Delaware is a state known for its lack of sales tax, its business-friendly laws (which is why so many corporate headquarters are located there), and its beach resorts. Delaware has gotten wealthier over the years, and its incomes now exceed the United States overall figures. Whereas the median household income for the United States overall is $78,538 — according to the latest data from the Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey — the median in Delaware is $82,855.
Past studies analyzed and identified the richest cities in several of Delaware’s neighboring states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. For this article, it’s now Delaware’s turn. This study analyzed 79 cities in Delaware with complete data from the Census Bureau, in terms of their median household income, mean (average) household income, median home value, and median property taxes paid per year, to come up with a list of the 20 richest cities in the state.
Read on to find out what the richest city in Delaware is, plus the top 20 wealthiest cities in the state overall.
What Are the Richest Cities in Delaware?
This list of the richest cities in Delaware was compiled based on key financial data sourced from the Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey. Harnessing these datasets, the analysis put together a scoring system based on four factors to help identify the wealthiest cities in Delaware:
- Median household income
- Mean (average) household income
- Median home value
- Median property taxes paid
The Census Bureau has some quirks with its data that must be noted. For certain factors, the Census numbers have upper limits, so there’s no exact value for certain factors. For example, for median household income, the Census Bureau has an upper limit of “$250,000+”. For median home value, the upper limit is “$2,000,000+”. For median property taxes paid, the upper limit is “$10,000+”. For these reasons, the mean household income (which is the same as average household income) dataset is crucial because the Census Bureau has exact figures for it. All four of these metrics were scored, added up, and then ranked by the cities’ combined scores.
Another aspect of the Census to point out, and is particularly relevant to Delaware and New England in general, is the Census-designated place — CDP. The Census, more or less, treats CDPs as cities — their terminology is “place” — and so will this list of the richest cities in Delaware. But if you see cities on this list that you see as, say, neighborhoods, you’re not wrong; they just happen to be treated as cities by the Census Bureau.
You’ll find a table detailing the top 15 richest cities in Delaware and their respective dollar figures for each metric, below:
The No. 1 richest city in Delaware in this ranking is Greenville, a bedroom community and suburb of Wilmington. The city is home to a number of beautiful and spacious homes. Its population is now over 3,100, a substantial increase over the last 10 years, spread across 1,508 households. Its median household income of $139,541 isn’t the highest in the state. But its average household income of $240,832 is the highest in Delaware. The median home value is over $1 million, but it’s the property taxes that really stand out: The median annual property taxes paid by household is $7,906. The top industries by employment, according to Data USA, are Finance & Insurance (17.6% of the workforce), Manufacturing (14%), and Health Care & Social Assistance (13.3%).
The second wealthiest place in Delaware is a beach community, Henlopen Acres. This place is located just north of the morn well-known beach town of Rehoboth Beach. This is a small community, with only 106 total households. The average household income here is less than in Greenville — $182,445 versus $240,832 — but the median household income is higher, at $168,750. The median home value in Henlopen Acres is in excess of $2 million, making it by far the most expensive place in Delaware. The median property taxes paid per year here is $4,483.
The No. 3 richest city in Delaware is Hockessin, which is another Wilmington suburb, right near the No. 1 richest city, Greenville. Hockessin is larger than that city, being home to over 13,000 people and nearly 4,800 households. The industries that employ the most people in Hockessin are Educational Services (16.8% of the workforce), Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (14.6% of the workforce), and Finance & Insurance (13.7% of the workforce). The median household income in Hockessin is $172,695, which is higher than the No. 1 and No. 2 cities’ median incomes. The average household income of $209,899 puts it behind Greenville’s $240,832. Home values, though, in Hockessin are lower, reflecting the city’s larger and more varied socio-economic demographic. The median home value here is $566,500, with a median of $4,800 paid in property taxes per household.
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