Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island · Photo: Michael Swanda, U.S. Army Corps of Enginers · Public domainAt 7.5%, unemployment in Delaware City is higher than in 86% of U.S. towns
Delaware City grades B for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Only 4% work in Delaware City itself; outside it, Wilmington draws the most (8%, 12 miles). The trip to work takes 28 minutes on average; Delaware State averages 26, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Delaware City apart
Jobs in Delaware City have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Delaware City went from 432 in 2013 to 1,125 in 2023, +160%. The jobs ↓
Delaware City makes and builds things
77% of the jobs based in Delaware City are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Delaware City residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 15%. The jobs ↓
The jobs in Delaware City pay better than its residents’ jobs
89% of the jobs based in Delaware City pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 65% of the jobs Delaware City residents hold. 97% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Delaware City. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 781 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The four measures behind Delaware City’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Delaware City is better than 57% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Delaware City’s grade up (6.4%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Delaware City could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
Goods, not services: 77% of the jobs in Delaware City
1,125 jobs are based in Delaware City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Delaware City, 2013 → 2023: 432 → 1,125. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Delaware City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in Delaware City by day
On a workday 749 residents head out to work, 32 work right here, and 1,093 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in Delaware City on a workday afternoon, 18% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.44 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Delaware City: the destinations
Where Delaware City clocks in
8% of workers
4% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
From Delaware City, about 28 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Delaware City workers work from home, vs 15% across Delaware State. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 814 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Delaware State: 84% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Delaware City’s commute, mile by mile
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Most of Delaware City commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Delaware City is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.9% across Delaware State.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 928 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 97% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 67% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 7.3% of Delaware City households have no vehicle (Delaware State 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Delaware City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,600, Delaware City ranks 1,712th of 5,234 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 80 | St. Georges DE | 1,530 | $132K | 0.4% | 1.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 410 | Lincoln DE | 1,873 | $108K | 0.0% | 1.9% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,277 | Riverview DE | 2,596 | $93K | 8.2% | 3.2% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,710 | Lynchburg MS | 2,161 | $89K | 7.1% | 10.2% | <1% | B |
| 1,711 | Horse Shoe NC | 1,490 | $64K | 4.5% | 10.8% | 1% | B |
| 1,712 | Delaware City DE | 1,939 | $85K | 6.4% | 7.5% | 4% | B |
| 1,713 | Jesup IA | 2,557 | $89K | 7.0% | 5.2% | 10% | B |
| 1,714 | Mount Pulaski Township IL | 2,018 | $73K | 5.9% | 2.2% | 14% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,234 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Delaware City, the top three, the last and three more from Delaware State.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Delaware City: questions
What is the median household income in Delaware City?
$85,395 (±$12,049) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $84,954 across Delaware State and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Delaware City?
6.4%, against 10.4% across Delaware State and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Delaware City?
28 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Delaware State and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Delaware City work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wilmington (8%, 12 mi), New Castle (4%, 7 mi), Middletown (4%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Delaware City walkable?
Delaware City is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 11.5 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Delaware City without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Delaware City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Delaware City
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.