The Delaware Beaches are located along the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

in the eastern part of

Sussex County, Delaware Sussex County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of Delaware, on the Delmarva Peninsula. As of the 2020 census, the population was 237,378, making it the state's second most populated county behind New Castle and ahead of Ke ...

, which is in the southern part of the state. In addition to

beaches A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

along the ocean, the area offers many amenities, including restaurants,

nightlife Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway typically built with wooden planks, which functions as a type of low water bridge or small viaduct that enables pedestrians to ...

areas, and

tax-free shopping Tax-free shopping (TFS) is the buying of goods in another country or state and obtaining a refund of the sales tax which has been collected by the retailer on those goods. The sales tax may be variously described as a sales tax, goods and servi ...

. The beaches are popular tourist destinations for residents from the nearby areas of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Wilmington,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

South Jersey South Jersey, also known as Southern New Jersey, comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located between Pennsylvania and the lower Delaware River to its west, the Atlantic Ocean to its east, Delaware to its south, ...

, and

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...

. Out of the 30 states with coastline, the Delaware Beaches ranked number 1 in water quality in 2011 and again in 2014. Rehoboth Beach looking north at Delaware Avenue August 2021

Rehoboth Beach looking north at Delaware Avenue August 2021

List of beaches

Beaches in Delaware from north to south: *

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States, lying between the states of Delaware and New Jersey. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltw ...

: ** Augustine Beach ** Woodland Beach ** Fraland Beach ** Pickering Beach ** Kitts Hummock ** Bowers Beach ** Bennett's Pier Beach ** Big Stone Beach ** Slaughter Beach ** Fowler Beach ** Primehook Beach ** Broadkill Beach **

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

(on Delaware Bay) * Cape Henlopen State Park * North Shores * Henlopen Acres * Rehoboth Beach * Dewey Beach * Indian Beach * Delaware Seashore State Park ** Tower Beach ** Coin Beach * Sussex Shores * Bethany Beach * Middlesex Beach () * South Bethany * York Beach () * Fenwick Island State Park * Fenwick Island

History

In 2003, the Delaware Senate passed a bill for the coastal area of Delaware to be referred to as the "Delaware Beaches", as Delaware residents refer to their coastline as the "beach" and not the "shore" like the

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore, commonly called the Shore by locals, is the coast, coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The term encompasses about of shore, oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Perth Amboy in the n ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. The bill called for DelDOT to change signage directing motorists to the beaches from "Shore Points" to "Beaches".

Demographics

The Delaware Beaches area, particularly the Cape Region, tend to be more

affluent Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an ...

and populous than western portions of Sussex County. The combined population of all of the ZIP codes in the Delaware Beaches area is about 43,851 (2009). The median household income in 2009 was $77,030.

Economy

According to SeaGrant Delaware, the Delaware Beaches generate $6.9 billion annually and over $711 million in tax revenue.

References

External links

Delaware Online - Delaware BeachesRehoboth.com - For all Vacation InformationTown of Bethany Beach
{{Coord, 38.589, -75.062, display=title Landforms of Sussex County, Delaware Tourist attractions in Sussex County, Delaware Deleware