Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 7,129.
Pike Creek's standout: the median household earns $140K. Overall it grades A−, 4th of 37 graded towns in Delaware. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 94% of the country and 35% of its land is conserved. 35% of the land in Pike Creek is conserved, above both Delaware’s towns (14%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). Pike Creek has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Red Clay Creek Presbyterian Church and Eastburn-Jeanes Lime Kilns Historic District. Among 35 Delaware towns, just 1 have a higher median rent than Pike Creek.
Where Pike Creek beats most towns.
Where Pike Creek’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Delaware), ordered by how far Pike Creek is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 10,163 in 1990, a peak of 19,751 in 2000, 7,808 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2022 and 3 maps from 1953 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pike Creek. Close and well known come first.
Big draw33 mi MuseumUSS New Jersey
Big draw30 mi Stadium & arenaLincoln Financial Field
Big draw30 mi Stadium & arenaXfinity Mobile Arena
Big draw32 mi Ancient siteIndependence Hall3.0M visitors a year
Big draw32 mi MuseumEastern State Penitentiary
Big draw37 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
Pike Creek is unincorporated, so New Castle County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Pike Creek.
Pike Creek gets more snow than almost anywhere else in Delaware, keeps more of its land conserved than most of Delaware and has less tooth loss than most of Delaware.
Its widest gap with Delaware is tooth loss: 5.7% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 12.7% statewide. Against the 3,604 U.S. towns with household incomes like Pike Creek’s, it is healthier than 78%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
30% of Pike Creek adults sleep under 7 hours, below both the Delaware town median (37%) and the median of U.S. towns (36%). 13% of Pike Creek adults report frequent mental distress. Pike Creek beats the Delaware average on 22 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0.
| Pike Creek | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 37% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 36% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Pike Creek | DE |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.7% | 12.7% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.5% | 13.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Independence School PrivateLargest elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 445 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within DE on state tests and graduation
Its 593 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in any other Delaware town.
1.1 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1.3% of residents live below the poverty line in Pike Creek. Most working residents leave Pike Creek for work: only 2% work in town. Pike Creek’s average trip to work is 29 minutes.
| Pike Creek | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $140,000 | $80,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 1.3% | 8.3% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 18% | 15% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Wilmington New Castle Co Ap weather station, 7 miles away, records that 20 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, the highest of 79 Delaware places with climate records. January nights average 24.1°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 95% of Delaware places with climate records; July afternoons average 86.8°.
Pike Creek has chilly winters and warm summers.
| Pike Creek | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 87°F | 87°F | 85°F |
| January low | 24°F | 25°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 61% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Pike Creek since 1999.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median property tax bill is $3,278, against $1,768 across Delaware, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
7 within 15 miles of the center of Pike Creek
About 6 of every 100 Pike Creek residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Delaware.
3 places in Pike Creek on the National Register of Historic Places.
Census-designated place in Delaware, United States
Pike Creek is a census-designated place (CDP) in New Castle County, Delaware, United States and is part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area. In 2007, CNN's Money Magazine ranked Pike Creek number 1 on its list of the 100 Best Places to Live in the United States. Pike Creek was the only community in Delaware to appear on the list. The population was 7,808 at the 2020 Census. Local attractions include Middle Run Natural Area, White Clay Creek State Park, Carousel Farm Park and Equestrian Center, Golf and Restaurants. Pike Creek is approximately five miles from downtown Newark, which contains the University of Delaware. Pike Creek is connected to the University of Delaware campus and the New…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Pike Creek.
At #4 in DE, it grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Hockessin (A−) comes closest.
| Town | DE rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pike Creek | #4 | A− | C | — | B | A |
| Pike Creek Valley | #15 | B | C+ | — | B− | A |
| North Star | #8 | B+ | C | — | B− | A+ |
| Hockessin | #5 | A− | C− | — | B | A+ |
Pike Creek, Pike Creek Valley, North Star and Hockessin report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Pike Creek with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Pike Creek grades A− overall, better than 81% of U.S. towns and #4 of 37 in Delaware. It grades A for health and B for schools.
That is 4.6 years of the area's median household income ($91,289 across the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
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