Introduction to New Castle County Neighborhoods

New Castle County is Delaware’s northernmost and most densely populated county, a place of great diversity. Though the county seat, Wilmington, is Delaware’s largest city, the area overall is highly suburbanized. Outside of cities such as Newark and towns such as Newport, Elsmere and New Castle, much of the area is unincorporated. It varies from the rolling hills and woods of the Brandywine, Red Clay and White Clay creek valleys to flat coastal plain that extends from the Christina River south to Middletown, Townsend and Odessa—all fringed with marsh along the Delaware River. Outside the municipalities and countryside, neighborhoods are mostly upscale subdivisions with a variety of housing styles. More than 500,000 of the state’s 800,000 residents live in New Castle County, which is home to most of the state’s largest employers and entertainment venues and arts organizations.