Best Places19971, DE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 19971, 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.
19971 ranks 4,866th 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 19971
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.
19971's strengths and weaknesses
Where 19971 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 19971 ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 10% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 19971
A household needs to earn about $171,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 19971 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $117,629, 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 19971's effective rate of 0.24%, 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 19971
19971 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 19971.
Who works in 19971, and how
Work in 19971 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 65%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 19971
19971 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 96% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 98% of zip codes. The coast is about 5 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 19971 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 19971, month by month
19971 sees roughly 61 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 19971
The nearest airport, Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 80 miles away.
The best schools in and around 19971
Schools across 19971 average a B, better than 63% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lewes Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Lord Baltimore Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Rehoboth Elementary SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Beacon Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Selbyville Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Indian River High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Cape Henlopen High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 19971 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
19971 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 19971 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 19971
Is 19971 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 19971 ranks 4,866th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, low property taxes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on empty homes and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 19971 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $709,207. The overall cost of living runs about 10% above the national average. Set against a $117,629 median income, cost of living beats 88% of zip codes.
Is 19971 safe?
19971 is safer than 39% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $380 per resident a year.
Compare 19971 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 19971. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 19971 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.
19971 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 19971: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 19971: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 19971: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 19971: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
19971 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.