23 school districts · FY 2026 · Delaware Department of Education
Delaware school property tax rates by district
Delaware's school districts range from $0.1679 per $100 in Cape Henlopen to $0.6150 per $100 in Christina on the FY 2026 residential school tax rate (per $100 of assessed value); the median school district is $0.3165 per $100. Period and source: fiscal year 2026 (2025-26 school year), from the Department of Education's rate table dated September 19, 2025.
- 1Highest residential school tax rate Christina $0.6150 per $100
- 2Middle Woodbridge (KC) $0.3165 per $100
- 3Lowest residential school tax rate Cape Henlopen $0.1679 per $100
- 4School districts ranked 19
What the figures are
This page reproduces the school district property tax rates only, per $100 of assessed value ("Tax rates are per $100 of assessed value"), from the Department of Education's table for fiscal year 2026. A Delaware bill also carries a county rate and, inside a city or town, a municipal rate; each county and municipality sets those, and no state agency publishes them together, so this page covers the school share of a bill and nothing else. Period: fiscal year 2026 (2025-26 school year), from the Department of Education's rate table dated September 19, 2025.
- School share only. County government and municipal property taxes are set separately by the three counties and the municipalities and are not on this page.
- Assessed values are each county's own: Kent and Sussex reassessed; New Castle's figures were "provided by the County as of 7/9/25 and have not been finalized yet", and "The appeals process could likely alter these figures."
- New Castle County districts have separate residential and non-residential rates; Kent and Sussex districts use one rate for both. Some Kent and Sussex districts also levy a flat dollar amount per capitation.
- Vocational districts (New Castle Vocational, Polytech, Sussex Vocational) are listed separately, as in the table, and are not ranked. For three vocational rows a 0.0002 or 0.0003 component sits in a tuition-or-match column that the table's text layout does not make clear, so their components are shown only where unambiguous.
All 19 school districts, FY 2026
Ranked by residential school tax rate (per $100 of assessed value), highest first. Click a heading to sort.
| # | School district | Residential | Non-residential | Levy per capitation | Debt service | Current expense | Tuition | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christina (New Castle) | $0.6150 | $1.2102 | N/A | $0.0079 | $0.4399 | $0.1544 | $0.0128 |
| 2 | Red Clay (New Castle) | $0.5918 | $0.9924 | N/A | $0.0386 | $0.4037 | $0.1281 | $0.0215 |
| 3 | Appoquinimink (New Castle) | $0.5769 | $1.1538 | N/A | $0.0679 | $0.3205 | $0.1577 | $0.0309 |
| 4 | Brandywine (New Castle) | $0.5609 | $1.0382 | N/A | $0.0248 | $0.4323 | $0.0916 | $0.0122 |
| 5 | Capital (Kent) | $0.5021 | $0.5021 | N/A | $0.0850 | $0.2409 | $0.1584 | $0.0178 |
| 6 | Colonial (New Castle) | $0.4523 | $0.7429 | N/A | $0.0072 | $0.3752 | $0.0492 | $0.0207 |
| 7 | Woodbridge (SC) (Sussex) | $0.3391 | $0.3391 | $8.82 | $0.0211 | $0.1707 | $0.0335 | $0.1138 |
| 8 | Smyrna (KC) (Kent) | $0.3285 | $0.3285 | N/A | $0.0406 | $0.1919 | $0.0738 | $0.0222 |
| 9 | Delmar (Sussex) | $0.3272 | $0.3272 | $13.00 | $0.0063 | $0.1279 | $0.1572 | $0.0358 |
| 10 | Woodbridge (KC) (Kent) | $0.3165 | $0.3165 | $8.82 | $0.0154 | $0.1612 | $0.0325 | $0.1074 |
| 11 | Seaford (Sussex) | $0.3104 | $0.3104 | N/A | $0.0228 | $0.1999 | $0.0618 | $0.0259 |
| 12 | Caesar Rodney (Kent) | $0.3060 | $0.3060 | $12.00 | $0.0265 | $0.1474 | $0.0940 | $0.0381 |
| 13 | Smyrna (NCC) (New Castle) | $0.3050 | $0.3050 | N/A | $0.0406 | $0.1684 | $0.0738 | $0.0222 |
| 14 | Laurel (Sussex) | $0.2989 | $0.2989 | $24.30 | $0.0706 | $0.1057 | $0.1012 | $0.0214 |
| 15 | Lake Forest (Kent) | $0.2695 | $0.2695 | $15.00 | $0.0070 | $0.1754 | $0.0644 | $0.0227 |
| 16 | Milford (SC) (Sussex) | $0.2634 | $0.2634 | N/A | $0.0369 | $0.1885 | $0.0277 | $0.0103 |
| 17 | Milford (KC) (Kent) | $0.2633 | $0.2633 | N/A | $0.0347 | $0.1929 | $0.0260 | $0.0097 |
| 18 | Indian River (Sussex) | $0.1703 | $0.1703 | $12.00 | $0.0120 | $0.1269 | $0.0273 | $0.0041 |
| 19 | Cape Henlopen (Sussex) | $0.1679 | $0.1679 | N/A | $0.0171 | $0.0910 | $0.0522 | $0.0076 |
| – | New Castle Vocational (New Castle) | $0.0376 | $0.0608 | N/A | $0.0052 | $0.0324 | $0.0000 | N/A |
| – | Polytech (KC) Vocational (Kent) | $0.0284 | $0.0284 | N/A | $0.0030 | $0.0252 | N/A | N/A |
| – | Polytech (NCC) Vocational (New Castle) | $0.0228 | $0.0228 | N/A | $0.0030 | $0.0196 | N/A | N/A |
| – | Sussex Vocational (Sussex) | $0.0219 | $0.0219 | N/A | $0.0075 | $0.0141 | N/A | N/A |
Footnotes in the source
- Milford: Separate tax rates in Kent and Sussex Counties.
- Smyrna: Separate tax rates in New Castle and Kent Counties.
- Woodbridge: Separate tax rates in Kent and Sussex Counties.
- Polytech: Separate tax rates in New Castle and Kent Counties.
- Sussex County districts' residential property assessment values reflect exclusion of residential exceptions as reported by Sussex County Council.
- New Castle County Tax District pool (House Bill 230, 153rd General Assembly): from FY 2026 each pooled district contributes its FY 2025 revenue and receives its FY 2025 distribution.
Only the school share of a Delaware bill is published statewide, so no full example bill is computed.
How to appeal an assessment in Delaware
- Appeal the assessment to the county's Board of Assessment Review (9 Del. C. § 8311): New Castle County: written notice prior to March 15; the Kent and Sussex boards hear appeals from March 1 to May 31 (the filing deadline is set by the county, not stated in the Code section).
- Appeal the board's decision to the Superior Court: within 30 days of the decision (§ 8312(c)); supplemental assessments, 30 days (§ 8343).
School taxes are billed with county taxes on the county's assessment, so a valuation appeal goes to the county board. Sources: Delaware Code, Title 9, Chapter 83, Subchapter I, read October 26, 2026. The official notice and the body hearing the appeal govern the dates; this is not legal advice.
Questions
What is the property tax rate in Delaware?
Delaware publishes no single rate. This page reproduces the school district property tax rates only, per $100 of assessed value ("Tax rates are per $100 of assessed value"), from the Department of Education's table for fiscal year 2026. For FY 2026 it runs from $0.1679 per $100 in Cape Henlopen to $0.6150 per $100 in Christina; the median school district is $0.3165 per $100.
Which Delaware school district has the highest residential school tax rate?
Christina, at $0.6150 per $100, among the 19 school districts ranked here; Cape Henlopen is lowest at $0.1679 per $100.
Is the residential school tax rate the rate on my tax bill?
No. It is the school district property tax rates only, per $100 of assessed value ("Tax rates are per $100 of assessed value"), from the Department of Education's table for fiscal year 2026. School share only. County government and municipal property taxes are set separately by the three counties and the municipalities and are not on this page.
Why do some Delaware districts have two school tax rates?
In the FY 2026 table 5 districts print a non-residential rate different from the residential one, all in New Castle County, which the table says includes "the residential and non-residential split rates of the school districts in New Castle County"; Kent and Sussex districts print one rate for both. Appoquinimink: $0.5769 residential, $1.1538 non-residential; Brandywine: $0.5609 residential, $1.0382 non-residential; Christina: $0.6150 residential, $1.2102 non-residential; Colonial: $0.4523 residential, $0.7429 non-residential; Red Clay: $0.5918 residential, $0.9924 non-residential.
How do I appeal a property assessment in Delaware?
Appeal the assessment to the county's Board of Assessment Review (9 Del. C. § 8311): New Castle County: written notice prior to March 15; the Kent and Sussex boards hear appeals from March 1 to May 31 (the filing deadline is set by the county, not stated in the Code section). Appeal the board's decision to the Superior Court: within 30 days of the decision (§ 8312(c)); supplemental assessments, 30 days (§ 8343). Source: Delaware Code.
Other states
Town-by-town rates: New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maine and Massachusetts. County or district figures, by census region: Northeast: New York, Vermont; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin; South: Alabama, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming. The states page compares them; the assessed-versus-market-value guide explains why a rate alone does not fix a bill.
Source: Delaware Department of Education, Assessment and Tax Rates - Delaware Public Schools 2025-26 (Fiscal Year 2026), file dated 9/19/25 (Residential and non-residential school tax rates per $100 of assessed value, levy per capitation, and the debt service, current expense, tuition and match components for every school and vocational district; read twice, all totals agreeing). Checks: the table was read twice and every total agreed; each regular district's debt service, current expense, tuition and match rates add up to its printed residential total (19 of 19); the per-capitation totals equal the component levies (Lake Forest 5 + 10 = 15, Delmar 3 + 10 = 13, Indian River 5 + 7 = 12); the three counties' assessed valuations add up to the printed state total, $217,251,078,268; no district lies outside three interquartile ranges of the others and no two neighbouring districts repeat the same rates. Last checked October 26, 2026. See the methodology. Figures are reproduced from the official publication; the county, town or state office that issues the bill governs. Not tax or legal advice.