Best Places19936, DE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 19936, 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.
19936 ranks 19,331st 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 19936
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.
19936's strengths and weaknesses
Where 19936 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 81% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 19936 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 12% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 13% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 19936
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 19936 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,880, 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 19936's effective rate of 0.46%, 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 19936
19936 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 19936.
Who works in 19936, and how
Work in 19936 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 19936
The coast is about 19 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 19936, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 19936, month by month
19936 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 19936
The nearest airport, New Castle, is about 32 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 48 miles away.
The best schools in and around 19936
Schools across 19936 average a D+, better than 12% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- North Dover Elementary SchoolD · 18% proficient
- Towne Point Elementary SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top middle schools
- William Henry Middle SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Top high schools
- Dover High SchoolC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 19936 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
19936 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 19936 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 19936
Is 19936 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 19936 ranks 19,331st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, big-city access, and low property taxes, and lowest on an overheated housing market and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 19936 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $318,171. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $82,880 median income, cost of living beats 61% of zip codes.
Is 19936 safe?
19936 is safer than 40% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $309 per resident a year.
Compare 19936 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 19936. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 19936 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.
19936 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 19936: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 19936: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 19936: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 19936: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
19936 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.