CitytisticsShortlist

Cost of living, pay and housing

38.87° N · 75.42° W · GEOID 1042480

Lincoln

Sussex County, Delaware · part of the Seaford, DE metro

Limited data population under 5,000, core figures borrowed from county or metro: median_gross_rent

DelawareLincoln, DELincolnLincoln

The short answer

Lincoln is home to 1,873 people. Median household income is $107,690 a year and median rent is $1,238 a month, 13.8% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is lighter than in most places. The median home is valued at $262,100, about 2.4x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$1,238
9% below the median place
Median household income
$107,690
34% above the median place
Median home value
$262,100
18% below the median place
Unemployment
5.3%
9% above the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about Lincoln

  • 0% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, a smaller share than in 99% of the 2,473 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the lowest of 21 Delaware places.
  • 0.0% of residents live below the poverty line, fewer than in 99% of places its size. It is the lowest of 18 Delaware places.
  • Household income has grown 18.3% a year across the last five survey releases, faster than in 99% of places its size. It is the highest of 21 Delaware places.
  • Households average 4.72 people, larger than in 99% of places its size. It is the highest of 21 Delaware places.
  • Only 0% of workers mostly work from home, fewer than in 99% of places its size. It is the lowest of 21 Delaware places.

Rent is light relative to pay, but the county has a FEMA natural hazard risk score of 94 out of 100. Budget for insurance before counting the savings.

01

Moving to Lincoln

Sussex County gains about 27.1 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in14,211
Moved out8,549
Net+5,662

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Within Delaware, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within DelawareOther statesAbroad

Income per tax return

Arrivals$112K
Leavers$79K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Sussex County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
6.4% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 4.7% from another state. County figure.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Sussex County report $112,000 a year in income on average; those leaving, $79,000, so newcomers earn more than leavers.
Income you would need
$49,500 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $1,238 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,355 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $262,100.
Getting to work
29 minutes each way on average; 0.0% work from home.
If it is close but not quite
Schuyler, NE matches it on character. Compare the two
Net movers per 1,000 people6
27.1
above the median place (median -0.6)
Moved from another state1
4.7%
139% above the median place
Income of households moving in6
$112,029
59% above the median place
All 5 moving measures
MeasureLincolnAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year1County figure6.4%12% above
Moved from another state1County figure4.7%139% above
Net movers per 1,000 people6County figure27.1above (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in6County figure$112,02959% above
Income of households moving out6County figure$79,04712% above
02

What it costs to live here

Property tax rate is 0.3%, 62% below the median place.

Lincoln13.8%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$49,520
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
13.8%
32% below the median place
Home price to income
2.4x
36% below the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
14%
comfortably under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$93,100
a year, prices not adjusted
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Lincoln, $1,238 a month. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Lincoln.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Lincoln? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Property tax rate1
0.3%
62% below the median place
Property tax paid (median)1
$920
72% below the median place
Homeownership1
84.6%
27% above the median place
All 15 cost and housing measures
MeasureLincolnAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1County figure$1,2389% below
Rent to income113.8%32% below
Property tax rate10.3%62% below
Home price to income12.4x36% below
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms2County figure$1,4987% below
HUD area median income3County figure$103,2004% below
Property tax paid (median)1$92072% below
Median home value1$262,10018% below
Home prices, 1-year change4County figure5.3%67% above
Home prices, 5-year change4County figure56.9%11% above
Homeownership184.6%27% above
Renters paying 30%+1County figure53.5%6% above
Owner costs with a mortgage1$1,35528% below
Vacant homes1County figure29.9%323% above
Median year built119840% above
03

Work and pay

Poverty rate is 0.0%, below the median place (median 10.8%).

Poverty rate1
0.0%
below the median place (median 10.8%)
Works from home1
0.0%
below the median place (median 12.4%)
Commutes by transit1
0.0%
below the median place (median 0.8%)

More on work and pay, against the typical place

Income per person$26,252 −34%
Median household income$107,690 +34%
Mean commute29 min +17%
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureLincolnAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$107,69034% above
Income per person1$26,25234% below
Unemployment1County figure5.3%9% above
Average annual pay5County figure$57,35013% below
Pay growth, 1 year5County figure4.1%11% above
Jobs5County figure96,30736% below
Poverty rate10.0%below (median 10.8%)
Mean commute129 min17% above
Works from home10.0%below (median 12.4%)
Commutes by transit10.0%below (median 0.8%)
04

Who lives here

Bachelor's or higher is 0.0%, below the median place (median 32.1%).

Bachelor's or higher1
0.0%
below the median place (median 32.1%)
Household size1
4.7
89% above the median place
Homes with broadband1
100.0%
8% above the median place
All 8 people measures
MeasureLincolnAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population11,8736646th largest
Median age128.427% below
Bachelor's or higher10.0%below (median 32.1%)
High school or higher190.7%2% below
Household size14.789% above
Born abroad1County figure8.4%5% below
No health insurance1County figure7.0%9% above
Homes with broadband1100.0%8% above
05

Life in Lincoln

155 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places, one of them a National Historic Landmark.

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents0.0 −100%
Playgrounds per 10k0.0 −100%
Grocery stores per 10k0.0 −100%
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k0.0 −100%
Libraries per 10k0.0 −100%
Named paths and bike trails0 km −100%
Bus and rail stops per sq mi0.0 −100%

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars24.5 +18%
Shops41.9 +38%
Arts, recreation and fitness4.9 +20%
Doctors' offices and clinics17.6 −13%
Child care centers2.3 +0%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Public schools10
1
89% below the median place
Public school students10
438
91% below the median place
Students per teacher10
12.5
19% below the median place
All 16 schools and local life measures
MeasureLincolnAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools10189% below
Public school students1043891% below
Students per teacher1012.519% below
Restaurants and bars per 10k7County figure24.518% above
Shops per 10k7County figure41.938% above
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k7County figure4.920% above
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k7County figure17.613% below
Child care centers per 10k7County figure2.30% above
Parks per 10k80.0below (median 10.2)
Playgrounds per 10k80.0below (median 9.4)
Grocery stores per 10k80.0below (median 2.1)
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k80.0below (median 11.2)
Libraries per 10k80.0below (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails80.0below (median 2.0)
Transit stops per sq mi80.0below (median 0.2)
National Register listings9County figure155above (median 13)
06

Safety, weather and risk

Hurricane risk is 97.2, 38% above the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Lincoln. Larger places are fetched first.

Hurricane risk12
97.2
38% above the median place
Good air days13
82.2%
20% above the median place
Median air quality index13
39
9% below the median place
All 11 weather and risk measures
MeasureLincolnAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high11County figure88°F1% above
January average low11County figure27°F9% above
Average temperature11County figure57°F3% above
Annual precipitation11County figure46.2 in5% above
Natural hazard risk12County figure94.22% above
Hurricane risk12County figure97.238% above
Tornado risk12County figure63.422% below
Wildfire risk12County figure84.838% above
Heat wave risk12County figure89.41% below
Median air quality index13County figure399% below
Good air days13County figure82.2%20% above
08

Lincoln in 2030: where the trends point

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median household income$107,690 (2024)$143,500$121,500 to $170,000+4.9%
Median home value$262,100 (2024)$400,000$290,000 to $551,000+7.3%

The median home would be worth 2.8 years of the median income in 2030, against 2.4 now.

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like Lincoln

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Schuyler, NE$1,049$80,399Compare
Sunset, UT$1,156$76,364Compare
Williams, CA$1,184$90,761Compare
North Hobbs, NM$1,319$82,554Compare
North Hobbs, NMWilliams, CASunset, UTSchuyler, NELincoln, DELincolnSchuylerSunsetWilliamsNorth HobbsLincolnSchuylerSunsetNorth Hobbs

Common questions

Is Lincoln a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. 0% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, a smaller share than in 99% of the 2,473 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the lowest of 21 Delaware places. 0.0% of residents live below the poverty line, fewer than in 99% of places its size. It is the lowest of 18 Delaware places. On cost, space and class size it scores 100 out of 100 for families. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Lincoln expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 13.8% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a lighter load here than usual. The median home is valued at $262,100.

What salary do you need to live in Lincoln?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $49,520 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to Lincoln?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Schuyler, NE, Sunset, UT, Williams, CA and North Hobbs, NM.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  3. Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
  4. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  5. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  6. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  7. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  8. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  9. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  10. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  11. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  12. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
  13. Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares Lincoln with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Lincoln itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/lincoln-delaware

Citytistics. “Lincoln, Delaware.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/lincoln-delaware/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.