Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
New Castle grades B− overall, ranked 17th of 37 in Delaware, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. The median household earns $89K and 25% of its land is conserved. On the other side, it reports more crime per resident than 89% of U.S. towns, including 20 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 100% of U.S. towns, with 14 places on the National Register. 25% of the land in New Castle is conserved, against 14% in Delaware’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. New Castle is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 94% of U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 4 of Delaware’s 54 towns do better.
Where New Castle beats most towns.
George Read II House
George Read II House is one of 4 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,202 in 1850, 5,551 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1865 and 6 maps from 1904 on.
14 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Delaware), ordered by how far New Castle is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around New Castle. Close and well known come first.
Big draw30 mi MuseumUSS New Jersey
Big draw27 mi Stadium & arenaLincoln Financial Field
Big draw26 mi Stadium & arenaXfinity Mobile Arena
Big draw29 mi Ancient siteIndependence Hall3.0M visitors a year
Big draw29 mi MuseumEastern State Penitentiary
Big draw36 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 New Castle, 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 New Castle.
New Castle gets more snow than almost anywhere else in Delaware, draws workers from Wilmington and beyond and has homes that are cheap against local pay.
Its A for the outdoors ranks #3 of 37 in Delaware.
3.8 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. New Castle’s trail density is 1.1 miles per square mile, where Delaware’s towns sit at 0.4 and U.S. towns at 0.4.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Battery Park | — | 18 |
| 2. Bull Hill Park | — | 6 |
| 3. The Green | 0.2 mi | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charter School of New CastleLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 788 | C− |
| Harvest Christian Academy PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 241 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within DE on state tests and graduation
14,538 jobs are based in New Castle, 5.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 7,733 in 2013 to 14,538.
Most working residents leave New Castle for work: only 8% work in town. Since 2013, New Castle has added 6,805 jobs, to 14,538 in 2023. 4.7% of residents live below the poverty line in New Castle.
| New Castle | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 4.7% | 8.3% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $89,000 | $80,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 220 to 153 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
New Castle’s property crime rate is 23.1 per 1,000 residents. New Castle reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 89% report less. New Castle’s violent crime rate is 3.5 per 1,000 residents.
| New Castle | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 23.1 per 1,000 residents | 17.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.5 per 1,000 residents | 3.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 89% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 32 flood insurance claims have been paid out in New Castle.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 3 years of the Philadelphia metro’s $91K median household income, the typical home (about $277K) costs less against local pay than in 94% of Delaware towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living.
The typical New Castle home is worth about $277,000, about the same as a year ago, 32% below the Delaware typical home. The median rent in New Castle is $1,739 a month.
| New Castle | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,739 a month | $1,424 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 63% | 70% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
New Castle beats the Delaware average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 15% of New Castle adults report frequent mental distress.
| New Castle | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 33% | 33% |
| What stands out | New Castle | DE |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.8% | 12.7% |
| More adults seeing a dentist | 67% | 63.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Wilmington New Castle Co Ap weather station records that 20 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, the highest of 79 Delaware places with climate records.
New Castle has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87° and January nights drop to 25°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 35 to 64 are 43% of residents (38% statewide); children under 18 are 16% of residents (21% statewide). New Castle has grown 3.3% since 2020, to 5,726 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 34% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across Delaware.
| New Castle | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 48.5 years | 40 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 16% | 21% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 35% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.6 points. Across Delaware, 51.6% of residents are women.
| New Castle | DE | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.2% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.2% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 2.8% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.6% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.8% | 11.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.4% | 14% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.9% | 12.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.1% | 8.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.7% | 28.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.2% | 18.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.2% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.6% | 20.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 19.2% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
5 within 15 miles of the center of New Castle
About 1 of every 100 New Castle residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Delaware.
Where New Castle’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
14 places in New Castle on the National Register of Historic Places.
16 notable people were born in New Castle.
City in Delaware, United States
New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The city is located six miles (10 km) south of Wilmington and is situated on the Delaware River. As of 2020, the city's population was 5,551. New Castle constitutes part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with New Castle.
| Town | DE rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Castle | #17 | B− | B− | D | C | B+ |
| Wilmington Manor | #7 | A− | A− | — | C | B− |
Wilmington Manor reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare New Castle with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
New Castle grades B− overall, better than 51% of U.S. towns and #17 of 37 in Delaware. It grades B+ for health, D for safety and C for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Within Delaware, it does better than 33% 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−.
16 notable people were born here, including Ryan Phillippe and Vinnie Moore.
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