Sussex County, Delaware

Sussex County has a population of 255,626 and has grown 16.8% since the 2020 census. The median home is worth $382,600, about 4.7 times the county's median household income of $81,497.

Home price
$382,600
Income
$81,497
Population
255,626
Unemployment
5.3%

Housing

Home values, rent, property taxes, insurance and how local prices relate to local incomes.

Median home price$382,600county
Median gross rent$1,238county
Median year homes here were built1999county
Share of homes built before 198024.1%county
Share of homes that are manufactured or mobile12.9%county
Share of homes that are vacant29.9%county
Share of occupied homes that are rented18.4%county
Share of homes held for seasonal or occasional use25.2%county
Typical monthly rent$2,208county
HUD fair market rent, 2-bed$1,399county
HUD fair market rent, 1-bed$1,066county
HUD fair market rent, 3-bed$1,757county
Home insurance / yr$1,374(statewide)

Money

Household earnings and buying power. Adjusted income restates local income using the statewide cost-of-living index.

Cost of living101.9(statewide)
Median household income$81,497county
Family health premium / yr$27,869(statewide)
Infant childcare / yr$16,220(statewide)
Regular gas price / gal$3.981(statewide)
Poverty rate10.9%county

Jobs

What people here do for work, who they work for, whether they work from home, and how much of the local economy sits in one industry.

Workers who work from home13.4%county
Unemployment rate5.3%county
Share of adults in the labor force54.1%county
Share of workers who are self-employed6.4%county
Share of workers employed by government14.6%county
Share of workers in the largest industry23.0%county
Economic output per resident$91,367county

Taxes

State tax rules that can affect take-home pay, investments and everyday purchases.

Property tax rate0.32%county
Top state income tax6.60%(statewide)
Capital gains tax6.60%(statewide)
Combined sales tax0.00%(statewide)

Transportation

Distance to air travel and how people get around locally. Distances are straight-line from the county's population-weighted centre, so driving is further.

Mean commute time27.3 mincounty
Miles to nearest airport with airline service24 micounty
Passengers boarding at the nearest airline airport60442county
Miles to nearest general aviation field2.3 micounty
Airports with airline service located here0county
General aviation airfields located here2county
Passenger train stations and the railway network0county
Miles to the nearest passenger rail station68 micounty
Households without a vehicle3.3%county
Traffic deaths32.5county
Change in traffic deaths per 100,000-5.6(statewide)

Schools

Public schools and colleges counted where they actually sit, plus the education level of adults who live here. Students per teacher is a staffing measure, not a quality ranking.

Adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher33.0%county
Adults 25+ with a high school diploma or higher90.2%county
Public schools in the county49county
Public school enrollment32366county
Students per full-time teacher14.8county
Elementary schools25county
Middle schools11county
High schools9county
Institutions granting bachelor's degrees or above0county
Two-year institutions0county
Miles to the nearest bachelor's-granting institution26 micounty

Health

Primary care physicians61county
Medicare-certified hospitals in this county4county
Hospitals here with an emergency department3county
Average CMS star rating of hospitals here3county
Fine particulate matter7.2 µgcounty
Without health insurance7.0%county
Adults who were food insecure in the past year12.4%county
Adults who received food assistance in the past year10.3%county
Frequent mental distress14.0%county
No leisure-time physical activity24.2%county
Diagnosed diabetes14.2%county

Place

Who lives here and what the place is like: population, age, migration, safety and civic profile.

Population255,626county
Land area in square miles936county
People per square mile of land273.0county
Supermarkets and grocery stores41county
Convenience stores26county
Share living far from a food store25.1%county
Share living in a low-income, low-access tract18.4%county
Population change since 2020+16.8%county
Natural change per 1,000 residents-4county
Net international migration per 1,000 residents2county
Median age51.9 yrscounty
Share of residents under 1818.1%county
Share of residents 65 and over30.2%county
Share of households that are one person26.8%county
Share of residents born outside the United States8.4%county
Second languages13.0%county
Share of residents on a religious body’s rolls34.9%county
Congregations per 100,000 residents119county
Net domestic migration per 1,000 residents23county
Households that moved in8,399county
Households that moved away5,370county
Average income of arriving households$112,029county
Average income of departing households$79,047county
Homes authorised per 1,000 existing homes26county
Housing units authorised in the latest year3,885county
Share of permitted homes in multifamily buildings16.0%county
Violent crime rate361(statewide)

Weather

Measured annual temperature, precipitation and snowfall. These are climate facts, not a ranking.

Avg. annual temperature56.5°Fcounty
Annual precipitation41.7 incounty
Annual snowfall21.1 incounty
Average daily solar energy4.16 kWh/m²county
Days reaching 90°F22 dayscounty
Days at or below freezing89 dayscounty

Gardening

Plant hardiness zoneZone 7acounty
Frost-free days219 dayscounty
Average last spring frostApr 1county
Average first fall frostNov 6county

Utilities

Average monthly electric bill$147county
Electric utilities serving this county3county
Electricity price per kWh15.2¢county
Household electricity use930 kWhcounty
Residential natural gas price$21.77(statewide)
Homes heated by electricity52.7%county
Homes heated by utility gas17.9%county
Homes heated by propane19.5%county
Homes heated by fuel oil6.9%county
Homes heated by wood1.0%county
Households with broadband91.5%county

Risk

Relative exposure to air pollution and natural hazards. Higher values indicate more measured risk, not a prediction.

Riverine flood risk92.8county
Coastal flood risk97.6county
Drought risk86.5county
Landslide risk50.6county
Hail risk60.4county
Earthquake risk81.5county
Tornado risk63.4county
Tropical cyclone risk97.2county
Extreme heat risk89.4county
Winter weather risk96.7county
Strong wind risk85.6county
Wildfire risk84.8county

Sports

Major pro teams based here0county
NFL teams based here0county
NBA teams based here0county
MLB teams based here0county
NHL teams based here0county
MLS soccer teams based here0county
Top-division college football teams0county
Second-tier college football teams0county
Affiliated minor league baseball teams0county
AHL teams based here0county
ECHL teams based here0county

Figures marked county are measured for Sussex County directly. The rest are published at state level only and show the Delaware figure — see methodology for each source and its limits.

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