Is Wilmington, DE a Good Place to Live? Cost of Living & Pay

Is Wilmington a good place to live?

Wilmington sits in the middle for take-home money: a typical worker keeps more here than in 105 of 178 other large cities, so whether it pays off depends on your job.

A typical worker in Wilmington keeps $7,935 a year after taxes, rent and everyday costs. Try your job

Cost of living3% above the US average (BEA, 2024)
Rent$1,389 a month for a 1-bedroom (HUD)
Taxes$2,337 of state income tax on a typical wage, plus $679 of local income tax

Cost of living in Wilmington

Prices in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD area run 3% above the US average. Utilities is the biggest difference, at 14% above the US average.

Housing13% above the US average
Goods (food, clothing, cars)3% below the US average
Utilities14% above the US average
Other services (healthcare and more)3% above the US average
All items3% above the US average

Monthly budget for one person

Cost	Monthly	Yearly
Rent, 1-bedroom	$1,389	$16,668
Food	$478	$5,736
Transportation	$378	$4,536
Healthcare	$363	$4,356
Utilities	$298	$3,576
Total before taxes	$2,906	$34,872

Rent by apartment size

Monthly rent	Wilmington	Whole metro area
Studio	$1,279	$1,438
1 bedroom	$1,389	$1,558
2 bedrooms	$1,658	$1,860
3 bedrooms	$1,976	$2,216
4 bedrooms	$2,180	$2,445

Living in Wilmington

How Wilmington compares with the US on income, housing, work and commuting (Census Bureau, ACS 2024 1-year).

Measure	Wilmington	US
Median household income	$65,389	$81,604
Median home value	$245,100	$360,600
Median rent paid	$1,325	$1,487
Households renting	53%	34.7%
Unemployment rate	8.5%	4.6%
Living below the poverty line	21.1%	12.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher	31.8%	36.9%
Median age	36.8 years	39.2 years
Average commute, one way	26.1 minutes	27.2 minutes
Working from home	16%	13.3%
Commuting by public transit	7.7%	3.7%

The 1-year survey doesn’t publish commuting method for Wilmington, so those figures come from the 2020–2024 5-year estimates.

Home internet

4 providers offer home internet to at least a quarter of Wilmington, led by Xfinity, T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T. Fiber reaches 59.2% of homes and 86.4% can get gigabit speeds.

Pros and cons of living in Wilmington

Pros

Affordable homes to buy. The median home is worth $245,100, against $360,600 nationally.
Cheaper rent. Median rent is $1,325 a month, against $1,487 nationally.
Fast home internet. 86.4% of homes can get gigabit speeds (FCC).

Cons

Higher unemployment. Unemployment is 8.5%, against 4.6% nationally (ACS 2024 1-year).
Higher poverty rate. 21.1% of residents live below the poverty line, against 12.2% nationally.
Local income tax. Residents also pay City of Wilmington wage tax income tax: $679 on a typical wage.
Lower incomes. Median household income is $65,389, against $81,604 nationally.

What your job keeps in Wilmington

Pick a job, or enter your salary, to see what's left after federal, payroll, state and local taxes, a 1-bedroom rent and everyday costs.

Typical worker in Wilmington, DE

Typical salary: $54,310
Federal income tax: −$4,337
Payroll taxes: −$4,155
State income tax: −$2,337
Local income tax: −$679
Rent, 1-bedroom: −$16,668
Everyday costs: −$18,199

You keep$7,935

a year, or $661 a month

Pay: BLS OEWS Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD. Rent: HUD FY2027. Taxes: 2026 federal, state and local schedules for a single filer.

Salary$54,310Federal income tax−$4,337Payroll taxes−$4,155State income tax−$2,337Local income tax−$679Rent, 1-bedroom−$16,668Everyday costs−$18,199You keep$7,935

What the most common jobs keep here

The 10 jobs we cover with the most workers in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD area.

Job	Median pay	Taxes	You keep
Lawyer	$170,660	−$54,803	$80,990
Software engineer	$133,040	−$39,945	$58,228
Project manager	$104,160	−$28,889	$40,404
Registered nurse	$101,180	−$27,772	$38,541
Accountant	$85,990	−$22,075	$29,048
Teacher	$79,295	−$19,564	$24,864
Licensed practical nurse	$70,710	−$16,345	$19,498
Carpenter	$61,780	−$13,484	$13,429
Truck driver	$59,370	−$12,846	$11,657
Nursing assistant	$46,220	−$9,368	$1,985

Other jobs, A–Z

What each keeps in Wilmington on its median pay. Pick one in the calculator above for the full breakdown.

Auto mechanic $10,987
Civil engineer $37,435
Data scientist $43,998
Dental assistant $4,449
Dental hygienist $38,317
Dentist $76,591
Diesel mechanic $15,453
Electrician $21,923
Financial analyst $34,929
Firefighter $24,085
HVAC technician $15,475
Lineman $49,967
Mechanical engineer $40,561
Medical assistant $1,741
Nurse practitioner $59,839
Occupational therapist $39,767
Paralegal $19,323
Paramedic $18,204
Pharmacist $67,727
Pharmacy technician $999
Physical therapist $41,423
Physician assistant $59,802
Plumber $22,091
Police officer $31,291
Radiologic technologist $25,422
Respiratory therapist $30,798
Social worker $11,309
Speech-language pathologist $37,854
Veterinarian $62,326
Welder $10,928

Local income tax:

Compare Wilmington with other cities

Compare Wilmington with another city: any city or state, any of our 40 jobs.

Moving to Wilmington

No licensed interstate movers list an address in Wilmington itself, and 163 more elsewhere in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD area (FMCSA, household-goods authority).

More cities in Delaware

Questions people ask

Is Wilmington, DE a good place to live?

Wilmington sits in the middle for take-home money: a typical worker keeps more here than in 105 of 178 other large cities, so whether it pays off depends on your job. The typical worker here earns $54,310 and keeps $7,935 a year after federal, payroll and state taxes, a 1-bedroom rent and everyday costs.

What is the cost of living in Wilmington?

Prices in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD area are 3% above the US average (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024). A 1-bedroom rents for $1,389 a month (HUD fair market rent, FY2027), and everyday costs for one person, covering food, transportation, healthcare and utilities, come to about $1,517 a month.

How much do you need to earn to live in Wilmington?

A single person renting a 1-bedroom alone needs about $43,600 a year before tax to cover taxes, rent and everyday costs, with nothing left over. The typical worker in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD area earns $54,310.

What is the average rent in Wilmington?

HUD's fair market rent for FY2027 is $1,279 for a studio, $1,389 for a 1-bedroom and $1,658 for a 2-bedroom. The Census Bureau puts the median rent paid in Wilmington at $1,325 a month (2024).

Does Wilmington have a state or city income tax?

Yes. On a typical wage of $54,310, Delaware state income tax comes to about $2,337 a year. Wilmington residents also pay City of Wilmington wage tax income tax, about $679 on the same wage.

What internet providers serve Wilmington?

4 providers offer home internet to at least a quarter of Wilmington, led by Xfinity, T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T. 59.2% of homes can get fiber and 86.4% can get gigabit speeds (FCC National Broadband Map).

Sources and method

Everyday costs: BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey 2024 (one-person households) × CPI-U to August 2026 × BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. Taxes assume a single filer with the standard deduction and wage income only.

Data compiled October 13, 2026. How we calculate