What Is It Like to Live in Delaware?

What it costs to live here, and how good a place it is to live, in plain numbers.

Best place to live rank

#43

43rd out of 50 states overall.

Among the weaker states for overall quality of life.

How we rank states ›

Cost to live here

#35

35th cheapest state, about 5% above average.

To live the way $75,000 affords in an average state, you would need about $78,900 here.

How we measure cost ›

Delaware ranks 43rd of 50 states for overall quality of life and 35th for affordability. It does best on climate, walkability, and education, and struggles most with cost, dog friendly, and green space. A typical household earns about $75,800 a year, and the cost of living runs about 5% above average.

Why Delaware ranks #43 for living

Our Best Life Rank scores every state on the things that shape daily life, from cost and climate to schools and safety. Here is how Delaware scores on each, best to worst.

Climate
#13 of 50
Walkability
#16 of 50
Education
#23 of 50
Healthcare
#24 of 50
Air quality
#27 of 50
Economy
#29 of 50
Safety
#31 of 50
Cost of living
#35 of 50
Dog friendly
#39 of 50
Green space
#50 of 50

Each factor is ranked 1 (best) to 50 (worst) across all states. Green is strong, yellow is middling, red is weak.

Delaware at a glance

Typical household income

$75,800

18th highest

Typical home price

$384,000

22nd highest

Overall cost of living

5% above average

35th cheapest

Total taxes on a typical household

About 7%

12th highest income tax

Typical commute

About 26 min

one way

Taxes in Delaware

See your real Delaware take-home pay

Enter your salary and get your actual paycheck after Delaware taxes.

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Sources: Cost and income from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tax rates from the Tax Foundation. Best Life Rank factors from the Commonwealth Fund, NAEP, FBI, EPA, and NOAA. Cost measured by the BLISS Score, v1.3 method. Updated 2026.