Lincoln City Fire Station, 2013
Lincoln’s story
161 years in pictures
The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2013.
- 1865Lincoln is settled
LincolnDE
A town of 1,873, settled in 1865.
Photo: Superman7515 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Population
1,873
Census survey, 2020–24
Typical home
$360K
+1% in a year
Household income
$108K
median
Median age
28.4
years
Jobs based here
228
A commuter town
Is Lincoln a good place to live?
The best of Lincoln’s subject grades are an A for cost of living and incomes; the weakest is a C− for walkability. No town in Delaware scores higher than Lincoln on cost of living. On the outdoors, just 2 of Delaware’s 54 towns do worse. Lincoln has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Lincoln stand out
Where Lincoln beats most towns.
A commuter town
98% of working residents leave Lincoln for work
Where Lincoln’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
228jobs based in Lincoln
2%of working residents work in town
16 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Lincoln grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Delaware), ordered by how far Lincoln is from typical.
Cost of livingAOpen →Jobs & incomeAOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 6.5 of 20; 11.6% of households have no car; 0% of workers walk, bike or ride transitC−Open →HealthBayhealth Hospital, Sussex Campus 6.1 miles awayC−Open →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 31% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listB+Open →SchoolsC+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
Climate–Open →Housing market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 28.4; 0% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
Moving to Lincoln: who provides what
Lincoln is unincorporated, so Sussex County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerDelmarva Power18.2¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterCedar Village LLC water system1 health-based violation in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet6 providers98% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesSussex CountySussex County provides services here
Register to voteOnlineIn Delaware you can register online until 24 days before Election Day, in person until 24 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 24 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereDepartment of Elections - Sussex County OfficeSussex County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Sep 2019
ZIP code1996019960 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Lincoln.
SchoolsC+
Lincoln’s schools rank behind 60% of Delaware districts
Its public schools are run by the Milford School District. Its one school is below.
40%of DE districts it outscoresC+School Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morris (Evelyn I.) Early ChildhoodLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–K | Grades PK–K | 438 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within DE on state tests and graduation
HealthC−
Lincoln is less healthy than 78% of U.S. towns
Lincoln beats the Delaware average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 16. 44% of adults have high blood pressure in Lincoln, where Delaware’s towns sit at 37% and U.S. towns at 35%. 18% of Lincoln adults smoke cigarettes.
22%healthier than U.S. townsC−Health Grade
| Lincoln | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 37% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 12% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 16% |
32 measures vs. Delaware
1 better15 too close to call16 worse
| What stands out | Lincoln | DE |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.7% | 78.1% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 19.9% | 13.9% |
Bayhealth Hospital, Sussex Campus
6.1 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A
Most of Lincoln’s workers commute out: the town has 0.7 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Lincoln for work: only 2% work in town. At $108,000, Lincoln’s median household income is above both Delaware’s towns ($81,000) and U.S. towns ($80,000). Jobs based in Lincoln grew to 228 in 2023, 184 more than in 2013.
2%work in town
| Lincoln | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $108,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.7% | 5.1% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Lincoln2%
Milford18%
Georgetown6%
Lewes6%
Dover4%
16 mi
median commute distance
228
jobs based in Lincoln
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade B+
Lincoln faces a low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 69% of U.S. communities.
31risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold wavesHurricanes
1
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Lincoln
Lincoln has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 27° and about 13 inches of snow falls in a winter.
13″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter28–47°
Spring43–65°
Summer65–85°
Fall48–69°
Oct 30
typical first frost
Apr 11
typical last frost
+2.1°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
HousingCost of living grade A
Lincoln’s typical home value is about $360K
The typical Lincoln home is worth about $360,000, up 1% in a year, 11% below the Delaware typical home. 85% of households own their home in Lincoln.
$360KZillow home value
Typical home value
Lincoln$360K
Delaware$405K
+1%
value change, 1 year
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Nearby attractions
All 43 attractions →Morey's Piers and 19 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lincoln. Close and well known come first.
34 mi Theme parkMorey's Piers
19 mi LandmarkFort Miles
17 mi MuseumAir Mobility Command Museum36 mi Zoo & aquariumCape May County Park & Zoo40 mi Theme parkJolly Roger Amusement Park34 mi Theme parkHunt's PierSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Morey's Piers: Smallbones, CC0 · Fort Miles: Unknown, Public domain · Air Mobility Command Museum: Teamski1, CC BY-SA 4.0
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Lincoln
17pages on Lincoln
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Lincoln; the nearest are
Delaware State UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Dover23 mi$10,670 in-state tuitionWor-Wic Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Salisbury, MD34.4 mi$3,840 in-state tuition
About 9 of every 100 Lincoln residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Delaware.
About Lincoln
Unincorporated community in Delaware, United States
Lincoln (originally Lincoln City) is an unincorporated community in northern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. It is part of the Seaford, Delaware, Micropolitan Statistical Area. The planner who originally laid out the town planned for it to become the county seat. Lincoln lies on U.S. Route 113 between Ellendale and Milford. The town was never incorporated, but streets were laid out and several businesses and residences came, surrounding the current Delmarva Central Railroad line. Lincoln was formerly the headquarters of the Delaware Coast Line Railroad. Recently there has been a push to incorporate Lincoln, primarily for two reasons. First, the city of Milford is quickly growing tow…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Elevation
- 43 ft
- ZIP code
- 19960
Questions about Lincoln
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Lincoln, DE expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.