How many of us have commented (AKA complained) about the never-ending housing boom and increasing summer traffic congestion in lower Sussex County? My guess is plenty and there are plenty of reasons for the expansion and congestion.
According to the web site USA Facts, County’s population increased 12 out of the 12 years between 2010 and 2022. Its largest annual population increase was 3.7% between 2020 and 2021, also known as “the Covid years”. Between 2010 and 2022, the county grew by an average of 2.2% per year. Overall, it expanded by 29.2 percent compared to 7.7 percent for the U.S. population. In 2024, Sussex County’s population topped 270,500 and it is expected to surpass 277,600 people in 2025.
The retiree migration to Sussex County and Delaware in general began years ago and likely was accelerated by the impact that Hurricane Sandy had on New Jersey beaches in 2012. Folks from the north discovered Delaware. Real estate agents have seen an uptick in buyers from those states for several years. Typically, these transplants and those from other states are attracted to Delaware partially due to desirable tax benefits including no sales tax, low property taxes and something called the Retirement Income Exclusion that gives those 60+ a break on their income taxes. Of course, additional attractions are the beach, the state parks, the water sports, entertainment, a variety of eateries and so much more.
Last February, Delaware’s Office of State Planning Coordination Director Dave Edgell outlined just how fast housing growth is taking place in Sussex County during a Coalition meeting.
In 2022, 78% of all residential growth in the state was in Sussex. Over the past six years, Sussex has accounted for 60% of all residential units in the state, according to data presented at the meeting.
Edgell said forecasts show that it’s not only seniors who are moving to the county, but also a large number of young families, which will impact school districts’ populations.
“This migration is expected to keep rising for the next three decades,” Edgell said during his February 13th meeting (2024).
The office also coordinates the Delaware Population Consortium. Edgell said population projections must be used as part of all comprehensive plans. The population of Sussex County could reach 361,000 by the year 2050.
Newly elected RD 14 Representative Claire Snyder-Hall has witnessed the growth first-hand.
“I know from running for office in 2014 and then 10 years later in 2024, that the district has changed a lot,” she said.
On a positive note, Snyder-Hall feels that the county has become more welcoming over the past ten years, “There used to be a lot of tension over the come-here/from-here split, but hardly anyone talks about that anymore because most people are now ‘come-here’s’.”
In addition, as the population has grown and spread out, that has led to “more restaurants and shopping opportunities, which has its advantages.” she shared.
“But at the same time,” she continued, “we are also facing the challenges of unchecked development, including snarled traffic, environmental damage, a shortage of services, and a lack of adequate infrastructure to support all the new housing developments. Hopefully, with new people in the legislature and on county council, we can do more to address the downsides of growth.”
By Mary Jo Tarallo, Resident Journalist
Mary Jo Tarallo spent much of her career in public relations with various non-profits and spent 40 years involved with the ski industry as a journalist, public relations director for a national trade association and as executive director of the Learn to Ski and Snowboard initiative. Prior to her ski industry involvement she worked for the Maryland International Center in Baltimore and United Way of Central Maryland. She won a Gold Award for TV programming for a United Way simulcast that starred Oprah Winfrey. She has been cited for her work by numerous organizations. Mary Jo grew up in Baltimore, attended the University of Maryland and Towson University, lived in Washington, DC for 21 years and has been a full time resident of Rehoboth Beach and Milton since May 2019.
