Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 51/100
D+
Median home value$304,800
Philadelphia $351,900
Median rent$1,771/mo
Philadelphia $1,480/mo
Cost-burdened households30%
Philadelphia 32%
Bear
New Castle County22,370 residents2 school districts
58
C
Suburbgrade score
26th of 50 Philadelphia suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by schools.
58
Philadelphia median 58
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Bear yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 58 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Bear is like to live in, by category
Bars show Bear against Philadelphia. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 43/100
D
Within-state proficiency35th pct
Philadelphia median 48th pct
Student–teacher ratio14.0
Philadelphia median 13.0
Graduation rate79%
Philadelphia median 89%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 82/100
B+
Housing cost index96
Philadelphia 100
Eff. tax rate0.76%
Philadelphia 1.37%
Local sales tax0.00%
Philadelphia median 6.34%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 63/100
C+
Mean commute24.1 min
Philadelphia 28.7 min
Under 30 minutes71%
Philadelphia 56%
Transit stops / sq mi0.2
Philadelphia median 0.4 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 60/100
C
Restaurants & cafés29
Philadelphia median 53 · within 2 miles
Groceries6
Philadelphia median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks19
Philadelphia median 41 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 54/100
C−
Median household income$91,687
Philadelphia $91,289
Unemployment5.9%
Philadelphia 5.9%
Professional occupations40%
Philadelphia 49%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Bear yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Bear on schools
Bear's weakest grade is D. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbSchoolsOverall
West Chester24 mi from BearA 69 B− Middletown12 mi from BearB+ 63 C+ Hockessin11 mi from BearC+ 71 B− Pike Creek Valley8 mi from BearC 65 C+ Elkton8 mi from BearC 51 D+ Smyrna23 mi from BearC− 52 D+ Within-state proficiency: EDFacts SY2021–22 · Graduation rate: EDFacts ACGR SY2018–19
Common questions about living in Bear
Is Bear, DE a good place to live?
Bear scores 58 out of 100, 26th of 50 Philadelphia suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on schools. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Bear expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B+. The median home is $304,800, 13% below the Philadelphia median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.76%. $1,771/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Bear?
Schools grade D. The districts serving Bear sit at the 35th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 79% graduation rate and a 14.0 student–teacher ratio. Bear is served by Christina School District and Colonial School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Bear?
The mean commute is 24.1 min, with 71% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 15% working from home. Transit density is 0.2 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Bear?
Within two miles there are 6 groceries, 29 restaurants and cafés and 19 parks, which grades C on amenities.
Are the homes in Bear old or new?
The median home in Bear was built in 1996 — newer than the Philadelphia median of 1966. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 60% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.
Six Philadelphia lists
Best Philadelphia suburbs for familiesMost affordable Philadelphia suburbsBest Philadelphia suburbs for schoolsShortest commutes to Downtown PhiladelphiaMost walkable Philadelphia suburbsBest Philadelphia suburbs for young professionalsCompare Bear
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