19709 — Middletown, Delaware

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 19709. Its median household income runs 18% above Middletown as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

64out of 100
Area Score
Top 29% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
Opportunity1,868th of 3,116 ZIP areas measured49
GrowthTop 41% of 3,124 ZIP areas measured55
Housing affordabilityTop 9% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured82
ClimateTop 48% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured71
Physical resilienceTop 46% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured61
Access2,008th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured88
Economic stabilityTop 4% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured82
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.8% and median household income $132,956, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Middletown, DE, which contains 19709, rather than for 19709 alone.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most ZIP areas measured: rent takes 24% of renter income and the median home is 3.3 times what its owners earn.

A typical July reaches 87°F and a typical January falls to 26°F, on thirty-year normals.

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
53,234
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$132,956
Top 6% nationally
Density
686/sq mi
77.6 sq mi of land
Median age
40.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Middletown
Delaware
Nearest major airport
DOV
28 mi · Dover AFB
Median home value
$470,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Middletown, DE, which contains 19709, is 4.8% — higher than in all but 35% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Middletown, DE, which contains 19709, fell 2.0% over the past year, to 11,809 employed residents.

48% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 86% of measured US ZIP areas.

Median household income of $132,956 is higher than in 94% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsNew Castle County, DE’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$77,41366th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftNew Castle County, DE’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$79,02871st percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$7,8862024 ACS 5-Year$132,956Top 6%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,6252024 ACS 5-Year$56,710Top 13%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.9%Top 20%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year33.8 minBottom 22%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year48.1%Top 14%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year72.3%37th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentMiddletown, DE’s figureJuly 202611,809Bottom 4%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Middletown, DE’s figureJuly 2026−2.1%Bottom 23%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Middletown, DE’s figureJuly 2026−2.0%Bottom 18%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceMiddletown, DE’s figureJuly 202612,3994th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year84.8%Top 21%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wagePhiladelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$71,730Top 29%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wagePhiladelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$54,310Top 29%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%74th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Middletown, DE’s figureJuly 2026−0.1%Bottom 49%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateMiddletown, DE’s figureJuly 20264.8%Bottom 35%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year20.2%84th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024133k110k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $132,956 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 does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Middletown, DE, the city containing this ZIP code.

46% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 64% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.0 students for every full-time teacher across 16 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
16
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.0
across all schools here
Math proficiency
45.9%
2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency
63.6%
2018-19 school year
The 12 largest of 16 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
MOT Charter School · charterMOT Charter School1,40717.463%77%
Appoquinimink High SchoolAppoquinimink School District1,35715.240%64%
Middletown High SchoolAppoquinimink School District1,23115.434%60%
St. Georges Technical High SchoolNew Castle County Vocational-Technical School District1,19815.028%49%
Waters (Alfred G.) Middle SchoolAppoquinimink School District93517.060%69%
Meredith (Everett) Middle SchoolAppoquinimink School District86714.033%58%
Cedar Lane Elementary SchoolAppoquinimink School District63415.862%73%
Bunker Hill Elementary SchoolAppoquinimink School District56614.959%68%
Silver Lake Elementary SchoolAppoquinimink School District55213.847%55%
Brick Mill Elementary SchoolAppoquinimink School District52414.248%65%
Lorewood Grove Elementary SchoolAppoquinimink School District49215.4——
Redding (Louis L.) Middle SchoolAppoquinimink School District45114.543%60%

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 $3,173 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.67% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,010, some 26% above the $1,599 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,010 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $80,400 a year, about 60% of the median household income here of $132,956.

The typical renter household here spends 24% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,599 a month.

A median home at $470,900 costs 3.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $142,669, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

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
24.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,010
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,599
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$470,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 19709’s median household income of $132,956, 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 figure2023102.4Bottom 39%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+4.4%73rd percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+46.9%66th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+82.6%31st percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year3.3Bottom 31%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year86.2%72nd percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±8362024 ACS 5-Year18,82096th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,690Bottom 26%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,410Bottom 30%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,010Bottom 25%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1782024 ACS 5-Year$1,599Bottom 19%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$16,2032024 ACS 5-Year$470,90086th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1252024 ACS 5-Year$3,17372nd percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$8,7702024 ACS 5-Year$142,669Top 8%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.67%30th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year24.2%Top 29%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±302024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year1.1%11th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1512024 ACS 5-Year21255th percentileof 33,7722024 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

55/ 100
Top 41% of 3,124 published ZIP 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.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 56 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Middletown, DE, which contains 19709, rather than for 19709 alone.

At 2.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Middletown, DE, which contains 19709, rather than for 19709 alone.

Units permitted
56
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.3
Bottom 41% nationally
Year over year
+100%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
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 Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Middletown, DE, the city containing this ZIP code.

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.

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, 13.0 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. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. 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.

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 19709 (New Castle County) rather than 19709 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. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Middletown carries the figure where its department reported a full year. 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 Dover AFB at 28 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year97.1%Top 11%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle28 miBottom 32%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 44%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year1.7%Top 12%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Dover AFBDOV28 mi9,602 ft
Philadelphia IntlPHL35 mi12,000 ft
Baltimore/Washington Intl Thurgood MarshallBWI57 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
64
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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
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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.

19709 vs Middletown

How this ZIP area compares with Middletown as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

19709
Middletown
Median household income: 19709 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$132,956
vs
$112,831
Per capita income: 19709 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$56,710
vs
$52,839
Population density
686/sq mi
vs
1,827/sq mi
Median home value
$470,900
vs
$409,600
Median gross rent: Middletown is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$1,599
vs
$1,583
Homeownership rate
86.2%
vs
76.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 19709 is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
48.1%
vs
44.0%
Poverty rate: 19709 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
4.9%
vs
8.0%
Median age
40.2
vs
38.7

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.