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Fenwick Island, DE

This is a small community in a single neighborhood. As throughout the site, some neighborhood-level data are reserved for subscribers.





Overview


Fenwick Island is a tiny coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Delaware. With a population of 369 people and just one neighborhood, Fenwick Island is the 39th largest community in Delaware.

Fenwick Island home prices are not only among the most expensive in Delaware, but Fenwick Island real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Occupations and Workforce

Unlike some towns, Fenwick Island isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Fenwick Island are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Fenwick Island is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Fenwick Island who work in sales jobs (19.08%), management occupations (12.98%), and healthcare (10.69%).

Of important note, Fenwick Island is also a town of artists. Fenwick Island has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Fenwick Island’s character.

Also of interest is that Fenwick Island has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 16.28% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Setting & Lifestyle

Another notable thing is that Fenwick Island is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the town experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller town.

In addition, Fenwick Island is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are people who are both educated and wealthy, and thus tend to be older, richer, and more established than young professionals. "Urban sophisticates" is not just about being educated and well-off financially: it is a point of view and state of mind, one that you might call 'urbaneness'. But such people can and do regularly live in small towns, suburbs and rural areas, as well as in big cities. They read, support the arts and high-end shops, and love travel.

One of the nice things about Fenwick Island is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.

As is often the case in a small town, Fenwick Island doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.

Demographics

Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to Fenwick Island, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Fenwick Island is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 54.17% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 21.84%.

The per capita income in Fenwick Island in 2018 was $88,069, which is wealthy relative to Delaware and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $352,276 for a family of four.

The people who call Fenwick Island home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Fenwick Island residents report their race to be White, followed by Native American. Important ancestries of people in Fenwick Island include German, English, Irish, Italian, and Polish.

The most common language spoken in Fenwick Island is English. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and Polish.

Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics

When you see a neighborhood for the first time, the most important thing is often the way it looks, like its homes and its setting. Some places look the same, but they only reveal their true character after living in them for a while because they contain a unique mix of occupational or cultural groups. This neighborhood is very unique in some important ways, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive exploration and analysis.

Real Estate

Do you like a coastal setting? If so, this neighborhood may be to your liking. The neighborhood is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Often such coastal places have amenities and recreational activities on the waterfront that are attractive to residents and visitors alike. In addition to being coastal, is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of. One of the notable things about is that it is one of the quietest neighborhoods in America, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and quantitative rating of quietness. When you are here, you will find it to be very quiet. If quiet and peaceful are your cup of tea, you may have found a great place for you.

In addition, despite all of the residential real estate here in the neighborhood, NeighborhoodScout has discovered that much of it is vacant. In resort or second-home vacation areas, this naturally occurs because homes and apartments are seasonally occupied, and empty for a portion of the year. In non-vacation or resort areas, however, this can be an indicator of property abandonment or a weak real estate market. The vacancy rate here is 82.9%, which is higher than 99.9% of all U.S. neighborhoods.

People

Of note is NeighborhoodScout's research finding that the neighborhood has some of the lowest rates of children living in poverty of any neighborhood in the United States. In a nation where approximately 1 in 4 children are living in poverty, the community truly stands out from the rest in this regard.

In addition, a majority of the adults in the neighborhood are wealthy and educated executives. They own stately homes that tend to maintain high real estate appreciation rates. Their upper-level careers keep them busy, but allow them to live comfortably. If you're an executive and want to keep similar company, consider settling in this neighborhood, rated as an executive lifestyle "best choice" neighborhood for Delaware by NeighborhoodScout's analysis, which rated it as better for executive lifestyles than 98.1% of the neighborhoods in Delaware. In addition to being an excellent choice for highly educated executives, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for urban sophisticates.

Diversity

Did you know that the neighborhood has more Welsh and Native American ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 4.9% of this neighborhood's residents have Welsh ancestry and 2.8% have Native American ancestry.

is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 9.8% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Italian at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 97.8% of the neighborhoods in America.

The Neighbors

How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.

The neighbors in the neighborhood in Fenwick Island are upper-middle income, making it an above average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 84.0% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 0.0% of the children seventeen and under living in this neighborhood are living below the federal poverty line, which is a lower rate of childhood poverty than is found in 100.0% of America's neighborhoods.

A neighborhood is far different if it is dominated by enlisted military personnel rather than people who earn their living by farming. It is also different if most of the neighbors are clerical support or managers. What is wonderful is the sheer diversity of neighborhoods, allowing you to find the type that fits your lifestyle and aspirations.

In the neighborhood, 49.8% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants, with 23.9% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (16.6%), and 9.8% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.

Languages

The languages spoken by people in this neighborhood are diverse. These are tabulated as the languages people preferentially speak when they are at home with their families. The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 98.4% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and Polish.

Ethnicity / Ancestry

Boston's Beacon Hill blue-blood streets, Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish enclaves, Los Angeles' Persian neighborhoods. Each has its own culture derived primarily from the ancestries and culture of the residents who call these neighborhoods home. Likewise, each neighborhood in America has its own culture – some more unique than others – based on lifestyle, occupations, the types of households – and importantly – on the ethnicities and ancestries of the people who live in the neighborhood. Understanding where people came from, who their grandparents or great-grandparents were, can help you understand how a neighborhood is today.

In the neighborhood in Fenwick Island, DE, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (31.5%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (18.1%), and residents who report Irish roots (16.5%), and some of the residents are also of Polish ancestry (10.1%), along with some Italian ancestry residents (9.9%), among others.

Getting to Work

Even if your neighborhood is walkable, you may still have to drive to your place of work. Some neighborhoods are located where many can get to work in just a few minutes, while others are located such that most residents have a long and arduous commute. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (44.2% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.

Here most residents (66.5%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also hop out the door and walk to work to get to work (7.9%) and 6.9% of residents also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors for their daily commute. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.


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