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Delaware County PA Homes for Sale & Real Estate
Stone twins and colonials, steady rental demand, and some of the best price per square foot this close to the city. It is also the county where comps have to be pulled tightest.
The short version
What is Delco?
Delco is the smallest of the collar counties by land and the most internally divided by market. The inner-ring townships behave like extensions of the city, the Main Line edge behaves like the Main Line, and the Chester market behaves like nothing else in the region. A county-wide average is close to useless here.
What the county consistently offers is square footage per dollar. Stone twins and colonials built between the wars are the dominant stock, and they are bigger and cheaper than the equivalent in Montgomery County while sitting the same distance from Center City.
Market snapshot
Delco, by the numbers
Source: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts. Population is the July 1, 2025 estimate. Income, homeownership and home value are American Community Survey 2020–2024 five-year estimates, in 2024 dollars. These are Census figures for the whole area and are not a substitute for a comparative market analysis of a specific address. Get a real number for your house →
Before you offer
What to know here
- Media and Havertown carry a premiumWalkable downtowns and district reputation price them above the county average. Neighboring townships often give you the same house for less.
- Two markets in one countyThe inner-ring townships and the Chester market behave nothing alike. Comps have to be pulled tight or the number is meaningless.
- Twins are the dominant stockShared-wall stone twins mean shared roofs and shared drainage. Ask what the neighbor did before you assume your side is fine.
- Check the local transfer taxRadnor, Upper Darby and Chester City are 2.5% and Upper Providence is 3%, against 2% in most of the county. It belongs in the net sheet.
Where to look
Neighborhoods worth knowing
The places buyers ask about by name, and what each one is actually trading on.
Media
The county seat and the walkable downtown everybody names first. State Street, the Media/Wawa line about forty minutes to Suburban Station, and Rose Tree Media School District. Carries a premium over neighboring townships for exactly those reasons.
Havertown
Haverford Township School District, an 87% homeownership rate, and block after block of stone twins and colonials. One of the steadiest submarkets in the region and consistently competitive.
Swarthmore
Small borough built around the college, Wallingford-Swarthmore School District, and a train stop. Tight inventory, strong demand, limited turnover.
Springfield
Springfield School District, postwar singles and twins, and a short run into the city on Baltimore Pike or the train. Reliable family market with reliable resale.
Drexel Hill and Upper Darby
The highest density and the lowest entry price inside the ring, with the Market-Frankford Line terminating at 69th Street Transit Center. Strong rental demand. Note that Upper Darby Township charges a higher transfer tax.
Broomall and Marple
Marple Newtown School District, midcentury singles on real lots, and a car-first layout. Good value per square foot for buyers who do not need the train.
Ridley Park and the river towns
Older boroughs along the Wilmington/Newark line, close to the airport and to Boeing in Ridley. Smaller houses, lower numbers, steady rental interest.
Chester
A genuinely separate market. Investor-heavy, low basis, and higher risk. Underwrite the specific block and expect the comps to be thin. Chester City also charges a higher transfer tax.
The character of the place
What living in Delco is actually like
The stone twin is the defining house here, and a twin means a shared roof, a shared wall and shared drainage. What the neighbor did or did not do to their half is your problem too, so ask. Most of the surprises on a Delco inspection trace back to that shared line.
The county is more car-dependent than Montgomery outside the rail corridors, and Baltimore Pike, West Chester Pike and the Blue Route shape most daily routes. That said, the Market-Frankford terminus at 69th Street and the Media and Sharon Hill trolleys give the inner ring more transit than people expect.
One thing that has genuinely changed the county: Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital closed in 2025 following the Prospect Medical Holdings bankruptcy. That removed a major employer and changed where people in the western half of the county go for care.
Getting around and getting settled
Commute, schools and work
The commute
Three Regional Rail lines serve the county. Media/Wawa runs about thirty-nine minutes from Media to Suburban Station on scheduled off-peak service, Wilmington/Newark runs through the river towns toward the airport and Delaware, and Paoli/Thorndale clips the northern edge through Radnor and Haverford Townships.
The Market-Frankford Line terminates at 69th Street Transit Center in Upper Darby, which puts a large chunk of the inner ring one seat from Center City. The Media and Sharon Hill trolley lines feed the same hub. Philadelphia International Airport sits on the county line, about twenty-five minutes downtown by rail.
Schools, healthcare and employers
Fifteen school districts operate in the county, including Haverford Township, Radnor Township, Rose Tree Media, Wallingford-Swarthmore, Springfield, Marple Newtown, Garnet Valley and Upper Darby. The spread between districts here is wider than in any other collar county, and it is the first filter most buyers apply.
Villanova University is the largest employer in the county, followed by Boeing in Ridley, the county government, Wawa's corporate headquarters in Middletown and SAP America in Newtown Square. Main Line Health's Riddle Hospital in Media is the principal hospital in the county's top employer list since the Crozer closures.
Rail times are scheduled off-peak service to Suburban Station and are approximate. Weekday peak expresses run faster on the outer stations, so check the current SEPTA timetable for the station you care about. School district boundaries do not follow municipal lines; verify the district for a specific address before you rely on it.
Common questions
Delco questions I get asked
What is the transfer tax in Delaware County?
Why do Media and Havertown cost more than the towns next door?
What should I know about buying a twin?
Is Delco good for rental property?
Did the hospital closures affect home values?
Coverage
Towns I work in Delco
Media, Havertown, Drexel Hill, Springfield, Swarthmore, Ridley Park, Broomall, Upper Darby, Chester
Delco listings
Every active listing in Delco on Bright MLS, updated through the day. Search it yourself, or have new matches emailed to you as they hit.
Free area guide
The Delco guide
What is actually selling in Delco, current days on market, price bands by town, the fees specific to Delco, and the things buyers here get surprised by. Free, and I will not call you unless you ask me to.
Next step
Looking in Delco?
Tell me the price range and the timeline. I will send what is worth seeing and skip what is not.