Best Places19803, DE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 19803, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
19803 ranks 2,297th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 19803
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
19803's strengths and weaknesses
Where 19803 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 19803 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,109 a month, better than only 24% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- School gradeC−, better than only 25% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 19803
A household needs to earn about $124,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 19803 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $143,198, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 19803's effective rate of 0.70%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 19803
19803 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 19803.
Who works in 19803, and how
Work in 19803 centers on health care & social and finance & insurance. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 19803
19803 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. The coast is about 31 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 19803 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 19803, month by month
19803 sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 35° | 26° |
| April | 68° | 55° | 43° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 72° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 19803
The nearest airport, New Castle, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 16 miles away.
The best schools in and around 19803
Schools across 19803 average a C−, better than 25% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Brandywine Springs SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Hanby Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Lombardy Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dupont (pierre S.) Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Springer Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
- Skyline Middle SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top high schools
- Concord High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Mount Pleasant High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Brandywine High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 19803 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
19803 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 19803 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 19803 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 25% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 19803
Is 19803 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 19803 ranks 2,297th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, few empty homes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on noise and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 19803 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $482,232. The overall cost of living runs about 4% above the national average. Set against a $143,198 median income, cost of living beats 96% of zip codes.
Is 19803 safe?
19803 is safer than 47% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $313 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 19803?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 26. That works out to about 59 pleasant days a year, more than 7% of zip codes.
Is 19803 good for families?
Schools beat 25% of zip codes, crime safety beats 47%, and childcare runs $1,109 a month.
Compare 19803 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 19803. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 19803 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
19803 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 19803: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 19803: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 19803: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 19803: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
19803 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.