Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Seaford grades D overall, ranked 34th of 37 in Delaware, mostly because of safety and incomes. It reports more crime per resident than 98% of U.S. towns, including 57 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. The median household income is $54K, and 19% of residents live below the poverty line. In its favor, it is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns. Seaford’s property crime rate is 40.7 per 1,000 residents, above both the Delaware town median (17.3) and the median of U.S. towns (9.9). Its National Register listings include Maston House and Gov. William H. Ross House. Only 2 of the 37 Delaware towns we compare have a lower share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Seaford.
Where Seaford beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Gov. William H. Ross House
Census counts: 624 in 1860, 7,957 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1908 and 5 maps from 1915 on.
14 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Seaford takes its name from Seaford in East Sussex, England, 3,640 miles across the Atlantic.
UKUK editionSeaford, settled in 1827, takes its name from Seaford, a large town in East Sussex, England.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Delaware), ordered by how far Seaford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Seaford, 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 Seaford.
Seaford has hotter summers than almost anywhere else in Delaware, draws workers from Laurel and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
At 79.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 86% of Delaware’s graded towns. Property crime runs at 40.7 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Delaware rate, most of it theft.
The violent crime rate in Seaford is 6.2 per 1,000 residents. Seaford reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 98% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Seaford School District. Three of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seaford Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 800 | C |
| Seaford Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 960 | C− |
| Frederick Douglass Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 456 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within DE on state tests and graduation
5,874 jobs are based in Seaford, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Seaford for work: only 15% work in town. Seaford’s average trip to work is 28 minutes. The top destinations are Georgetown (7%), Hurlock (4%) and Milford (4%).
| Seaford | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 4.5% | 8% |
| Median household income | $54,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 7,134 U.S. towns with household incomes like Seaford’s, it is less healthy than 59%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
Seaford beats the Delaware average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 16. 33% of Seaford adults get no exercise outside work. Among 37 Delaware towns, just 2 have a higher share of adults who smoke cigarettes than Seaford.
| Seaford | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 27% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 18% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Seaford | DE |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 8.2% | 9.1% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 22.5% | 13.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 72% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 11 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Seaford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Seaford home is worth about $317,000, up 2% in a year, 22% below the Delaware typical home. 50% of households own their home in Seaford.
| Seaford | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 50% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,176 a month | $1,441 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
July afternoons average 88.7°, the highest of 79 Delaware places with climate records; January nights average 26.5°. The Greenwood 2ne weather station, 11 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 200 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 88% of Delaware places with climate records.
Seaford has chilly winters and warm summers. No town among the 37 in Delaware we compare has a higher July high than Seaford. About 13 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Seaford | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 89°F | 87°F | 85°F |
| January low | 27°F | 25°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
2.1 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Seaford Sports Complex, at 26 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Seaford Sports Complex | 0.8 mi | 26 |
| 2. Ross Mansion Grounds | — | 23 |
| 3. Williams Pond Park | — | 20 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Seaford; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Seaford residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Delaware.
6,928 counted in 2010 and 7,957 in 2020; an estimated 9,165 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 15.5% since 2020, after 14.9% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
14 places in Seaford on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Seaford.
City in Delaware, United States
Seaford is a city located along the Nanticoke River in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. As of the 2020 census, Seaford had a population of 7,957. It is part of the Seaford, Delaware, Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is the largest city fully within Sussex County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Seaford grades D overall, better than 8% of U.S. towns and #34 of 37 in Delaware. It grades C− for health, D− for safety and C for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 3.9 years of the area's median household income ($81,497 across the Seaford, DE area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
9 notable people were born here, including Edward L. Martin and Delino DeShields.
