The book's checklist
- Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 1.1% above the U.S. average in Delaware's metro areas.
- More house for the moneyA typical home costs 6.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
- A safer neighborhood8 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 7.2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 59.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
- Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Indian River High School, about 9 miles away.
- A hospital close byAtlantic General Hospital in Berlin, about 16 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
- Within reach of a big cityBaltimore is about 98 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.
A check means Bethany Beach meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.
What kind of town
Tourist town. About 79% of homes are vacation or seasonal homes, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.
Boom town. The population is up 16% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.
The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.
For a lifetime
Homes and money
- Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
- $720,900U.S.: $332,700
- Home prices since then
- Up 20%Sussex County, 2022 to 2025
- Typical household income
- $117,159U.S.: $80,734
- Homes owned by the people living in them
- 94%U.S.: 65%
- Typical property tax bill
- $1,743 a yearDelaware: $1,768
- Homes built before 1940
- 1%U.S.: 12%
- Homes built since 2010
- 11%U.S.: 11%
- Vacation and seasonal homes
- 79%U.S.: 3%
- Everyday prices
- 101.1U.S. average = 100 (Delaware's metro areas)
Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 20% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for Delaware's metro areas, not Bethany Beach alone. Check current listings before you budget.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.
The people
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 1,1042020: 955
- Median age
- 66.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
- Age 65 and older
- 54%U.S.: 17%
- Under 18
- 4%U.S.: 22%
- Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
- 66%U.S.: 36%
- Moved here from another county or state in the past year
- 13%U.S.: 6%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Work
- Biggest lines of work
- Professional and business services (25%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (19%); retail (13%)
- Unemployment rate
- 2%U.S.: 5%
- Average commute
- 23 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
- Work from home
- 35%U.S.: 15%
- Below the poverty line
- 2%U.S.: 12%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Health care
Nearest emergency room: Atlantic General Hospital, Berlin, MD, about 16 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.
Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.
Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.
Schools
There are no public schools inside Bethany Beach itself. The nearest public high school is Indian River High School, about 9 miles away.
See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Delaware's school report card.
Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.
Internet
- Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
- 77%U.S.: 76%
- Homes with any internet subscription
- 93%U.S.: 91%
Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Weather
- January average low
- 28°F
- July average high
- 84°F
- Days 90°F or hotter
- 13 a year
- Nights at or below freezing
- 81 a year
- Rain and melted snow
- 47.3 inches a year
- Snow
- 10 inches a year
- Elevation
- 6 feet
Weather stations: Ocean City Muni Ap (16 miles away) and Lewes (18 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.
Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.
Getting around
Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Atlantic General Hospital, Vineland, Baltimore.
Sussex County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).
For a day
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
National Park Service sites within about an hour:
- Assateague Island National Seashore15 miles
Read about Bethany Beach's history on Wikipedia.
Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.
Nearby
Straight-line miles.
Small towns
- Ocean View, DE3,100 people, 2 miles
- Millville, DE2,100 people, 4 miles
- Selbyville, DE3,400 people, 9 miles
- Ocean City, MD6,800 people, 10 miles
- Ocean Pines, MD12,400 people, 11 miles
- Rehoboth Beach, DE1,300 people, 12 miles
Smaller places
- South Bethany, DE538 people, 2 miles
- Fenwick Island, DE398 people, 5 miles
- Long Neck, DE (unincorporated)2,161 people, 8 miles
- Frankford, DE935 people, 9 miles
- Dagsboro, DE983 people, 10 miles
- Bishopville, MD (unincorporated)516 people, 10 miles
- Dewey Beach, DE416 people, 11 miles
- Henlopen Acres, DE159 people, 13 miles
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
- Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
- National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
- National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
- U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
- National Park Service, park unit boundaries
- USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas
Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.