What Are The 7 Safest Neighborhoods In Wilmington, DE?
Wilmington is Delaware’s largest city and economic engine. It is conveniently located between New York and Washington DC, and south of Philadelphia. The city of Wilmington sits right in the middle of it all, so it has excellent connections both within the region and to national and international destinations.
With more than half of Fortune 500 companies in Wilmington, DE, the city is the financial and governmental hub in the state. It is also home to over 40,000 workers who find stable offerings in a robust and thriving economy. Hence, Wilmington remains a pretty popular place for people looking to relocate.
In any relocation, safety is a top priority. Knowing an area will be safe for you and your family is very important to your long-term quality of life.
The safest neighborhoods in Wilmington, DE are Greenville, Wawaset Park, and Bellefonte. These neighborhoods are known for high safety grades, low crime rates, low unemployment rates, and high-income levels. Hence, these areas are popular for families and young professionals. Residents are proud of the livability in these neighborhoods, including the high level of safety that they feel even at night.
If you’re considering Wilmington as a potential home, but want to learn more about this Mid-Atlantic city, we compiled a list of the safest neighborhoods to help you.
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7 Safest Neighborhoods in Wilmington, Delaware
When you can rely on reliable information and data like safety grade, crime rate, income levels and other metrics to determine where to live in Wilmington and nearby areas, it’s a lot easier to choose a home especially if it is in the safest neighborhoods.
1. Greenville
- Population: 2,265
- Median household income: $102,763
- Total crime per 100K: 420 (83% lower than the US average)
- Unemployment rate: 0%
- Crime Safety Grade: A+
Greenville is a suburban neighborhood located in the outskirts of Wilmington, Delaware. With a median real estate price of $940,737, it is more expensive than 97.8% of the neighborhoods in Delaware.
It is certainly worth the price, though. The crime rate in Greenville is 83% lower than the national average, thus earning the neighborhood an A+ in crime safety. It is one of the safest neighborhoods in Wilmington!
Expect wealthy neighbors – the country’s wealthiest. Greenville is one of the 15 most affluent neighborhoods in the US. In fact, 66.5% of the working population in Greenville are in executive, management, and professional occupations.
Among the many factors residents love about Greenville is the opportunity to enjoy nature and experience history throughout the neighborhood and outside of it, with the Delaware Museum of Natural History and the Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library nearby.
2. Wawaset Park
- Population: 1,062
- Median household income: $122,700
- Unemployment rate: 3%
- Crime Safety Grade: A+
If you are highly educated, you may have much in common with many of your neighbors here.
Wawaset is a wealthy neighborhood in Wilmington with 52% of its residents making six figures or more. It is no surprise because 41% of the adults here have earned a Master’s degree, medical degree, Ph.D. or law degree. This is a higher rate of people with a graduate degree than is found in 98.0% of U.S. neighborhoods. The average American neighborhood has only 12.4% of its adults with a graduate degree.
Many of the houses in Wawaset Park were designed by Edward L. Palmer, a renowned media educator. The period houses range from Tudor cottages to brick Georgian mansions. The smaller villas within the community are decorated with elements of Gothic and Picturesque styles.
Wawaset Park also has an A+ safety grade so it is also one of the safest neighborhoods in Wilmington.
3. Bellefonte
- Population: 1,253
- Median household income: $75,500
- Total crime per 100K: 936 (62% lower than the US average)
- Unemployment rate: 4%
- Crime Safety Grade: A+
If you like sophistication, Bellefonte is the place for you! It was originally one of Wilmington’s streetcar suburbs before it was incorporated as a town. Like Greenville and Wawaset Park, it is also one of the safest neighborhoods in Wilmington.
Bellefonte is home to professionals, managers, and service providers with more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. Aside from this, Bellefonte has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America.
Locals think that Bellefonte is 100% family friendly with friendly neighbors, well-kept yards, and sense of community. As one of its residents said, “Moved here a little over 2 years ago and have not had any bad experiences with the neighbors or community surrounding this area. We have a state park nearby and go on frequent walks in the beautiful surroundings.”
4. Brandywine Hill
- Population: 841
- Median household income: $283,700
- Unemployment rate: 5%
- Crime Safety Grade: A
Living in Brandywine Hill offers residents an urban suburban mix feel and most residents own their homes. Here, more than 61% of the population is employed and around 26% have both parents employed.
One resident shared how Brandywine is safe and suitable for a family: “There are jobs available and the area is generally safe and clean. It is a family orientated area.”
Its combination of top public schools, low crime rates, and owner-occupied single family homes makes Brandywine an excellent choice for families with school-aged children. Because many other families also live here, it is easy to socialize and develop a strong sense of community. In fact, this neighborhood is more family-friendly than 96.3% of neighborhoods in the entire state of Delaware.
Aside from families, Brandywine Hill is also a very good neighborhood choice for urban sophisticates, highly educated executives and college students.
5. Pike Creek
- Population: 8,466
- Median household income: $109,239
- Total crime per 100K: 1,210 (51% lower than the US average)
- Unemployment rate: 2%
- Crime Safety Grade: A
Pike Creek is one of the safest places in DE based on crime maps. On top of that, the neighborhood boasts a beautiful landscape with numerous walking, biking, and hiking trails for residents to enjoy.
If you love row homes and attached homes, you will probably really enjoy the Pike Creek neighborhood. Row houses have a certain charm to them, and this neighborhood stands out for the sheer abundance of row houses.
Neighbors in Pike Creek are above average in wealth, making it an affluent neighborhood. Around 53% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations.
As for safety in the area, here is what residents say:
- “Where I live there is barely any crime to be noticed, therefore the police are not around much and not needed too much.”
- “There have been very few crimes within my neighborhood. I feel very safe in my community. If there is a crime the police arrive in a very timely matter and are very helpful in keeping the community safe.”
6. Forty Acres
- Population: 997
- Median household income: $116,700
- Unemployment rate: 1.5%
- Crime Safety Grade: B
If you’re a regular supporter of the arts and enjoy outings to the theatre, weekend boutique-ing, or even a finely aged wine with dinner, then you’re in good company with the Forty Acres neighborhood.
Forty Acres is an exclusive community with a reputation for refined tastes, cultural inclinations, and the means to live well. The neighbors are educated executives and managers during the week and serial patrons of the arts during weekends. The engineering and architecture industry employs about 9% of the Forty Acres population, the highest percentage among neighborhoods in Wilmington.
In addition to being an excellent choice for urban sophisticates, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for young, single professionals. In Forty Acres there are a lot of bars, restaurants, coffee shops, and parks where young professionals can hang out and mingle.
7. Arden
- Population: 485
- Median household income: $76,429
- Total crime per 100K: 1,491 (40% lower than the US average)
- Unemployment rate: 3%
- Crime Safety Grade: B+
If you’ve always dreamed of living in a village straight out of a storybook, Arden is the place for you!
The Village of Arden was founded in 1900 by the famous architect Will Price and renowned sculptor Frank Stephens. It is the oldest and largest of the three villages known as The Ardens: Arden, Ardentown, and Ardencroft. Several houses here are referred to by their names like Friendly Gables, The Lodge, Rest Cottage, Green Gate, The Second Homestead and The Fels House.
Arden is an absolutely unique little village with fewer than 500 people. But they are the closest-knit community in all of Delaware. Residents speak highly of their community: “I love the diversity, the parks, the close-knit communities. Great place for kids and families. Best move I ever made!”
Over 50% of the population is married, and 39% has children under 18 years old. This is why Arden is one of the best places to raise a family! Arden’s strong sense of community makes it also 100% safe even at night according to residents.
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Conclusion
Anyone who wants to move to Wilmington might find living there a positive experience. While Wilmington has an above average population density (6,557 people per square mile), it still offers safe neighborhoods with high safety grades, low crime rates, and high income levels.
The safest neighborhoods are Greenville, Wawaset Park, Bellefonte, Brandywine Hill, Pike Creek, Forty Acres, and Arden. These are just some of the best examples but there are many amazing places to live in Wilmington, so choose wisely!
Paige is an elementary school librarian with a passion for writing. Her hobbies include reading an exorbitant amount of fantasy, slowly teaching herself to draw, and home decor. While she isn't the most talented artist or interior designer, what she lacks in skill she more than makes up for in enthusiasm. When she's not curled up with a book, you can certainly find her curled over the keyboard.
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