Perceptions of sea‐level rise in urban, environmental justice (EJ) communities are poorly understood. These communities’ long‐term vulnerability may increase as a result of the interaction of sea‐level rise and legacy pollution. This article presents research on experience and perceptions of sea‐level rise, flooding, legacy pollution/contamination, and health in an EJ community in northern Delaware. The community is in close proximity to documented brownfields and other hazardous sites, and is located where there are long‐term projections of water inundation due to sea‐level rise. Researchers administered quantitative surveys at local events that measured knowledge and concern for these issues; conducted focus groups that enabled a deeper understanding of survey results; and examined community perceptions relative to existing policy tools, including sea‐level rise inundation maps and documentation of contaminated sites. The mixed‐method approach created a baseline of perceptions on pollution, flooding, a health–environment connection, and sea‐level rise. Key findings include the value of experiential knowledge of local flooding to improve efficacy of future policy prescriptions, and how a lack of knowledge of sea‐level rise, coupled with great concern for it, might be explained by longtime familiarity with flooding issues in the community.