Best Places19806, DE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 19806, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
19806 ranks 4,387th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 19806
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.
19806's strengths and weaknesses
Where 19806 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 19806 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 19806
A household needs to earn about $101,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 19806 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $99,922; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 19806's effective rate of 0.94%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 19806
19806 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 19806.
Who works in 19806, and how
Work in 19806 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 64%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in 19806
19806 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 73% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. The coast is about 27 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 19806 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 19806, month by month
19806 sees roughly 60 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 19806
The nearest airport, New Castle, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 19 miles away.
The best schools in and around 19806
Schools across 19806 average a D, better than 5% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Brandywine Springs SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Lombardy Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Johnson (joseph E. Jr) Elementary SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dupont (h.b.) Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Springer Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
- Skyline Middle SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top high schools
- Brandywine High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Dickinson (john) SchoolC · 30% proficient
- Dupont (alexis I.) High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 19806 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
19806 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 19806 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 19806
Is 19806 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 19806 ranks 4,387th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, an educated workforce, and state infrastructure, and lowest on noise and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 19806 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $379,009. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $99,922 median income, cost of living beats 89% of zip codes.
Is 19806 safe?
19806 is safer than 29% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $388 per resident a year.
Compare 19806 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 19806. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 19806 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.
19806 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 19806: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 19806: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 19806: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 19806: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
19806 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.