Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,107, incorporated in 1889.
Ocean View grades B− overall, 18th among Delaware's 37 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 77% of U.S. towns. On the other side, the typical home is worth about $544K, 6.7 years of the Seaford area’s $81K median household income. 7.7% of residents are under 18 in Ocean View, below both Delaware’s towns (21%) and U.S. towns (22%). Among 37 Delaware towns, just 1 have a higher median age than Ocean View. Ocean View has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Tunnell-West House and Evans-West House.
Where Ocean View beats most towns.
1,882 counted in 2010 and 2,636 in 2020; an estimated 3,107 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 16.6% since 2020, after 40.1% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Delaware), ordered by how far Ocean View is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 302 in 1910, 2,636 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1793 and 7 maps from 1918 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ocean View, 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 Ocean View.
Ocean View has milder winter nights than almost anywhere else in Delaware, sends many workers across the state line to Ocean City and fares better on crime within Delaware than nationally.
Its public schools are run by the Indian River School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lord Baltimore Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 557 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within DE on state tests and graduation
At 9.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 90% of Delaware’s graded towns.
The property crime rate in Ocean View is 3.5 per 1,000 residents. Only 2 of the 22 Delaware towns we compare have a lower violent crime rate than Ocean View.
| Ocean View | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.5 per 1,000 residents | 18.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.6 per 1,000 residents | 3.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
At 6.7 years of the Seaford area’s $81K median household income, the typical home (about $544K) costs more against local pay than in 89% of Delaware towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living.
93% of households own their home in Ocean View. The typical Ocean View home is worth about $544,000, up 0.7% in a year, 34% above the Delaware typical home. Ocean View’s median rent is $1,774 a month.
| Ocean View | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 93% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,774 a month | $1,424 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Assawoman Canal | — | 18 |
| 2. John West Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
26% of Ocean View adults feel lonely. Only 2 of the 37 Delaware towns we compare have a lower share of adults who report frequent mental distress than Ocean View. 14% of Ocean View adults report frequent physical distress.
| Ocean View | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 16% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 37% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 33% | 33% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 16% |
| What stands out | Ocean View | DE |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 5.3% | 11.6% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 3.7% | 7.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 15.6% | 9.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 29.5°, the highest of 79 Delaware places with climate records; July afternoons average 86.1°. The Lewes weather station, 17 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 231 days, the highest of 79 Delaware places with climate records.
Ocean View has mild winters and warm summers. Of the 37 Delaware towns we compare, none has a lower July high than Ocean View. About 11 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Ocean View | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 30°F | 25°F | 22°F |
| July high | 86°F | 87°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
24% of working residents cross a state line to work, Ocean City among the top destinations. Jobs based here grew from 545 in 2013 to 1,005.
Most working residents leave Ocean View for work: only 5% work in town. Jobs based in Ocean View grew to 1,005 in 2023, 460 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Bethany Beach (5%), Millville (4%) and Dover (4%).
| Ocean View | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $92,000 | $80,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 9.8% | 8.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 63% of U.S. communities. Since 1998, 18 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ocean View.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ocean View. Close and well known come first.
15 mi National SeashoreAssateague Island National Seashore2.3M visitors a year
35 mi Theme parkMorey's Piers12 mi Theme parkJolly Roger Amusement Park
17 mi LandmarkFort Miles
32 mi MuseumUSCGC Tamaroa
15 mi Theme parkTrimper's RidesAssateague Island National Seashore: Fritz Geller-Grimm, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Morey's Piers: Smallbones, CC0 · Fort Miles: Unknown, Public domain · USCGC Tamaroa: Unknown USCG member, Public domain · Trimper's Rides: Mttbme, CC BY-SA 3.0
None within 15 miles of Ocean View; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Ocean View residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Delaware.
Coastal flooding makes up 9% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
45.7% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, so the town is fuller in summer than its census count suggests.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
2 places in Ocean View on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Delaware, United States
Ocean View is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. As of the 2020 census, Ocean View had a population of 2,636. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area and lies in Baltimore Hundred. Ocean View is fast becoming a bedroom community for the neighboring summer resort of Bethany Beach.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Ocean View.
| Town | DE rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean View | #18 | B− | C− | A− | B− | B+ |
| Millville | — | — | C+ | — | B− | B+ |
Millville has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Millville reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Ocean View with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ocean View grades B− overall, better than 49% of U.S. towns and #18 of 37 in Delaware. It grades B+ for health, A− for safety and B− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
Ocean View was incorporated in 1889 and has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places. 2 notable people were born here, including George S. Williams and J. William Williams.
