Photo: Dough4872 · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Smyrna (5.6%) is higher than in 69% of U.S. towns
About one in seven work in Smyrna itself; outside it, Dover draws the most (18%, 10 miles). For jobs and income Smyrna is better than 37% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (B+). The average commute takes 33 minutes each way, against 26 across Delaware and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Smyrna at work: what stands out
Smyrna draws workers from far and wide
The 7,197 jobs in Smyrna are filled from a wide area. Smyrna’s own residents hold 9% and the ten next-biggest home towns 20%; the other 71% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Smyrna is where the jobs are
Smyrna has 7,197 jobs, 1.5 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Smyrna workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 26 across Delaware. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
Inside Smyrna’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Smyrna’s grade up (ahead of 61% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Smyrna could be anywhere from C− to B.
The towns that send workers to Smyrna
Where Smyrna clocks in
18% of workers
7% 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.
Smyrna on a workday afternoon
On a workday 4,124 residents head out to work, 623 work right here, and 6,574 people come in from elsewhere.
About 16,000 people are in Smyrna on a workday afternoon, 18% more than live here.
1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
The daily trip from Smyrna: about 33 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Smyrna workers work from home, vs 15% across Delaware. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,012 commuters (the 13% 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.
The kinds of work in Smyrna
7,197 jobs are based in Smyrna.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Smyrna, 2013 → 2023: 6,616 → 7,197. 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 Smyrna’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Smyrna’s workers travel
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 commute in Smyrna is mostly behind the wheel
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.3% 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 5,770 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 37% 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 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). 3.4% of Smyrna households have no vehicle (Delaware 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Smyrna’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Smyrna ranks: 1,824th of 2,526 U.S. towns of 9,000 to 18,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 96 | Hockessin DE | 13,439 | $171K | 1.5% | 2.4% | 6% | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,822 | Fort Lewis WA | 15,167 | $59K | 13.2% | 5.4% | 3% | C+ |
| 1,823 | Coral Hills MD | 9,756 | $69K | 18.3% | 8.5% | <1% | C+ |
| 1,824 | Smyrna DE | 13,340 | $67K | 12.9% | 5.6% | 13% | C+ |
| 1,825 | Scottsbluff NE | 14,259 | $56K | 15.4% | 2.6% | 51% | C+ |
| 1,826 | Tonawanda NY | 14,848 | $58K | 13.8% | 6.2% | 10% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 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 Smyrna, the top three, the last and three more from Delaware.
The towns around Smyrna
The biggest share goes to Clayton (2%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Smyrna’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 Smyrna: questions
What is the median household income in Smyrna?
$67,048 (±$5,841) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $84,954 across Delaware and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Smyrna?
12.9%, against 10.4% across Delaware and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Smyrna?
33 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Delaware and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Smyrna work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Dover (18%, 10 mi), Middletown (7%, 12 mi), Wilmington (4%, 31 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Smyrna walkable?
Smyrna is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 9.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Smyrna without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Smyrna, from the people who make the trip.
More of Smyrna
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.