Brookside, Delaware

Area Profile

15,115 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Brookside, in New Castle County.

56out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 40% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity3,550th of 4,199 cities measured39
Growth2,658th of 4,224 cities measured44
Housing affordability2,251st of 4,218 cities measured65
ClimateTop 47% of 4,225 cities measured71
Physical resilienceTop 47% of 4,226 cities measured61
Access2,846th of 4,226 cities measured87
Economic stability2,670th of 4,226 cities measured51
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 4.8% and the Opportunity signal places Brookside in the bottom 15%. The unemployment rate is published for New Castle County, DE, which contains Brookside, rather than for Brookside alone.

1,354 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 6% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for New Castle County, DE, which contains Brookside, rather than for Brookside alone.

Rent takes 34% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.0 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
15,115
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$78,328
Top 35% nationally
Density
3,894/sq mi
3.9 sq mi of land
Median age
36.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Delaware
Nearest major airport
PHL
29 mi · Philadelphia Intl
Median home value
$279,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across New Castle County, DE, which contains Brookside, is 4.8% — higher than in all but 32% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across New Castle County, DE, which contains Brookside, fell 2.0% over the past year, to 285,176 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsNew Castle County, DE’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$77,41359th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftNew Castle County, DE’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$79,02863rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$11,9972024 ACS 5-Year$78,328Top 35%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,4152024 ACS 5-Year$38,831Top 35%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year14.9%Bottom 35%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year26.3 minTop 48%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year29.1%Top 32%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year71.5%32nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentNew Castle County, DE’s figureJuly 2026285,176Top 27%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)New Castle County, DE’s figureJuly 2026−3.1%Bottom 13%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)New Castle County, DE’s figureJuly 2026−2.0%Bottom 19%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceNew Castle County, DE’s figureJuly 2026299,62873rd percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year79.6%Top 45%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wagePhiladelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$71,730Top 41%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wagePhiladelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$54,310Top 41%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year3.0%92nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)New Castle County, DE’s figureJuly 2026−0.4%Top 29%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateNew Castle County, DE’s figureJuly 20264.8%Bottom 32%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year14.5%75th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202478k63k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $78,328 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides158,280$29,800
Registered Nurses73,790$101,180
Fast Food and Counter Workers69,080$32,220
General and Operations Managers68,730$121,630
Retail Salespersons63,990$34,810
Cashiers54,100$33,050

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for New Castle County, DE, which contains this city.

38% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 44% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 11.0 students for every full-time teacher across 9 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
10
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
11.0
across 9 of them
Math proficiency
37.8%
2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency
43.9%
2018-19 school year
All 10 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Christiana High SchoolChristina School District1,42517.049%61%
Gauger-Cobbs Middle SchoolChristina School District68111.022%30%
Kirk (George V.) Middle SchoolChristina School District61212.527%36%
Gallaher (Robert S.) Elementary SchoolChristina School District4699.656%62%
Brennen School (The)Christina School District4195.05%5%
Smith (Jennie E.) Elementary SchoolChristina School District41310.653%51%
Christina Early Education CenterChristina School District36212.5——
McVey (Joseph M.) Elementary SchoolChristina School District31911.447%47%
Brookside Elementary SchoolChristina School District26010.042%37%
Delaware School for the DeafChristina School District1082.85%5%

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Delaware’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 2% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 102.4, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division is up 47% over five years, and up 4.4% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,779 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.64% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,680, some 16% above the $1,444 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,680 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $67,200 a year, about 86% of the median household income here of $78,328.

The typical renter household here spends 34% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,444 a month.

A median home at $279,700 costs 3.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $94,732, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
102.4

Prices here run about 2% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
33.9%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,680
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,444
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$279,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Brookside’s median household income of $78,328, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area’s figure2023102.4Top 49%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+4.4%71st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+46.9%68th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+82.6%35th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.52024 ACS 5-Year3.0Bottom 36%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year61.8%23rd percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4822024 ACS 5-Year6,06190th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,410Bottom 48%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,010Top 42%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,680Top 50%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1092024 ACS 5-Year$1,444Bottom 21%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$12,3942024 ACS 5-Year$279,70069th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1332024 ACS 5-Year$1,77950th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$14,6102024 ACS 5-Year$94,732Top 32%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.64%23rd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year33.9%Bottom 23%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±202024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.6%30th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1402024 ACS 5-Year21679th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

44/ 100
Ranks 2,658 of 4,224 published city profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across New Castle County, which contains Brookside, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $77,413, close to the $79,028 of households that moved out.

At 2.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for New Castle County, DE, which contains Brookside, rather than for Brookside alone.

Units permitted
1,354
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.3
Bottom 47% nationally
Year over year
−6%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
20.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
91%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$77,413
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$79,028
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Philadelphia County, PA 2,129 people · 11% of arrivals
  2. Delaware County, PA 1,997 people · 10% of arrivals
  3. Chester County, PA 1,083 people · 5.5% of arrivals
  4. Cecil County, MD 878 people · 4.5% of arrivals
  5. Montgomery County, PA 440 people · 2.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Philadelphia County, PA 1,299 people · 6.8% of departures
  2. Delaware County, PA 1,243 people · 6.5% of departures
  3. Chester County, PA 1,179 people · 6.2% of departures
  4. Cecil County, MD 1,151 people · 6.0% of departures
  5. Montgomery County, PA 300 people · 1.6% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for New Castle County, DE. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Brookside, DE is not one. This is the figure for New Castle County, DE, which contains this city.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 87°F and January a low of 26°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 45.3 inches, including 20.2 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 43, in the Good band, and about 4 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station WILMINGTON NEW CASTLE CO AP, 5.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year672024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals45.3"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals20.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals26°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals87°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year42024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year432024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals44°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
43
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
67
90th percentile index
Days above 100
4
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

61 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 74% of it. Cold wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Winter weatherModerate
Inland floodingModerate
EarthquakeModerate
HurricaneModerate
Strong windModerate
DroughtModerate
Coastal floodingModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, cold wave, ice storm, tornado, lightning, wildfire, hail, tsunami, avalanche, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

New Castle County records 5.4 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 10.4 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 27.5 per 100,000 residents in New Castle County.

Homicide
5.4
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
10.4
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
27.5
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
10.4
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Brookside (New Castle County) rather than Brookside itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Philadelphia Intl at 29 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±11%2024 ACS 5-Year94.6%Top 27%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle29 miBottom 29%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year3.5%Top 28%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Philadelphia IntlPHL29 mi12,000 ft
Dover AFBDOV39 mi9,602 ft
Baltimore/Washington Intl Thurgood MarshallBWI62 mi10,503 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
56
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Other cities in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia County1,579,70660Philadelphia vs Brookside
WilmingtonNew Castle County71,72753Wilmington vs Brookside
CamdenCamden County71,49651Camden vs Brookside
LevittownBucks County50,92668
SicklervilleCamden County44,99862
NorristownMontgomery County35,89362
ChesterDelaware County33,61953
Drexel HillDelaware County30,45169
NewarkNew Castle County30,33047
King of PrussiaMontgomery County25,85779
MiddletownNew Castle County24,66164
GlassboroGloucester County23,71770

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Brookside side by side with a similar place.

Brookside vs NilesBrookside vs Fairview

Moving to Brookside from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Brookside

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Brookside with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Brookside closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
1971330,747$76,493$292,600—