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Place dossier plate
SheetDE-ELSMERE-DE · Elsmere, DE 6,189 pop · income 58th 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 Elsmere
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Elsmere on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Martins Ferry · lowest
43,073
Martins Ferry · lowest
43,073 median HH income
18.2% of the leader · rank #1
Walton · near
76,375
Walton · near
76,375 median HH income
32.2% of the leader · rank #2
Oahe Acres · near
76,375
Oahe Acres · near
76,375 median HH income
32.2% of the leader · rank #3
Gordon · near
76,375
Gordon · near
76,375 median HH income
32.2% of the leader · rank #4
Elsmere · this city
76,378
Elsmere · this city
76,378 median HH income
32.2% of the leader · rank #5
Overton · near
76,384
Overton · near
76,384 median HH income
32.2% of the leader · rank #6
Fair Haven · highest
237,132
Fair Haven · highest
237,132 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 Elsmere 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: 6,189.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Elsmere - the verdict
Elsmere ranks in the 58th percentile for household income and the 32nd percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
58th
percentile, household income
46th
percentile, home value
78th
percentile, median rent
32nd
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: Elsmere, DE
Elsmere is a small town in Delaware, home to 6,189 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $76,378 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 17.4%. Home values in Elsmere run a median of $210,200, and the median resident age is 33.6 years. 14.9% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 61.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in Elsmere (No Permits), down 100% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 2021.2 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: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Delaware at 99.8 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Near Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,560 per month. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Delaware's average monthly utility costs around $243 (state average). Workers in Elsmere report an average commute of 23.5 minutes, with 79.7% driving alone and 10.6% working from home. 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 Elsmere'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 comparison shortlist to work and mobility to reported crime to population change to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Elsmere, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, local building permits, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Elsmere?
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 Edgemoor (6,671 residents, $79,572 income); New Castle (5,519 residents, $92,565 income); Millsboro (7,152 residents, $77,750 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Wolfforth, TX (6,189 residents); Rushville, IN (6,186 residents); Martins Ferry, OH (6,192 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Elsmere?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 79.7%. The reported mean trip to work is 23.5 minutes.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Elsmere?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2021.2 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 11% lower 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.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -23 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -0.4% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
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 Elsmere?
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 2.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 17.4%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
2.8×
Home value
$210,200
Household income
$76,378
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Above median income · poverty 17.4% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
99.8 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Delaware average
F
City profile score · Elsmere, DE
37/100
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.
Household income C
$76,378
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
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.
Violent crime D
245 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
14.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
17.4%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Elsmere profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Household income: 56/100 (C) · $76,378
Cost of living: 41/100 (D) · 99.8 index
Violent crime: 41/100 (D) · 245 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 20/100 (F) · 14.9%
Poverty rate: 18/100 (F) · 17.4%
Where Elsmere sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Elsmere'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 - Elsmere highlighted among 8 peers.Read the chart values
Elsmere, DE (this city): home $210,200, crime 2,021/100k
Wolfforth, TX : home $245,000, crime 696/100k
Martins Ferry, OH : home $92,800, crime 747/100k
Chillicothe, IL : home $128,500, crime 1,095/100k
Fair Haven, NJ : home $943,300, crime 198/100k
New Castle, DE : home $262,100, crime 3,909/100k
Millsboro, DE : home $297,000, crime 2,778/100k
Georgetown, DE : home $266,100, crime 5,692/100k
How does Elsmere compare to other US cities?
Elsmere measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income58% higher than other cities
Home value46% pricier than other cities
Median rent78% pricier than other cities
Safety32% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Delaware and the picture shifts: Elsmere ranks #15 of 31 Delaware cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Elsmere 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 Elsmere near the bottom of Delaware's cities
Among the 79 Delaware cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Elsmere ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Elsmere only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#41 of 77
47th percentile in Delaware
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 79
0th percentile in Delaware
Median Home Value
#70 of 77
9th percentile in Delaware
Poverty Rate
#6 of 79
92nd percentile in Delaware
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#69 of 79
13th 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
58th percentile nationally for median household income · 32nd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Elsmere's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Elsmere'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 Elsmere's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$210,200Among the most affordablemore affordable than 54% 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
Elsmere's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.8×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#5,316 of 15,516
More affordable than 66% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#4,634 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.8×, Elsmere sits in the affordable band:
national rank #5,316 of 15,516 and #4,634 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
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
$76,378Elsmere, DE median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Elsmere, 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 Elsmere, DE.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)14.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)17.4%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)61.3%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
6,189
Median Income
$76,378
Median Home Value
$210,200
Median Age
33.6
Poverty Rate
17.4%
Labor force participation
61.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
14.9%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2021.2
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
244.5
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1776.7
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.
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Elsmere's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
6,219 residents
2021
6,187 residents
2022
6,169 residents
2023
6,189 residents
2024
6,221 residents
2025
6,196 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
4
4
0
$0.4M
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
0
0
0
-
Permit volume decreased 100% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
23.5 minutes
Drive Alone
79.7%
Carpool
3.7%
Public Transit
3.4%
Walk
0.7%
Work from Home
10.6%
Other
1.9%
Based on 2,835 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 Elsmere. 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 Elsmere 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 Elsmere sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Elsmere 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, Census BPS 2024, 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.