Retirees looking beyond Florida and Arizona are increasingly settling in Delaware’s beach towns, helping turn Sussex County into one of the country’s fastest-growing retirement destinations.
Southern Delaware’s coastal communities, including Rehoboth Beach, Lewes, Bethany Beach and Milton, have attracted a wave of newcomers since the pandemic. Sussex County added more than 40,000 residents from 2020 through 2026, a 17% population increase that is roughly five times the national growth rate over the same period.
The influx has helped make Delaware the nation’s fastest-growing state for residents 65 and older since 2020. Its population of older adults rose 23% in that period, according to the Bloomberg report, as retirees sought beaches, relatively lower property taxes and a location that remains close to family in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
Retirees are pouring into one coastal getaway at a staggering pace, and the boom is starting to take a toll.
Delaware's Sussex County has added 40,000 residents since 2020, growing about five times faster than the national average as retirees are drawn to its beaches and tax… pic.twitter.com/stW4DfGVqP
— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) August 30, 2026
For many households arriving from New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts, Delaware’s tax structure can be a major part of the appeal. The state has no general sales tax, its graduated individual income-tax rate tops out at 6.6%, and it does not impose estate or inheritance taxes. Delaware’s effective property-tax rate on owner-occupied homes is also comparatively low, though bills differ substantially by location and assessed value.
Sussex County, in particular, has property-tax figures well below those in many northeastern suburbs. Tax Foundation-based data cited by AARP put the county’s average effective property-tax rate at 0.31%, with a median tax bill of $1,222—the lowest among Delaware’s three counties in the available 2024 figures.
The growth is reshaping the county’s demographics. Sussex County’s median age has risen to 53.2, far above the national median, while Delaware overall had about 229,000 residents age 65 or older in 2024—21.8% of the state’s population. Researchers project that older adults could account for roughly 23% of Delaware residents by 2030.