Photo: Cortlandt Van Dyke Hubbard, Photographer · Public domainHow is Bethel run?
Bethel’s town government spent $4,000 on day-to-day services in the year to February 28, 2023, about $16 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Bethel didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Bethel is run
Read from the town’s budget and official records.
Laurel School District
Bethel’s K–12 school district, shared with Laurel. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $16,661 per pupil, $8,946 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Delaware districts overall: 32% local, 57% state, 11% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
About $16 per resident a year, or $0.04 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: administration & buildings, at 100%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Revenue is well above spending. That usually means Bethel collects property taxes for the school district and county and passes them on, so only its own spending is counted.
Bethel didn’t report all of its 2023 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for Bethel yet
Every year of Bethel’s figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the town reported none of its dollars for 2022–2023. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →The typical homeowner pays $479 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.16% of the home’s value, vs 0.50% across Delaware.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Bethel’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Bethel’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Bethel →
Who’s in charge in Bethel
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Bethel’s votes are counted by county
Delaware reports official results by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Bethel alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Sussex County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican54.9%81,025 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat43.9%64,836 votesOthers: 1.2% (1,778 votes).
Most votes in Sussex County: Donald J Trump
Delaware: Harris 56.5%, Trump 41.8%
100% of Bethel lies in Sussex County. Every 2024 race in Sussex County is on the county’s page.
Sussex County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Bethel.
- 1Your townTown governmentLocal officials aren’t on record yet.
- 2Delaware HouseState representatives
- 3Delaware SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Delaware
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Bethel’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Bethel’s government
How much does Bethel spend per resident?
About $16 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to February 28, 2023, a Census Bureau estimate (Bethel didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $4,000.
What is the property tax rate in Bethel?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $479 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.16% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.50% across Delaware. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see the town’s assessor.
Who runs Bethel’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Bethel yet.
How did Bethel vote in 2024?
Delaware counts votes by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Bethel alone. Sussex County, where 100% of Bethel lies, voted Trump 54.9%, Harris 43.9% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Bethel?
0 full-time and 1 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $658 (about $7,896 a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Bethel in the state legislature?
State Senate District 21 (Bryant Richardson) and State House District 40 (Tim Dukes). The House district also covers two neighboring towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Bethel’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (for Bethel, the Bureau’s estimates); day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →