Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,211.
Delaware’s best subject grades are an A− for health and walkability and an A+ for history; its weakest is a C− for cost of living. 12% of residents are under 18 in Delaware, below both New York’s towns (20%) and U.S. towns (22%). On history, just 66 of New York’s 1,216 towns do better. Delaware's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 84% of U.S. towns. Delaware has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Delaware beats most towns.
Stone Arch Bridge2,670 counted in 2010 and 2,203 in 2020; an estimated 2,211 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Delaware is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,998 in 1870, 2,203 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1810 and 2 maps from 1950 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Delaware, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Delaware.
Delaware beats the New York average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 14% of adults report frequent mental distress in Delaware, below both the New York town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (17%). 29% of adults feel lonely in Delaware.
| Delaware | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 21% | 23% |
| What stands out | Delaware | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.7% | 17.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.7% | 14.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Delaware has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 15° and about 70 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Children under 18 are 12% of residents (21% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 45% of residents (39% statewide). Delaware’s median age is 49.3 years. 44% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 40% across New York.
| Delaware | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 49.3 years | 43 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 44% | 32% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 20% | 18% |
Somewhere between 42% and 65% women
The Census survey reached too few of Delaware’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±11.4 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women.
| Delaware | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.5% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.7% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.9% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.4% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.6% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 21.1% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.1% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.7% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.8% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.7% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.1% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.6% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 28.5% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.2% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,200, single groups can be off by several points
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 65% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 42 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Delaware.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
About one in 4 of Delaware’s working residents works in town. 15% of Delaware residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Delaware fell to 1,163 in 2023, 84 fewer than in 2013.
| Delaware | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 24% | 10% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $96,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
12 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Delaware | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.4% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stone Arch Bridge Historical Park | — | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Delaware; the nearest are
About 9 of every 100 Delaware residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
7 places in Delaware on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Sullivan County, New York, US
Delaware is a town in Sullivan County, New York, United States. The population was 2,203 at the 2020 census. The Town of Delaware is in the western part of the county.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Delaware.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware | — | — | C− | — | B− | A− |
| Callicoon | #479 | C+ | C | — | B− | B+ |
| Cochecton | — | — | C− | — | B− | A− |
| Fremont | — | — | C | — | C+ | B+ |
| Bethel | #708 | D | D | — | D | B+ |
| Jeffersonville | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Delaware, Cochecton and Fremont have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Delaware, Callicoon, Cochecton, Fremont and Bethel report no FBI crime data of their own. Jeffersonville isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Delaware with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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−.
