Milford, Delaware

Area Profile

12,803 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Milford, in Sussex County.

64out of 100
Area Score
Top 32% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity3,347th of 4,199 cities measured42
GrowthTop 4% of 4,224 cities measured81
Housing affordability2,265th of 4,218 cities measured65
ClimateTop 24% of 4,225 cities measured77
Physical resilienceTop 44% of 4,226 cities measured64
AccessTop 39% of 4,226 cities measured95
Economic stability3,044th of 4,226 cities measured45
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 4.3% and the Opportunity signal places Milford in the bottom 20%. The unemployment rate is published for Sussex County, DE, which contains Milford, rather than for Milford alone.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 232 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 34% on the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

Rent takes 31% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.4 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
12,803
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$59,464
Bottom 38% nationally
Density
1,299/sq mi
9.9 sq mi of land
Median age
41.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Delaware
Micro area
Nearest major airport
DOV
15 mi · Dover AFB
Median home value
$296,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Sussex County, DE, which contains Milford, is 4.3%, lower than in 51% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Sussex County, DE, which contains Milford, fell 2.8% over the past year, to 118,768 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsSussex County, DE’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$112,19589th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftSussex County, DE’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$79,25263rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,1472024 ACS 5-Year$59,464Bottom 38%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,4522024 ACS 5-Year$34,975Top 46%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year17.6%Bottom 28%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year25.0 minTop 41%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year27.6%Top 35%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year81.9%66th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentSussex County, DE’s figureJuly 2026118,768Top 41%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Sussex County, DE’s figureJuly 2026−0.4%Bottom 47%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Sussex County, DE’s figureJuly 2026−2.8%Bottom 10%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceSussex County, DE’s figureJuly 2026124,15759th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year77.1%Bottom 46%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%82nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Sussex County, DE’s figureJuly 2026−0.1%Top 50%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateSussex County, DE’s figureJuly 20264.3%Top 49%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year8.1%52nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202459k48k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $59,464 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.

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

38% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 50% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 17.6 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
5
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
17.6
across all schools here
Math proficiency
38.4%
2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency
50.0%
2018-19 school year
All 5 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Milford Senior High SchoolMilford School District1,27119.616%43%
Milford Central AcademyMilford School District1,01318.840%47%
Ross (Lulu M.) Elementary SchoolMilford School District69315.458%59%
Mispillion ElementaryMilford School District56815.448%55%
Banneker (Benjamin) Elementary SchoolMilford School District54017.453%55%

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.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,493 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.50% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,399, some 11% above the $1,260 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,399 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $56,000 a year, about 94% of the median household income here of $59,464.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,260 a month.

A median home at $296,900 costs 3.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $86,577, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
31.3%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.4×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,399
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,260
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$296,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Milford’s median household income of $59,464, 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
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year3.4Bottom 25%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year51.3%10th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4562024 ACS 5-Year5,91190th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,066Top 27%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,757Top 32%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,399Top 35%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1632024 ACS 5-Year$1,260Bottom 29%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$19,8652024 ACS 5-Year$296,90072nd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1242024 ACS 5-Year$1,49342nd percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$8,3272024 ACS 5-Year$86,577Top 40%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.50%11th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±8%2024 ACS 5-Year31.3%Bottom 35%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1082024 ACS 5-Year15692nd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.6%73rd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.3%28th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1652024 ACS 5-Year35186th 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.

Development Momentum

81/ 100
Top 4% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 2 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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.

Population has grown 24% since 2020, reaching 14,079 in 2024.

Federal tax returns show Sussex County, which contains Milford, gained about 2.7% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $112,195, above the $79,252 of households that moved out.

At 18.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
232
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
18.1
Top 3% nationally
Year over year
+34%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
48.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202414k11k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+2.7%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
82%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$112,195
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$79,252
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Wicomico County, MD 610 people · 4.3% of arrivals
  2. Montgomery County, MD 448 people · 3.2% of arrivals
  3. Baltimore County, MD 403 people · 2.8% of arrivals
  4. Worcester County, MD 349 people · 2.5% of arrivals
  5. Anne Arundel County, MD 339 people · 2.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Wicomico County, MD 687 people · 8.1% of departures
  2. Worcester County, MD 217 people · 2.6% of departures
  3. Anne Arundel County, MD 120 people · 1.4% of departures
  4. Baltimore County, MD 120 people · 1.4% of departures
  5. Montgomery County, MD 118 people · 1.4% 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 Sussex County, DE. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202537045
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−56%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 88°F and January a low of 29°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 43.9 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 40, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station GEORGETOWN SUSSEX CO AP, 15.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year552024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals43.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals29°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals88°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year402024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals42°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
40
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
55
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
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

64 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 38% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

HurricaneElevated
Heat waveModerate
Coastal floodingElevated
EarthquakeModerate
Strong windModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, winter weather, inland flooding, drought, lightning, wildfire, ice storm, tornado, hail, landslide, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

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.

Violent crime
464
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,615
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Milford's police department reported 464 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,615.

Sussex County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.0 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 10.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 19.7 per 100,000 residents in Sussex County.

Homicide
3.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
10.2
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
19.7
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
11.4
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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Milford’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. 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 Milford (Sussex County) rather than Milford itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and 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.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
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. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Dover AFB at 15 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±10%2024 ACS 5-Year87.3%Bottom 40%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle15 miTop 44%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year11.9%Bottom 30%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Dover AFBDOV15 mi9,602 ft
Atlantic City IntlACY59 mi10,001 ft
Philadelphia IntlPHL67 mi12,000 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
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
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
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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
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 Milford

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Milford with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
1996323,500$71,108$322,50065