Best Places19970, DE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 19970, 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.
19970 ranks 5,748th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 19970
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.
19970's strengths and weaknesses
Where 19970 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 96% of zip codes
Where 19970 ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 67 pleasant days a year, better than only 19% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 25% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 19970
A household needs to earn about $128,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 19970 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $96,760, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 19970's effective rate of 0.29%, 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 19970
19970 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 19970.
Who works in 19970, and how
Work in 19970 centers on education and hospitality & food. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 19970
19970 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of zip codes. The coast is about 6 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 19970 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 19970, month by month
19970 sees roughly 67 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 38° | 28° |
| April | 70° | 57° | 45° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 74° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 19970
The nearest airport, Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 92 miles away.
The best schools in and around 19970
Schools across 19970 average a B−, better than 53% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lord Baltimore Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Selbyville Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Indian River High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 19970 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
19970 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 19970 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 19970
Is 19970 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 19970 ranks 5,748th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, a strong job market, and civic engagement, and lowest on empty homes and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 19970 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $528,072. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $96,760 median income, cost of living beats 78% of zip codes.
Is 19970 safe?
Yes, 19970 is safer than 94% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $165 per resident a year.
Compare 19970 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 19970. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 19970 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.
19970 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 19970: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 19970: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 19970: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 19970: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
19970 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.