Delaware is the 24th best state to live in, according to a recent survey, but when it comes to the state’s quality of life, the results were a bit different: The First State came in 48th in the nation.
The only states to fare worse than Delaware were Mississippi at No. 49 and Alaska at No. 50, both of which also ranked at the bottom of the list for the best states to live in.
Coming in at No. 1 for the quality-of-life category is New York, followed by California at No. 2 and Pennsylvania at No. 3. Our other regional neighbors also fared much better in the category, with Virginia ranking at No. 5 for quality of life and Maryland at 31.
Delaware’s near last-place quality of life finish at 48 is a bit surprising, especially considering our overall place at 24 in the survey overall.
Is the state’s quality of life really that bad? Let’s take a deep dive into the survey’s findings.
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Survey says…
The WalletHub survey compares each state in the categories of affordability, economy, education & health, quality of life, and safety, with some of those categories consisting of further ranked criteria.
For the quality-of-life category, states are ranked based on topics like average hours worked per week, average commute time, quality of roads, education and encouragement, weather, various forms of entertainment per capita and more. States can score up to 20 points in each category.
It is important to note that Delaware’s size plays a huge part in rankings when national surveys compare us to larger states.
This survey’s quality-of-life category includes metrics, like public health and education rates, that other surveys –which have ranked us higher for quality of life– have deemed as separate categories entirely.
In a World Population Review survey, for example, Delaware received a ranking of 23 for quality of life, 25 spots higher than WalletHub’s final verdict.
Within the quality-of-life category for WalletHub, some of Delaware’s lowest points scored came from an assessment of the state’s available entertainment.
Explore Delaware with these hidden gems:https://www.delawareonline.com/story/life/2021/11/03/enjoy-delaware-more-discovering-these-12-hidden-gems/6053941001/
The results included a ranking of 45 for restaurants per capita, 46 for bars per capita, 43 for museums per capita, 47 for performing arts centers per capita, and 50 for movie theaters per capita.
Sure, we might not be equal when it comes to the entertainment of major cities nearby like New York City and Philadelphia, but what can you expect from the second-smallest state?
After all, our population floats just under one million, leaving us with more chickens in the state than people.
Hey, Delaware has a lot to offer
Despite being 1,982 square miles of low, flat coastal plain, there’s more to the First State than meets the eye, and definitely, more than our ranking of 48th implies.
“Every time one of these surveys comes out and ranks us as having a low quality of life, I’m kind of offended. As a native Delawarean, I just find it really surprising,” said Jessica Welch, Director of the Delaware Tourism Office.
Welch helps people find a variety of events, activities and places to enjoy throughout the state whether they’re interested in a weekend outing, a holiday festival or family fun.
“You can’t just come to Delaware with no plan or place and think you’re going to find something to do. I think you have to do your research wherever you go,” said Welch. “If they talk to the locals, talk to people who are from Delaware, they’ll tell you all the amazing places you can go.”
Living in Milford, some of Welch’s favorite local activities include hanging out at our various state parks.
Not only are they beautiful, she said, but most provide areas for hiking, biking, walking and a list of other activities you can partake in.
Included in the quality-of-life category, Delaware received a bicycle-friendly ranking of 7 and a rank of 13 for our miles of trails for biking and walking per total state land area.
Lums Pond State Park in Bear offers Go Ape, a treetop rope course where participants can traipse through tree canopy and ziplining across the park’s 200-acre pond. At Trap Pond State Park in Laurel, kayakers can enjoy a cruise through the cypress trees rivaling the views of southern bayous.
Delaware also boasts various county parks, world-class gardens and several noted art and history museums.
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Delaware also has a thriving culinary scene, with dozens of waterfront dining available in our beach towns, celebrity chef appearances in Wilmington and a trail of other small businesses making their marks on the palate of Delawareans one plate at a time.
Delaware also has several unique festivals such as the Ladybug Music Festival in Milford or the Sea Witch Festival in Rehoboth plus a long list of food-centric ethnic and harvest festivals.
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We’ve got beaches, mild weather and low property taxes
Delaware’s quality of life ranking did include some numbers in the top half of the survey, including a ranking of 20 for beach accessibility and a ranking of 23 for the weather.
The state also received a rank of 7 for the quality of our public school system and a rank of 10 for our high school graduation rate, which comes as no surprise after a recent report by U.S. News & World Report ranked five of our schools in the top 1000 nationwide.
Delaware’s top high schools:https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/delaware/rankings
And Delaware earned 8th place for the quality of our public hospital systems.
Another factor that sets Delaware apart from other states is our housing market, especially our supply of beachfront properties and our short distance from many major roadways and nearby cities.
As part of the quality-of-life category, Delaware earned a ranking of 5 for homeownership rate and a ranking of 6 for median annual property taxes.
“They can’t believe the property taxes,” said Susan Giove, president of the Delaware Association of Realtors. “That’s also a big motivator for folks that are coming to us from the New York, Long Island or northern New Jersey-area. The amount they’ll save on property taxes.”
Giove’s own parents, who she helped relocate from Queens in New York City to Delaware, were shocked at how much they would save a year on property taxes, she said.
“I moved here because I love living at the beach and I didn’t want to live in the big city anymore. I lived in the city in New York and found it stifling and couldn’t take it anymore,” she said. “Sometimes you spent so much more time in the car than at work.”
Giove, who moved to Delaware in 1995, said most properties in Delaware are gone within a week if they have a good price.
Many of her clients are searching for a place to retire and a way of life with a heavy emphasis on relaxation and an easy-going, laid-back life, she said.
Delaware earned a rank of 2 for general tax-friendliness and a rank of 16 for the average hours worked per week (38.50 hours).
Another attraction is Delaware’s easy access to Amtrak, the Philadelphia International Airport and other fun modes of transportation, like the Lewes Ferry.
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“The accessibility makes us really attractive,” she said. “This is a great location for the seniors that want to be within driving distance for the grandkids.”
“Folks who are almost ready to retire, they really look at either Delaware or North Carolina, and Delaware seems to really win out because of the taxes and because we’re close enough to travel either way,” said Giove.
“It’s a wonderful place to live. It’s a wonderful place to come and have a vacation and be exposed to all Delaware has to offer,” said Giove.
