Population
22,604 residents
Census ACS 2023 — Delaware
City profile · Delaware · Census ACS 2023
Bear, DE
Population, income, housing, safety, climate and schools for Bear — drawn straight from Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA, NCES, HUD and FEMA, refreshed on the 2024–2025 release cycle.
- 22,604
- Residents
- $88,985
- Median income
- $280,200
- Median home
- $1,560
- Median rent
Data Snapshot: Bear, DE
Bear is a city in Delaware with a population of 22,604 residents based on U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here reaches $88,985 per year, while the poverty rate sits at 9.7%. Typical homes in Bear are valued around $280,200, and the median resident age is 39.4 years. About 30.7% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 65.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The city is served by 3 public schools according to NCES Common Core of Data.
On a cost-of-living index where 100 equals the national average, Delaware registers 99.8 (Near Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,560 per month. Average monthly utility bills run around $243 based on EIA 2023 residential energy data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 91.3 out of 100 (Very High).
According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, PlainCities renders standardized city-level demographic, income, education, employment, and housing indicators across more than 19,000 incorporated places nationwide. Population counts and median household income figures are sourced directly from Census Table B01003 and B19013 respectively, with poverty rates from B17001 and cost-of-living adjustments from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Regional Price Parities (RPP) 2024 release. Every value displayed in this snapshot links back to the official upstream tables and is refreshed on the ACS annual release cadence (typically December of the survey year + 1).
Methodology: city boundaries follow the Census Bureau's place-level geography (incorporated places, census-designated places, and consolidated city-county governments), with FIPS codes ensuring consistent identifiers across decennial and annual surveys. Cost-of-living comparisons use BEA's Regional Price Parities (RPP) indexed to the national average (100), enabling cross-city purchasing-power comparisons. See our methodology page for full source attribution, refresh cadence, and known data quality limitations including margin-of-error disclosure and sample-size thresholds.
Median Household Income
$88,985 /yr
Poverty 9.7%
Cost of Living Index
99.8 (US=100)
Near Average — BEA RPP 2024
How does Bear compare to other US cities?
Where Bear sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure — computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income 70% higher than other cities
Home value 62% pricier than other cities
Median rent 78% pricier than other cities
Percentiles compare Bear against every US city with at least 1,000 residents. "Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Income distribution context
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 30.7%
Census ACS S1501 — educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL) 9.7%
Census ACS S1701 — poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+) 65.3%
Census ACS S2301 — share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
22,604
Median Income
$88,985
Median Home Value
$280,200
Median Age
39.4
Poverty Rate
9.7%
Labor force participation
65.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
30.7%
Schools
Total Schools
3
Public schools in this city
Commute Patterns
How workers travel to work — Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
76.7%
Carpool
10.5%
Public Transit
1.5%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
9.5%
Other
1.8%
Based on 11,968 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
State-average estimates for Delaware — EIA 2023 residential energy data
Electricity
$115
avg/month
Natural Gas
$80
avg/month
Water & Sewer
$48
avg/month
Total Utilities
$243
estimated/month
Estimates reflect Delaware state averages. Actual costs vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Delaware state-level data from PlainCost, PlainRent, and PlainHazard
Cost of Living Index
99.8
Near Average
US average = 100 · BEA RPP 2024
Typical 2-BR Rent
$1,560/mo
HUD Fair Market Rent
State-level FMR estimate
Natural Hazard Risk
91.3 / 100
Very High
FEMA NRI composite score
Explore More Data for Bear
Crime statistics in Bear
FBI UCR crime rates and safety scores
Schools in Bear
NCES public school data and enrollment
Rent prices in Delaware
HUD Fair Market Rents by metro area
Cost of living in Delaware
BEA regional price parity data
Climate normals
NOAA 30-year climate data
Air quality data
EPA air quality index data
Water quality data
EPA drinking water data
Natural disaster risk
FEMA & NOAA hazard data
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Race & Ethnicity Composition
National-average reference values shown when city-level race/ethnicity table is not loaded. Source: Census ACS 5-year, OMB Directive 15 race-and-ethnicity categories.
How Bear compares to nearby Delaware cities
Census ACS 2023 — population and median income benchmarks
Side-by-side population + income comparison anchored on the current city (Bear) plus the nearest peer cities in Delaware, sourced from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 (population) and B19013 (median household income).
DE
Bear
88.98% top marginal rate
DE
Middletown
65.00% top marginal rate
DE
Glasgow
65.00% top marginal rate
DE
Brookside
65.00% top marginal rate
Census ACS 5-year FIPS DE NCES CCD OMB Bulletin 23-01
What do people ask about Bear, DE?
What is the population of Bear, DE? +
Bear, DE has a population of 22,604 according to U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates.
What is the median household income in Bear, DE? +
The median household income in Bear is $88,985 per year, based on Census ACS 2023 data.
What is the cost of living in Bear? +
Bear has a cost of living index of 99.8 (U.S. average = 100), rated "Near Average" based on BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 data.
What is the median home value in Bear, DE? +
The median home value in Bear is $280,200, according to Census ACS 2023 estimates.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NCES CCD, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Data sourced from official U.S. government datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities Editorial