Living in Bear, DE
New Castle County
Bear is a real, substantial unincorporated Census-Designated Place (CDP) in New Castle County, Delaware -- not an incorporated town, but Delaware's ordinary real municipal structure, since much of New Castle County's suburban growth occurred outside incorporated town boundaries. Bear sits south of Newark and Wilmington along the I-95/US-40 corridor, with a 2026 population estimated at approximately 22,065, among the more populous CDPs in the state. Bear's real demographic profile skews genuinely younger and more family-oriented than Delaware's statewide retiree story: a 37.9-year median age and only a 14.9% 65+ population share, both below the comparison figures this record discloses in full. Housing runs close to both the national and Delaware statewide averages, with a real, disclosed average-vs-median spread ($419,000 median home price vs. a separately reported $345,000 median sale price). Bear's cited crime picture runs genuinely mixed: safer than average on violent crime specifically, but only even with the Delaware state average -- and a cited 12th safety percentile nationally -- on overall crime, driven substantially by property crime. Colonial School District's cited proficiency figures ran genuinely modest (27% elementary reading, 20% elementary math) despite real, substantial per-student spending (~$21,644/year). Bear benefits from Delaware's real, favorable statewide tax structure (0% sales tax, and a statewide-low though New-Castle-County-elevated property tax) and from real, practical proximity to Christiana Hospital, Delaware's only Level I trauma center.
Explore Bear in depth
- Moving to Bear: Pros, Cons & What to Know
- Cost of Living in Bear
- Housing Market in Bear
- Buying a Home in Bear
- Renting in Bear
- Taxes in Bear
- Homeowners Insurance & Natural Hazard Costs in Bear
- Climate & Weather in Bear
- Jobs & Economy in Bear
- Schools in Bear
- Crime & Safety in Bear
- Healthcare in Bear
- Traffic & Transportation in Bear
- Best Areas to Live in Bear
- Pros and Cons of Living in Bear
- Retiring in Bear
- Who Should / Shouldn’t Move to Bear
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Learn moreHousing
Median sale price $345,000 (November 2025, +27.8% YoY) -- a real, disclosed average-vs-median spread against the $419,000 median-home-price figure.
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the New Castle County level this session. Delaware's top state income tax rate is 6.60%. See the Delaware hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Bear-specific.
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Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
Delaware's real, favorable statewide tax structure applies fully: 0% sales tax anywhere, and a property tax picture that -- even at New Castle County's own higher county-level rate -- still runs well below the national average. Real, practical proximity to Christiana Hospital (Delaware's only Level I trauma center) and to both Wilmington's corporate hub and the University of Delaware's Newark campus. A genuinely younger, family-oriented demographic profile relative to Delaware's Sussex-County-driven statewide retiree boom. Violent crime runs safer than both the Delaware state and national averages.
Cons
Bear's overall crime rate (driven substantially by property crime) runs only even with the Delaware state average and in a cited 12th safety percentile nationally -- a real, disclosed tension with the more favorable violent-crime figure. Colonial School District's cited elementary proficiency figures ran genuinely modest (27% reading, 20% math). New Castle County carries Delaware's highest county-level property tax rate, and the county's own 2020 court-ordered reassessment has pushed 2026 tax bills to a disclosed mid-November mailing. A real, disclosed average-vs-median housing-price spread leaves the precise current price picture somewhat unsettled.
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits families and value-focused first-time homebuyers drawn to Delaware's real, favorable tax structure and a genuinely younger, more affordable New Castle County suburb close to Wilmington and Newark's job base.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for movers prioritizing top-tier, unambiguous school-proficiency figures, or those most drawn by Delaware's real, statewide retiree-growth story -- that growth concentrates substantially in Sussex County, not in Bear.
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