Photo: Ncpanthers24 at English Wikipedia · Public domainMore people are out of work in Middletown (8.0%) than in 88% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are higher than in 85% of U.S. towns. Middletown grades B for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. About one in seven work in Middletown; the top destination outside it is Wilmington (8%, 23 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Middletown
Jobs in Middletown have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Middletown went from 5,276 in 2013 to 10,586 in 2023, +101%. The jobs ↓
Middletown trades workers with the towns around it
Middletown has about as many jobs (10,586) as working residents (10,473), but they are mostly different people: 8,948 residents leave for work each day while 9,061 people come in. Only 14% of the jobs in Middletown are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Middletown draws workers from far and wide
The 10,586 jobs in Middletown are filled from a wide area. Middletown’s own residents hold 14% and the ten next-biggest home towns 18%; the other 68% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
No single place dominates Middletown’s commute
The biggest draw, Wilmington, gets only 8% of working residents, and 58% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Middletown residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Middletown’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Middletown is Wilmington, 23 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (825) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The figures behind Middletown’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Middletown is better than 57% of U.S. towns, #21 of 37 in Delaware. Household income holds Middletown’s grade up ($112,831, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Middletown could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
What work there is in Middletown: 10,586 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Middletown, 2013 → 2023: 5,276 → 10,586. 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 Middletown’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Middletown
On a workday 8,948 residents head out to work, 1,525 work right here, and 9,061 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.01 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.
Where Middletown goes to work
Where Middletown clocks in
8% of workers
5% 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.
Half of Middletown commutes less than 18 miles
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 daily trip from Middletown: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Middletown workers work from home, vs 15% across Delaware. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,630 commuters (the 19% 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.
Few in Middletown walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Middletown is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns, #20 of 37 in Delaware. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.9% across Delaware.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 11,873 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 66% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 29% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 84% 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). 2.5% of Middletown households have no vehicle (Delaware 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Middletown’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Middletown is 952nd of 1,576 U.S. towns of 18,000 to 35,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 457 | Newark DE | 30,359 | $77K | 27.7% | 6.7% | 11% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 891 | Bear DE | 22,370 | $92K | 8.7% | 5.9% | 3% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 950 | Fayetteville GA | 20,465 | $82K | 8.1% | 7.4% | 10% | B |
| 951 | Brookings SD | 25,355 | $63K | 16.9% | 4.5% | 63% | B |
| 952 | Middletown DE | 25,798 | $113K | 8.4% | 8.0% | 15% | B |
| 953 | Bellwood IL | 18,116 | $80K | 11.7% | 6.3% | 3% | B |
| 954 | Glenvar Heights FL | 19,395 | $72K | 12.1% | 4.9% | 5% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,576 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Middletown, the top three, the last and three more from Delaware.
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 Middletown: questions
What is the median household income in Middletown?
$112,831 (±$15,459) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $84,954 across Delaware and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Middletown?
8.4%, against 10.4% across Delaware and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Middletown?
30 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Delaware and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Middletown work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wilmington (8%, 23 mi), New Castle (5%, 18 mi), Dover (4%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Middletown walkable?
Middletown is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 12.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Middletown without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 29% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Middletown, from the people who make the trip.
More of Middletown
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.