Cloud-Reese House · Photo: Smallbones · CC0Hockessin has higher household incomes than 97% of U.S. towns
Only 6% stay in Hockessin for work; outside it, Wilmington is the main destination (14%, 8 miles). 1.5% of residents are in poverty, where Delaware as a whole has 10.4%. Jobs and income earn Hockessin A+; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Hockessin: the gist
Most Hockessin residents work close to home
72% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 6% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Hockessin
73% of Hockessin residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 47% of the jobs based in Hockessin pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Hockessin pay little
26% of the jobs based in Hockessin pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 31% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. 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.
Where Hockessin’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hockessin is better than 98% of U.S. towns, #2 of 37 in Delaware. The poverty rate is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 74% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hockessin could be anywhere from A to A+.
How far it is to work from Hockessin
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.
The kinds of work in Hockessin
3,895 jobs are based in Hockessin.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hockessin, 2013 → 2023: 3,159 → 3,895. 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 Hockessin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Hockessin by day and by night
On a workday 5,326 residents head out to work, 365 work right here, and 3,530 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Hockessin on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.68 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where the trip to work from Hockessin ends
Where Hockessin clocks in
14% of workers
3% 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.
About 23 minutes each way, quicker than most of Delaware
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hockessin workers work from home, vs 15% across Delaware. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,752 commuters (the 22% who work from home are left out). Across Delaware: 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Hockessin
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hockessin is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns, #13 of 37 in Delaware. Both inputs place Hockessin near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,104 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 30% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 14% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 68% 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). 6.2% of Hockessin households have no vehicle (Delaware 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Hockessin’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,526 U.S. towns of 9,000 to 18,000, Hockessin comes 96th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 94 | Willistown Township PA | 11,443 | $187K | 2.5% | 3.2% | 3% | A+ |
| 95 | West Point UT | 13,058 | $121K | 1.6% | 1.2% | 2% | A+ |
| 96 | Hockessin DE | 13,439 | $171K | 1.5% | 2.4% | 6% | A+ |
| 97 | Honeygo MD | 12,250 | $146K | 1.8% | 2.8% | 3% | A+ |
| 98 | Timnath CO | 11,600 | $178K | 4.4% | 0.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,041 | Pike Creek Valley DE | 12,431 | $102K | 6.2% | 6.2% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,162 | Glasgow DE | 15,546 | $114K | 8.0% | 6.6% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,638 | Brookside DE | 15,115 | $78K | 14.6% | 6.1% | 3% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,526 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Hockessin, the top three, the last and three more from Delaware.
How Hockessin compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Pike Creek (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hockessin workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hockessin | – | A+ | A | 23 min | $171,204 |
| North Star | under 1% | A | B | 24 min | $150,733 |
| Pike Creek | 1% | A+ | B− | 29 min | $139,635 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Hockessin’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 Hockessin: questions
What is the median household income in Hockessin?
$171,204 (±$18,691) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $84,954 across Delaware and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hockessin?
1.5%, against 10.4% across Delaware and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hockessin?
23 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Delaware and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hockessin work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wilmington (14%, 8 mi), Newark (3%, 8 mi), Philadelphia (3%, 33 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hockessin walkable?
Hockessin is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.0 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hockessin without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 14% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hockessin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hockessin
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.