k
4. 4Rehoboth Beach, DEBeach town · rent $1,760/mo · cost of living 100$692k

Safest places to live in Delaware

Ranked by violent crimes per resident in FBI 2019 data, lowest first. Places missing from the FBI table are left out.

1. 1Newark, DECollege town · violent crime 0.7× the US rate250 per 100k
2. 2Rehoboth Beach, DEBeach town · violent crime 1.7× the US rate647 per 100k
3. 3Dover, DESmall city · violent crime 2.3× the US rate871 per 100k
4. 4Wilmington, DESmall city · violent crime 3.9× the US rate1498 per 100k

Safest places from natural disasters in Delaware

Ranked by our natural disaster score: FEMA's expected deaths, injuries and home damage from 18 hazards, plus federally declared disasters in the county since 2000.

1. 1Dover, DE6 declared disasters since 2000 · mainly flooding, hurricanes81
2. 2Newark, DE7 declared disasters since 2000 · mainly flooding79
3. 3Wilmington, DE7 declared disasters since 2000 · mainly flooding75
4. 4Rehoboth Beach, DE7 declared disasters since 2000 · mainly flooding, coastal flooding74

Best places to live for families in Delaware

Ranked by a family score: the average of our Kids & family, Safety, Schools and Affordable housing scores. Places missing from the FBI crime table are left out.

1. 1Newark, DECollege town · schools excellent · safety excellent · 3-bed $325k69
2. 2Rehoboth Beach, DEBeach town · schools excellent · safety below average · 3-bed $692k44
3. 3Dover, DESmall city · schools below average · safety below average · 3-bed $314k37
4. 4Wilmington, DESmall city · schools poor · safety poor · 3-bed $296k31

Best places for public schools in Delaware

Ranked by our Schools score: public school math and reading results in 2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP 2019, so places in different states compare fairly.

1. 1Newark, DECollege town · tests well above US average · 16 students per teacher · 3-bed $325k90
2. 2Rehoboth Beach, DEBeach town · tests well above US average · 15 students per teacher · 3-bed $692k80
3. 3Dover, DESmall city · tests below US average · 14 students per teacher · 3-bed $314k27
4. 4Wilmington, DESmall city · tests well below US average · 14 students per teacher · 3-bed $296k12

Best places to live · Cheapest places to live · Safest places to live · Safest places from natural disasters · Best places to live for families · Best places for public schools

Data: US Census, Zillow, HUD, BEA, FBI 2019, FEMA, NOAA, NASA, CMS, NCES and others. How scores work.