Best Places19904, DE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 19904, 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.
19904 ranks 16,843rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 19904
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.
19904's strengths and weaknesses
Where 19904 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 87% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 84% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 19904 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 13% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- School gradeC−, better than only 21% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 27% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 19904
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 19904 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $72,634; 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 19904's effective rate of 0.52%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 19904
19904's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 19904.
Who works in 19904, and how
Work in 19904 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 19904
19904 has more parkland per resident than 79% of zip codes. The coast is about 17 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 19904 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 19904, month by month
19904 sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 36° | 27° |
| April | 68° | 55° | 45° |
| July | 89° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 72° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 19904
The nearest airport, New Castle, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 52 miles away.
The best schools in and around 19904
Schools across 19904 average a C−, better than 21% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sunnyside Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Booker T. Washington Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Hartly Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Fred Fifer Iii Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Clayton Intermediate SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Moore (john Bassett) SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Caesar Rodney High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- Smyrna High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Dover High SchoolC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 19904 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
19904 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 19904 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 19904 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 19904
Is 19904 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 19904 ranks 16,843rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, big-city access, and transit, and lowest on an overheated housing market and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 19904 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $294,534. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $72,634 median income, cost of living beats 46% of zip codes.
Is 19904 safe?
19904 is safer than 20% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $518 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 19904?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 46 with lows near 27. That works out to about 64 pleasant days a year, more than 13% of zip codes.
Is 19904 good for families?
Schools beat 21% of zip codes, crime safety beats 20%, and childcare runs $749 a month.
Compare 19904 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 19904. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 19904 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.
19904 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 19904: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 19904: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 19904: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 19904: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
19904 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.