Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Elsmere is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, 22nd among Delaware's 37 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is cost of living: a typical home costs about $236K, 2.6 years of the Philadelphia metro’s $91K median household income. Its lowest everyday mark is in health: residents are less healthy than 72% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. 23% of residents live below the poverty line in Elsmere, where Delaware’s towns sit at 8.1% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. On hazard risk, just 3 of Delaware’s 54 towns do worse. Elsmere is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 90% of U.S. towns.
Where Elsmere beats most towns.
Where Elsmere’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Delaware), ordered by how far Elsmere is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 374 in 1910, a peak of 8,415 in 1970, 6,229 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2018 and 6 maps from 1904 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Elsmere. Close and well known come first.
Big draw28 mi MuseumUSS New Jersey
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaLincoln Financial Field
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaXfinity Mobile Arena
Big draw28 mi Ancient siteIndependence Hall3.0M visitors a year
Big draw27 mi MuseumEastern State Penitentiary
Big draw34 mi MuseumLynnewood HallUSS New Jersey: Camera Operator: PH3 BRYANT, Public domain · Lincoln Financial Field: The original uploader was Betp at French Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Xfinity Mobile Arena: Jen Smith, CC BY 3.0 · Independence Hall: Mys 721tx, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Eastern State Penitentiary: Davidt8, Public domain · Lynnewood Hall: Shuvaev, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Elsmere, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Elsmere.
Elsmere gets more snow than almost anywhere else in Delaware and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Delaware (mostly inland flooding).
1.2 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. Only 3 of the 34 Delaware towns we compare have a higher trail density than Elsmere. The biggest park or preserve is Fairgrounds Park, at 29 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fairgrounds Park | 0.5 mi | 29 |
| 2. Maple Avenue Park | 0.3 mi | 6 |
| 3. Vilone Park | — | 17 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 2.6 years of the Philadelphia metro’s $91K median household income, the typical home (about $237K) costs less against local pay than in 97% of Delaware towns; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living. 67.4% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 49.6% across Delaware.
The typical Elsmere home is worth about $237,000, about the same as a year ago, 42% below the Delaware typical home.
| Elsmere | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 66% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,339 a month | $1,441 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Jobs based here fell from 2,764 in 2013 to 1,385.
Most working residents leave Elsmere for work: only 2% work in town. Since 2013, Elsmere has lost 1,379 jobs, to 1,385 in 2023. The median household income in Elsmere is $68,000.
| Elsmere | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 9.9% | 15% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.1% | 5.2% | 8% |
| Median household income | $68,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
14% of Elsmere adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance. Among 37 Delaware towns, just 2 have a lower share of adults who had a checkup this year than Elsmere. 21% of Elsmere adults worry about having enough food.
| Elsmere | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 8.4% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 14% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 27% | 25% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 77% | 81% | 79% |
| What stands out | Elsmere | DE |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.1% | 9.1% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 25.4% | 28.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 14.4% | 9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 94% of Delaware towns, with expected losses of about $476 per resident a year; that rating is what its C for hazard risk is built on.
Elsmere’s FEMA risk score is 68 of 100. Since 1978, 31 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Elsmere.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Wilmington New Castle Co Ap weather station, 5 miles away, records that 20 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, the highest of 79 Delaware places with climate records. January nights average 24.8°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 86% of Delaware places with climate records; July afternoons average 87.2°.
Elsmere has chilly winters and warm summers.
| Elsmere | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 87°F | 87°F | 85°F |
| January low | 25°F | 25°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Reported crimes fell from 124 to 69 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Among 22 Delaware towns, just 1 have a lower violent crime rate than Elsmere. Within Delaware, it does better than 67% of towns.
| Elsmere | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.4 per 1,000 residents | 3.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.6 per 1,000 residents | 18.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
9 within 15 miles of the center of Elsmere
About 3 of every 100 Elsmere residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Delaware.
Town in Delaware, United States
Elsmere is a town in New Castle County, Delaware, United States, bordering the city of Wilmington along Wilmington's western border. As of the 2020 census, Elsmere had a population of 6,229.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Elsmere.
| Town | DE rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elsmere | #22 | C+ | B | C+ | B | C |
| Wilmington | #32 | D | B | D− | C+ | C− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Elsmere grades C+ overall, better than 37% of U.S. towns and #22 of 37 in Delaware. It grades C for health, C+ for safety and B for schools.
Within Delaware, it does better than 67% of towns.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
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