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Place dossier plate
SheetDE-FENWICK-ISLAND-DE · Fenwick Island, DE 383 pop · income 87th 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 Fenwick Island
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Fenwick Island on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Tippecanoe · lowest
50,667
Tippecanoe · lowest
50,667 median HH income
42.0% of the leader · rank #1
Fenwick Island · this city
120,625
Fenwick Island · this city
120,625 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #2
Tazlina · near
120,625
Tazlina · near
120,625 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #3
Trilla · near
120,625
Trilla · near
120,625 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #4
Vernon Hills · near
120,625
Vernon Hills · near
120,625 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #5
Big Lake · near
120,625
Big Lake · near
120,625 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
Denton · highest
120,643
Denton · highest
120,643 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 Fenwick Island 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: 383.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Fenwick Island - the verdict
Nationally, Fenwick Island sits in the 87th percentile for household income and the 26th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
87th
percentile, household income
99th
percentile, home value
78th
percentile, median rent
26th
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: Fenwick Island, DE
Fenwick Island is a small town in Delaware, home to 383 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $120,625 per year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 0.0%. Typical homes in Fenwick Island are valued around $1,337,500, and the median resident age is 68.6 years. 57.6% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 37.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Crime here tracks close to the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 2319.6 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: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Delaware scores 99.8 (Near Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,560 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Delaware run around $243, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. 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 Fenwick Island'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 housing and income to population change to reported crime to work and mobility to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Fenwick Island, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Fenwick Island?
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. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 11.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 0.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Is Fenwick Island growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +54 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +15.7% 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.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Fenwick Island?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2319.6 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, near the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 2% 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Fenwick Island?
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 Odessa (392 residents, $86,875 income); Kenton (362 residents, $52,589 income); Bethel (431 residents, $91,111 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Cameron, IL (383 residents); Tippecanoe, IN (383 residents); Lockridge, IA (383 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.
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.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Fenwick Island?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 66.9%. 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. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Drive alone
66.9%
Work from home
27.3%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 139 workers age 16+.
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Delaware average
B
City profile score · Fenwick Island, DE
71/100
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 A+
0.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share A+
57.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income A
$120,625
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 F
258 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Fenwick Island profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 100/100 (A+) · 0.0%
Bachelor's+ share: 90/100 (A+) · 57.6%
Household income: 86/100 (A) · $120,625
Cost of living: 41/100 (D) · 99.8 index
Violent crime: 39/100 (F) · 258 /100k
Where Fenwick Island sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Fenwick Island'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 - Fenwick Island highlighted among 22 peers.Read the chart values
Fenwick Island, DE (this city): home $1,337,500, crime 2,320/100k
Dewey Beach, DE : home $871,400, crime 10,099/100k
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 Fenwick Island compare to other US cities?
Where Fenwick Island sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income87% higher than other cities
Home value99% pricier than other cities
Median rent78% pricier than other cities
Safety26% 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: Fenwick Island ranks #17 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 Fenwick Island 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 Fenwick Island near the bottom of Delaware's cities
Among the 79 Delaware cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Fenwick Island ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Fenwick Island only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#10 of 77
87th percentile in Delaware
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 79
0th percentile in Delaware
Median Home Value
#2 of 77
97th percentile in Delaware
Poverty Rate
#71 of 79
0th percentile in Delaware
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#12 of 79
85th 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
87th percentile nationally for median household income · 26th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Fenwick Island's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Fenwick Island'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 Fenwick Island's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$1,337,5001st percentilemore affordable than 1% 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
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#15,424 of 15,516
More affordable than 1% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#11,260 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 11.1×, Fenwick Island sits in the pressured band:
national rank #15,424 of 15,516 and #11,260 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
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
$120,625Fenwick Island, DE median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Fenwick Island, 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 Fenwick Island, DE.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)57.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)0.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)37.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
383
Median Income
$120,625
Median Home Value
$1,337,500
Median Age
68.6
Poverty Rate
0.0%
Labor force participation
37.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
57.6%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2319.6
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
257.7
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2061.9
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
Fenwick Island's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
344 residents
2021
357 residents
2022
369 residents
2023
379 residents
2024
390 residents
2025
398 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
66.9%
Carpool
0.7%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
5.0%
Work from Home
27.3%
Based on 139 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 Fenwick Island. 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 Fenwick Island 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 Fenwick Island sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Fenwick Island 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 ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.