Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Milton is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B+ overall, 10th of 37 graded towns in Delaware, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its public schools beat 81% of Delaware towns on state tests and graduation. It also does better than most on health: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 72% of the country. A typical home there costs about $476K, 5.8 years of the Seaford area’s $81K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 91% of U.S. towns, with 6 places on the National Register. Milton’s median age is 52.6 years, above both Delaware’s towns (40 years) and U.S. towns (40.5 years). Its National Register listings include Gov. James Ponder House and Draper-Adkins House.
Where Milton beats most towns.
Draper-Adkins House| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Milton Elementary School | K–5 | 582 |
| H. O. Brittingham Elementary School | K–5 | 506 |
| Mariner Middle School | 6–8 | 552 |
Census counts: 780 in 1860, 3,291 in 2020. The archive holds 28 old photos and papers going back to 2006 and 6 maps from 1918 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Delaware), ordered by how far Milton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Milton, 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 Milton.
Milton has schools in the top 5% of Delaware, but it has seen reported crime rise by about half.
People 65 and older are 41% of residents (21% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 28% of residents (38% statewide). Milton has grown 16% since 2020, to 3,860 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 41% of Milton adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
54% women, 46% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.6 points. Across Delaware, 51.6% of residents are women. Among residents 18 to 24, 100% are men (DE 50%).
| Milton | DE | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.8% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.9% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.8% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.4% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11% | 11.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 8.6% | 14% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 29% | 12.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.6% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.7% | 8.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.7% | 28.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.3% | 18.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.6% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23% | 20.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.7% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,900, single groups can be off by several points
Its A− ranks #1 of the 37 Delaware towns we grade for schools.
Its public schools are run by the Cape Henlopen School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milton Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 582 | A |
| H. O. Brittingham Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 506 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within DE on state tests and graduation
28% of adults feel lonely in Milton. Milton beats the Delaware average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 13% of adults report frequent mental distress in Milton.
| Milton | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 37% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 84% | 81% | 79% |
| What stands out | Milton | DE |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.8% | 11.6% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.2% | 7.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.9% | 9.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Milton has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 27° and about 11 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Milton home is worth about $476,000, up 0.6% in a year, 17% above the Delaware typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most working residents leave Milton for work: only 7% work in town. Jobs based in Milton grew to 1,112 in 2023, 172 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Lewes (8%), Georgetown (5%) and Milford (5%).
| Milton | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 5.5% | 8.3% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 7% | 4.5% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Milton Memorial Park | — | 2 |
| 2. Mill Park | 0.1 mi | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 58% of U.S. communities. Since 1998, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Milton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes rose from 34 to 59 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Milton’s violent crime rate is 3.3 per 1,000 residents. Within Delaware, it does better than 81% of towns. Milton’s property crime rate is 11.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Milton | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.3 per 1,000 residents | 3.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 11.8 per 1,000 residents | 18.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Milton. Close and well known come first.
31 mi Theme parkMorey's Piers
12 mi LandmarkFort Miles
33 mi National SeashoreAssateague Island National Seashore2.3M visitors a year
25 mi MuseumAir Mobility Command Museum31 mi Theme parkJolly Roger Amusement Park
14 mi Theme parkFunland (Rehoboth Beach, Delaware)Morey's Piers: Smallbones, CC0 · Fort Miles: Unknown, Public domain · Assateague Island National Seashore: Fritz Geller-Grimm, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Air Mobility Command Museum: Teamski1, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Funland (Rehoboth Beach, Delaware): Tsole, CC BY-SA 4.0
None within 15 miles of Milton; the nearest are
About 7 of every 100 Milton residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Delaware.
2,576 counted in 2010 and 3,291 in 2020; an estimated 3,860 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 16.4% since 2020, after 27.8% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
5 places in Milton on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Milton.
Town in Delaware, United States
Milton is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States, on the Delmarva Peninsula. It is located on the Broadkill River, which empties into Delaware Bay. The population was 3,291 at the 2020 census. It is part of the rapidly growing Cape Region and lies within the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. Delaware Route 5 passes through Milton.
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. Milton grades B+ overall, better than 68% of U.S. towns and #10 of 37 in Delaware. It grades B+ for health, B− for safety and A− for schools.
Within Delaware, it does better than 81% 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 C+.
6 notable people were born here, including Bryan Stevenson and Joseph M. Carey.
.jpg){kind=link}