Moving to Northern Delaware From the Bay Area: Homes, Taxes, and 55+ Living

I’ve never been to Delaware. I’ve been to the East Coast maybe ten times, Philly for a wedding, DC several times, Boston twice, and New York City several times over the years, but Delaware was always a state I drove right past. So when a client’s kids live back East, or someone gets a corporate relocation to Wilmington, I want to be able to tell them what they’re getting into. That’s why I sat down with Heather Williams of Compass, who works in New Castle County in the northern part of the state, to get the real story.

Heather is a great person for this conversation. She spent more than 20 years as a registered nurse before going full time in real estate, and she and her husband Ronin run The R & H Williams Team out of the Compass office in Greenville, Delaware. She holds the Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES) designations, she’s part of the Compass Plus network for older adults, and she’s licensed in both Delaware and Maryland. Like me, she found out fast that this business isn’t really about houses, it’s about people going through big life changes. Her nursing background shows up every day in how she listens, and if you’re starting to think about moving from Silicon Valley to be near family, she’s exactly who you want on the other end.

What Is Delaware Like?

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Delaware gets overlooked because it’s so small, but that’s kind of the point. You can live in a quiet suburb with a yard and still be a train ride from D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, or New York. Heather described it as “a little bit of everything in a little small package,” and after looking at the map with her, I get it.

The state has just three counties. New Castle County at the top is the most populated and includes Wilmington, the biggest city, plus Newark, New Castle, and Middletown. Kent County in the middle is home to Dover, the state capital, and it starts to open up into farmland and parks. Sussex County at the bottom is beach country, with Rehoboth, Dewey, Bethany, and Lewes. The further south you go, the more room you’ll have between you and your neighbors.

When I asked how many people live in Delaware, Heather wasn’t sure, so I looked it up. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated about 1,059,952 residents in 2025, up 0.9% from the year before, which was one of the faster growth rates in the country. That’s a little more than half the population of Santa Clara County, spread across a whole state.

Getting Around: I-95, Amtrak, and the Airport

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Most people who’ve “been to Delaware” have really just driven through the top of it on I-95 between Philadelphia and Maryland. That’s only a few minutes of the state, and you miss everything else. Interstate 95 is the reason so many people settle in the north, though, because it connects you to the whole East Coast. Route 1 and Route 13 are the main roads heading south toward the beaches and Dover.

The train is the real secret. Wilmington’s Amtrak station was renamed the Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Railroad Station in 2011, since our former president famously rode the train back and forth to Washington for decades as a senator. Acela and Northeast Regional trains stop there, and the trip to Washington’s Union Station is roughly an hour and a half on a fast train, compared with two to two and a half hours of driving. SEPTA’s regional rail also runs from Wilmington into Philadelphia. (And no, Heather says you won’t usually see Joe Biden riding his bike around getting ice cream.)

For flying, the little Wilmington Airport (ILG) has nonstop leisure flights on Avelo Airlines, mostly to Florida plus spots like Myrtle Beach and San Juan. For anything else, including flights back to San Jose or SFO to visit the friends you left behind, Philadelphia International is a short drive up I-95.

Who Are the Big Employers?

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If you’re relocating for work, or your kids are, here’s who keeps northern Delaware running:

• ChristianaCare, the state’s dominant health system, which is growing into Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Christiana Hospital near Newark is a teaching hospital, which Heather (the nurse) was quick to point out is a big plus for quality of care.
• DuPont, which has been part of Delaware’s identity for more than two centuries.
• JPMorgan Chase and the banking industry in Wilmington.

Ever notice how many of your credit card statements say Wilmington, Delaware? That’s not a coincidence. Delaware’s 1981 Financial Center Development Act lifted interest rate caps and drew credit card banks to Wilmington, and the state’s corporate laws and its Court of Chancery have made it the place where companies like to incorporate. The Delaware Division of Corporations says more than one million business entities are formed there.

Heather also pointed out that plenty of people who live in Delaware work outside it. They commute to Philadelphia or take the train to D.C. and come home to a much more reasonably priced house.

Universities and Schools

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The biggest school is the University of Delaware in Newark, home of the Fightin’ Blue Hens. It isn’t Ivy League, but it’s very well regarded, especially in nursing and health sciences. It’s also the Bidens’ alma mater: Joe Biden graduated from UD, and Jill Biden earned her master’s and doctorate there. (A small correction to our conversation: Dr. Biden taught at Delaware Technical Community College, not UD.) The state also has Delaware State University in Dover and Wilmington University, which is based in New Castle.

For K-12, Heather was honest that public schools are a mixed bag and depend a lot on the pocket you’re in. The standout she mentioned is the Appoquinimink School District in Middletown, and the Wilmington area has a good number of private schools. If you’re moving to be near grandkids, this is useful info for your adult children as much as for you.

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What Do Retirees Do for Fun in Delaware?

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This was the part I was most curious about, since most of my clients are in their sixties, seventies, and eighties. Here’s what Heather said people actually do:

• Golf. There’s a lot of it.
• Parks, trails, biking, and hiking. The historic town of New Castle has walking trails right along the Delaware River, and it’s one of Heather’s favorite spots.
• Fishing, crabbing, and boating along the Delaware River and Delaware Bay.
• Shopping without sales tax. People come from out of state just for this, to the outlets at the beaches and to Christiana Mall, the state’s main mall.
• The beaches. Rehoboth Beach is the busy one, with the boardwalk, concerts, and outlets. Dewey Beach is a bit slower, Bethany Beach is more family oriented and quiet, and Lewes has a historic small-town feel (Compass has an office there for the beach market).
• Arts and history. Wilmington has The Grand Opera House for shows. History lovers can tour the du Pont family’s former estates, including Winterthur and the Hagley Museum, and Longwood Gardens is just over the line in Pennsylvania.

And when you want big-city stuff, Philadelphia is a quick ride north and Baltimore and D.C. are down the line. If you’re curious how this compares to staying put, I’ve also written about things to do for seniors here in Silicon Valley.

Weather: Four Real Seasons

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This is the part Bay Area folks need to hear clearly. Delaware has actual seasons. Summers get into the 90s and it’s humid, not our dry heat, and that’s why everything is so green. Heather was clear that summer nights stay warm, often in the 80s, so you won’t need the jacket you’ve grabbed every evening of your life in California. If anything, you’ll want to be inside in the air conditioning.

Spring is the rainy season, and summer brings thunderstorms, but it doesn’t rain every day. Beach season runs roughly from April or May through September. Fall is gorgeous, with the leaves turning orange, red, and yellow. When we recorded in October, it was sweatshirt weather in the 50s and 60s. Winters bring snow, and when it snows, it really snows, though Heather said the last few winters have been lighter. If you’ve never shoveled a driveway, that’s worth thinking about, and it’s also why so many communities there have HOAs that handle snow removal.

What Do Homes Cost in Northern Delaware?

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I assumed a place this nice would be expensive. It isn’t, at least not by our standards here in the Bay Area. Delaware has everything from mobile homes under $100,000 to stately estates in the millions. For perspective, the median sale price in Santa Clara County came in at about $1.85 million last month, and that number was down. Here are the three homes Heather shared during our call. These were active listings in October 2026, so they’ll be gone by the time you read this, but they give you a real feel for what your money buys.

The Low End: A $285,000 Ranch Near Wilmington

• 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, a little over 1,100 square feet
• Single-level ranch built in 1948, with a yard
• No HOA
• Annual property taxes of about $1,749
• Just off Route 9 near I-495, with grocery stores and shopping close by, and Route 13 nearby too

That location isn’t the boondocks at all. It’s a short drive (or a fast DoorDash order) from everything. A home like this in a location this central would easily be a million dollars or more anywhere in the Bay Area, and $285,000 here barely buys a mobile home in a park. One gripe though: whoever took the listing photos shot them in portrait mode on a phone. Come on, turn the phone sideways.

The Middle of the Market: A 55+ Home in Middletown in the $600,000s

Heather said a middle-of-the-road single-family home in her market runs in the $600,000s these days, and sometimes you’ll find something in the $400,000s. Prices there have gone up, but in the Bay Area you basically can’t buy a single-family house in the $600,000s anymore. The one she showed was in K. Hovnanian’s Four Seasons at Baymont Farms, a 55+ active adult community in Middletown, one of the fastest-growing areas in New Castle County:

• 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, about 2,595 square feet
• Less than two years old
• Primary suite on the main floor, with a loft and three more bedrooms upstairs
• A basement with a rec room, plus a screened-in porch, high ceilings, and lots of windows
• HOA dues of $235 a month, which cover things like snow removal and common-area upkeep
• Annual property taxes of about $5,700

It’s about a ten-minute drive to the nearest supermarket, and the area around it is filling in with new shops. This house would be $1.3 or $1.4 million here, easy. One thing to know: basements are common in Delaware, and if a basement is finished, it may be counted in the square footage. Always ask how the square footage on a listing was measured, especially in new construction where the model photos might not show the basement.

The High End: A $5 Million Equestrian Estate on 121 Acres

I asked Heather what an affluent buyer, not a billionaire and not a du Pont, might buy. She showed me an estate in Middletown that honestly made my jaw drop:

• Listed at $5 million
• 11 bedrooms and 10 baths, with 4,650 square feet listed
• 5,270,760 square feet of land, which works out to about 121 acres, set up as an equestrian property
• Built in 1989, with a pool and outdoor living space
• No HOA
• Annual property taxes of about $6,000

In California, under Prop 13 rules, a new buyer at $5 million would be paying somewhere around $55,000 to $60,000 a year in property tax. A 120-acre property with a nice house in the Bay Area would run $20 or $30 million, if you could find one at all. A word of caution though: a big piece of land like this can be assessed very differently from a regular home, so any buyer should confirm with the county what the taxes will look like after they buy.

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Delaware Taxes for Retirees

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Taxes came up again and again in our conversation, and they’re one of the main reasons people move there. Here’s what the AARP Delaware state tax guide lays out:

• No sales tax on anything.
• Social Security isn’t taxed by the state.
• A pension exclusion of up to $12,500 of pension or retirement income for residents 60 and older.
• State income tax tops out at 6.6%, compared with California’s top rate of 13.3%.
• No estate or inheritance tax.
• Low property taxes, with a statewide average of about 0.54% of assessed value, ranging from roughly 0.31% in Sussex County to 0.72% in New Castle County.
• A senior school tax credit for homeowners 65 and older, worth up to 50% of school property taxes (capped at $500), although people who moved to Delaware after 2018 need to have lived there at least 10 years to qualify.

One thing to keep an eye on: New Castle County did a court-ordered countywide reassessment that hit tax bills in 2025, and a lot of homeowners saw changes. The tax numbers on the listings above were what was shown at the time, so always check the current bill on any home you’re considering.

The other half of the tax picture is on the California side. When you sell a Bay Area home you’ve owned for decades, capital gains can be a big deal, and if you’re thinking of selling to fund your move, it’s worth reading up on making the most of your nest egg from your home sale before you list. Talk to your CPA too, because I’m a REALTOR®, not a tax advisor.

55+ Communities and Single-Level Living

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This is where northern Delaware really stands out for my clients. There are a lot of 55+ communities, a big share of them new construction, popping up all over New Castle County and especially in Middletown, plus some existing ones that cost less. Many have one-story floor plans or a primary suite on the main level, which matters a lot when you’re thinking about aging in place and don’t want to climb stairs every night. Here in the Bay Area, we have very few 55+ communities by comparison, so if that lifestyle appeals to you, Delaware gives you a lot to choose from.

Healthcare is close too. Between ChristianaCare locally and the big academic medical centers in Baltimore (Johns Hopkins) and Philadelphia (Penn Medicine), you don’t have to go far for specialists. If you’re leaving California, also read my guide to Medicare and health coverage when you move out of the Bay Area to be near family, since your plan may not travel with you.

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How a Bay Area to Delaware Move Actually Works

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Here’s the part people don’t always realize. You’ll want two agents, one on each end, who talk to each other. I handle the sale of your home here, timed so you’re not stuck carrying two houses or rushing into the wrong one back East, and an agent like Heather handles the purchase there. Because we’re both in the Compass Plus network, which focuses on older adults and their families, we can coordinate the timing, the move, and all the moving pieces in between. That’s a big part of what I call the Best Move Method, and it’s how I help people make their next move the best one yet.

If you’re further out in your planning, my 90-day senior move plan walks through the whole process, and if Delaware isn’t quite right, you might like my look at moving to Boise, Idaho from the Bay Area.

How to Reach Heather Williams

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If you’re thinking about buying (or selling) a home in northern Delaware, Heather would love to hear from you. She says she always picks up her phone.

• Heather Williams, The R & H Williams Team, Compass, Greenville, Delaware
• Mobile: 609-433-1165
• Email: [email protected]
• Heather’s Compass profile

And if you’re on this side of the country and starting to wonder what selling your Silicon Valley home could make possible, give me a call at 408-413-3087 or book a call with me. I learned a ton about Delaware from Heather, and I’d love to help you figure out whether it’s the right place for your next chapter.

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