Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Lewes gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $585K, 7.2 years of the Seaford area’s $81K median household income. It grades A overall, 2nd among Delaware's 37 graded towns. On the plus side, its schools outperform 81% of the state's. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 96% of U.S. towns, with 17 places on the National Register. 68% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Lewes, where Delaware’s towns sit at 34% and U.S. towns at 29%. Lewes is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Lightship WLV 539 and Delaware Breakwater and Lewes Harbor.
Where Lewes beats most towns.
Lightship WLV 539
Lightship WLV 539 is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier. Its founding year, 1631, is the earliest of any Delaware town we grade.
Census counts: 1,090 in 1870, 3,303 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1918 and 7 maps from 1918 on.
12 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Lewes takes its name from Lewes in East Sussex, England, 3,610 miles across the Atlantic.
UKUK editionLewes, settled in 1631, takes its name from Lewes, a town in East Sussex, England.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Delaware), ordered by how far Lewes is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lewes, 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 Lewes.
Lewes fares better on crime within Delaware than nationally, pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices and has a longer frost-free season than almost anywhere else in Delaware.
Its A− for schools comes with a B for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $585K. Its A− ranks #1 of the 37 Delaware towns we grade for schools.
Its public schools are run by the Cape Henlopen School District. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewes Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 620 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within DE on state tests and graduation
4,992 jobs are based in Lewes, 4.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 40.2% of workers work from home, against 15% across Delaware.
Most working residents leave Lewes for work: only 16% work in town. Jobs based in Lewes grew to 4,992 in 2023, 1,123 more than in 2013. The median household income in Lewes is $96,000.
| Lewes | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 4.5% | 8% |
| Median household income | $96,000 | $80,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 7.9% | 8.3% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its 1,050 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 97% of Delaware towns. Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #1 of 37 in Delaware.
3.7 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Cape Henlopen State Park, at 318 acres. Lewes’ trail density is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lewes Canal Front Park and Marina | 0.5 mi | 4 |
| 2. Cape Henlopen State Park | — | 318 |
| 3. George H.P. Smith Park | 0.1 mi | 15 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 7.2 years of the Seaford area’s $81K median household income, the typical home (about $585K) costs more against local pay than in 97% of Delaware towns; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living.
87% of households own their home in Lewes. The typical Lewes home is worth about $585,000, up 0.5% in a year, 44% above the Delaware typical home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
11% of Lewes adults report frequent mental distress. Of the 37 Delaware towns we compare, none has a lower share of adults who feel lonely than Lewes. 17% of Lewes adults say their health is fair or poor.
| Lewes | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 16% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 15% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 37% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 48% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Lewes | DE |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 4.9% | 11.6% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 3.5% | 7.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 16.4% | 9.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
98 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 15 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 74% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 98 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lewes.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Lewes weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 231 days, the highest of 79 Delaware places with climate records.
Lewes has mild winters and warm summers. Among 37 Delaware towns, just 1 have a lower July high than Lewes.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 17.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 86% of Delaware’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lewes. Close and well known come first.
3 mi LandmarkFort Miles
23 mi Theme parkMorey's Piers
in town MuseumZwaanendael Museum
31 mi National SeashoreAssateague Island National Seashore2.3M visitors a year
39 mi MuseumUSCGC Tamaroa
6 mi Theme parkFunland (Rehoboth Beach, Delaware)Fort Miles: Unknown, Public domain · Morey's Piers: Smallbones, CC0 · Zwaanendael Museum: Smallbones, CC0 · Assateague Island National Seashore: Fritz Geller-Grimm, CC BY-SA 2.5 · USCGC Tamaroa: Unknown USCG member, Public domain · Funland (Rehoboth Beach, Delaware): Tsole, CC BY-SA 4.0
None within 15 miles of Lewes; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Lewes residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Delaware.
2,747 counted in 2010 and 3,303 in 2020; an estimated 3,826 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 14.7% since 2020, after 20.2% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
12 places in Lewes on the National Register of Historic Places.
19 notable people were born in Lewes.
City in Delaware, United States
Lewes ( LOO-əss) is an incorporated city on the Delaware Bay in eastern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 3,303. Along with neighboring Rehoboth Beach, Lewes is one of the principal cities of Delaware's rapidly growing Cape Region. The city lies within the Salisbury, Maryland–Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lewes proudly claims to be "The First Town in The First State."
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Lewes grades A overall, better than 90% of U.S. towns and #2 of 37 in Delaware. It grades B+ for health, B− for safety and A− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
19 notable people were born here, including Daniel Rodney and David Hall.
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