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Place dossier plate
SheetDE-BLADES-DE · Blades, DE 1,055 pop · income 39th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Blades
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Blades on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Rodney · lowest
40,341
Rodney · lowest
40,341 median HH income
38.1% of the leader · rank #1
Falcon Lake E… · near
62,589
Falcon Lake E… · near
62,589 median HH income
59.1% of the leader · rank #2
Blades · this city
62,596
Blades · this city
62,596 median HH income
59.1% of the leader · rank #3
Taylor · near
62,596
Taylor · near
62,596 median HH income
59.1% of the leader · rank #4
Ovid · near
62,596
Ovid · near
62,596 median HH income
59.1% of the leader · rank #5
Newville · near
62,599
Newville · near
62,599 median HH income
59.1% of the leader · rank #6
Bethany Beach · highest
105,833
Bethany Beach · highest
105,833 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Blades on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 1,055.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Blades - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Blades places in the 39th percentile for household income and the 22nd percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
39th
percentile, household income
45th
percentile, home value
78th
percentile, median rent
22nd
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Blades, DE
1,055 people live in Blades, Delaware - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Blades brings in $62,596 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 6.8%. Home values in Blades run a median of $209,600, and the median resident age is 35.9 years. About 7.8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 61.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Crime here tracks close to the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 2544.9 in FBI UCR data, near the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Delaware tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: the state registers 99.8 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Near Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,560 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Delaware's average monthly utility costs around $243 (state average). Natural-hazard exposure scores 91.3 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Blades's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from schools and households to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to population change to housing and income to reported crime; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Blades, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Blades?
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 7.8% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
What does the journey to work look like in Blades?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 89.2%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Which cities make useful reference points for Blades?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Delaware, the closest population matches are Felton (1,129 residents, $62,000 income); Frederica (972 residents, $70,288 income); Bethany Beach (923 residents, $105,833 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Plummer, ID (1,055 residents); Garden Plain, KS (1,055 residents); North Hornell, NY (1,055 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +180 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +15.1% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Blades?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 6.8%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
3.3×
Home value
$209,600
Household income
$62,596
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Blades?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2544.9 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 12% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Total reported rate
2544.9
Violent rate
748.5
Property rate
1796.4
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Below median income · poverty 6.8% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
99.8 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Delaware average
F
City profile score · Blades, DE
29/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Poverty rate C-
6.8%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Cost of living D
99.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income F
$62,596
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime F
749 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
7.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Blades profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 54/100 (C-) · 6.8%
Cost of living: 41/100 (D) · 99.8 index
Household income: 38/100 (F) · $62,596
Violent crime: 4/100 (F) · 749 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 0/100 (F) · 7.8%
Where Blades sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Blades's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Blades highlighted among 27 peers.Read the chart values
Blades, DE (this city): home $209,600, crime 2,545/100k
Plummer, ID : home $163,800, crime 1,395/100k
Arp, TX : home $99,300, crime 802/100k
Felton, DE : home $276,800, crime 1,826/100k
Bethany Beach, DE : home $648,500, crime 9,881/100k
Newport, DE : home $230,900, crime 3,475/100k
Frankford, DE : home $277,800, crime 884/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Blades compare to other US cities?
Blades measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income39% higher than other cities
Home value45% pricier than other cities
Median rent78% pricier than other cities
Safety22% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Delaware, Blades ranks #19 of 31 Delaware cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Blades against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Delaware only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Delaware-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Blades near the bottom of Delaware's cities
Among the 79 Delaware cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Blades ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Blades only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#61 of 77
21st percentile in Delaware
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 79
0th percentile in Delaware
Median Home Value
#71 of 77
8th percentile in Delaware
Poverty Rate
#32 of 79
57th percentile in Delaware
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#74 of 79
6th percentile in Delaware
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Delaware only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
39th percentile nationally for median household income · 22nd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Blades's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Blades's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Blades's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$209,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 55% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Blades's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#8,328 of 15,516
More affordable than 46% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#6,792 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.3×, Blades sits in the moderate band:
national rank #8,328 of 15,516 and #6,792 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$62,596Blades, DE median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Blades, DE median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Blades, DE.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)7.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)6.8%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)61.7%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,055
Median Income
$62,596
Median Home Value
$209,600
Median Age
35.9
Poverty Rate
6.8%
Labor force participation
61.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
7.8%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2544.9
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
748.5
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1796.4
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Blades's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,192 residents
2021
1,233 residents
2022
1,275 residents
2023
1,311 residents
2024
1,343 residents
2025
1,372 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
89.2%
Carpool
9.8%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
0.0%
Other
1.0%
Based on 502 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Delaware statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $243
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Delaware at $243 (electricity about $115 , water and sewer about $48 ).
These are Delaware statewide averages, not a meter reading for Blades. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Delaware's BEA cost-of-living index is 99.8 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Blades is $1,560/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Delaware statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 91.3 / 100 (Very High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Delaware statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Blades sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Blades compares to similar-size Delaware cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, 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.