Best PlacesChestnut Knoll, DE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Chestnut Knoll, 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.
Chestnut Knoll ranks 33,805th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Chestnut Knoll
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.
Chestnut Knoll's strengths and weaknesses
Where Chestnut Knoll ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 98% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 91% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 89% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 84% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 84% of towns
Where Chestnut Knoll ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 12% of towns
- Household income$49,702 median, better than only 12% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 63 pleasant days a year, better than only 13% of towns
- School gradeD+, better than only 15% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 24% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Chestnut Knoll
A household needs to earn about $90,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Chestnut Knoll home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $49,702, 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 Chestnut Knoll's effective rate of 0.44%, 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 Chestnut Knoll
Chestnut Knoll 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 Chestnut Knoll.
Who works in Chestnut Knoll, and how
Work in Chestnut Knoll centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Chestnut Knoll
The coast is about 15 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Chestnut Knoll, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Chestnut Knoll, month by month
Chestnut Knoll sees roughly 63 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 Chestnut Knoll
The nearest airport, Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional, is about 44 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 63 miles away.
The best schools in and around Chestnut Knoll
Schools across Chestnut Knoll average a D+, better than 15% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Lake Forest East Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Banneker (benjamin) Elementary SchoolD · 16% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chipman (w.t.) Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Milford Central AcademyD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- Lake Forest High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Milford Senior High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Chestnut Knoll school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Chestnut Knoll 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 Chestnut Knoll against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Chestnut Knoll
Is Chestnut Knoll a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Chestnut Knoll ranks 33,805th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, big-city access, and cell coverage, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Chestnut Knoll expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $360,407. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $49,702 median income, cost of living beats 12% of towns.
Is Chestnut Knoll safe?
Yes, Chestnut Knoll is safer than 61% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $237 per resident a year.
Compare Chestnut Knoll with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Chestnut Knoll. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Chestnut Knoll 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.
Chestnut Knoll detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Chestnut Knoll: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Chestnut Knoll: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Chestnut Knoll: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Chestnut Knoll: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Chestnut Knoll 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.