Bethany Beach, Delaware Informations

Bethany Beach is an incorporated town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 Census Bureau figures, the population of the town is 1,060; however, during the summer months some 15,000 more populate the town as vacationers. It is part of the Salisbury, MD-DE Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Bethany Beach, South Bethany and Fenwick Island are popularly known as "The Quiet Resorts". Assisting Bethany Beach's reputation as a "quiet" place is the presence of Delaware Seashore State Park immediately to the north of the town.

Despite its small size, Bethany Beach boasts the usual attractions of a summer seaside resort, including the short Joseph Olson Boardwalk, a broad, sandy beach, motels, restaurants, and vacation homes. Because Bethany Beach does not sit on a barrier island, residential areas continue some distance to the west of the town's limits.

Bethany Beach is located at 38°32′22″N 75°03′19″W / 38.53944°N 75.05528°W / 38.53944; -75.05528 (38.5395564, -75.0551807). The town is bordered to the north by the Delaware Seashore State Park and by Salt Pond, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by South Bethany, and to the west by Ocean View.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.2 square miles (3.1 km2), of which, 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) of it (1.71%) is water.

The town is bordered to the east completely by free public beaches, all guarded seasonally by professional lifeguards known as the Bethany Beach Patrol. The beach patrol, which consists of 30 members, is on duty daily from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day and on weekends in September.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Bethany Beach has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

As of the census of 2000, there were 903 people, 473 households, and 281 families residing in the town. The population density was 782.4 people per square mile (303.2/km²). There were 2,376 housing units at an average density of 2,058.6 per square mile (797.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.90% White, 0.78% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.22% Asian, and 1.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.33% of the population.

There were 473 households out of which 10.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 4.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.4% were non-families. 35.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.91 and the average family size was 2.40.

In the town, the population was spread out with 10.3% under the age of 18, 3.4% from 18 to 24, 15.6% from 25 to 44, 31.5% from 45 to 64, and 39.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 59 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $51,875, and the median income for a family was $67,500. Males had a median income of $41,705 versus $35,909 for females. The per capita income for the town was $41,306. About 2.9% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.6% of those under age 18 and 1.6% of those age 65 or over.

Bethany Beach is governed by a city council made up of seven resident and non-resident property owners elected to two-year terms. One of them serves as Council President and is considered the mayor of the town. None of the council members are paid. The council tends to err on the side of tradition in governing the town and seeks to maintain Bethany Beach's "Quiet Resort" atmosphere and reputation.

Also referred to as Council President:

The town's Alderman's Court consists of two appointed judges. They adjudicate violations of town ordinances.

The Bethany Beach Police Department has a staff of nine full-time officers. During the summer, it also employs 15 to 17 seasonal officers, some of them college students in training. The department operates seven cars, five of them patrol cars, and once won a national award from Law and Order magazine for the design of its patrol cars. The police department maintains a low-key but highly visible presence.

The Bethany Beach Fire Department is a combination fire department that operates two quints, two engines, a rescue pumper, an aerial unit, a brush truck, three ambulances, and multiple other utility pieces.

The fire department serves the entire area south of Indian River Inlet, east of the Assawoman Canal, and north of the Maryland state line at the southern edge of Fenwick Island, Delaware. It has a fire station in Bethany Beach and a substation in Fenwick Island and offers an emergency medical center, operated for it by the Beebe Medical Center of Lewes, Delaware. It cooperates fully with the fire departments of Dagsboro, Frankford, Millville, Rehoboth Beach, Roxana, and Selbyville, Delaware, and Ocean City, Maryland.

The fire department was formed in June 1948 with ten members. It received its first equipment, a single used pumper, later that summer and answered its first call in September 1948. The town purchased property for its fire station in 1949, and the fire department held its first bingo game in March 1957. Its emergency medical center opened in the early 1980s, and its Fenwick Island substation began operations in July 1987.

The main north-south road in Bethany Beach is Delaware Route 1 (Coastal Highway). This route runs north along the coast through Delaware Seashore State Park, crossing the Indian River Inlet on the Indian River Inlet Bridge, toward Rehoboth Beach, and south along the coast toward Ocean City, Maryland. The main east-west road in Bethany Beach is Delaware Route 26 (Garfield Parkway), which provides access from inland towns to the west such as Ocean View, Millville, and Dagsboro. There are a total of 1,000 public parking spaces in the beach and downtown areas of Bethany Beach, with parking meters in effect or parking permits required between May 15 and September 15. Outside of the public parking spaces, residential parking permits are required on east-west streets between May 15 and September 15; these permits are only available to people who own property in Bethany Beach. Business parking permits are also available for business owners and their employees.

DART First State provides bus service to Bethany Beach in the summer months along Beach Bus Route 208, which heads north to the Rehoboth Beach Park and Ride to connect to other Beach Bus routes and the Route 305 bus from Wilmington and south to the 144th Street Transit Center in Ocean City, Maryland to connect to Ocean City Transportation's Coastal Highway Beach Bus.

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