The local economy of Delaware and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data, plus daily local gas prices for the state, its counties and metro areas.
Unemployment rate
4.7%
-0.3 ptsvs a year ago
Counties: lowest Sussex County 4.5%, highest Kent County 5.5%.
August 2026, seasonally adjusted, preliminary
Average weekly pay
$1,606
+3.1%vs a year ago
473,598 jobs at 47,081 business locations.
Q1 2026, all jobs
New homes permitted
6,477
+5.6%this year vs last year
Most in Sussex County 3,621, New Castle County 1,536.
Homes in the last 12 months, to August 2026
People moving in
+7,734
+9.6 per 1,000residents
36,247 moved in and 28,513 moved out. Most newcomers came from Pennsylvania.
Net people, 2022 to 2023, the newest year published
Delaware gas price
$4.24
+$1.28vs a year ago
Counties: lowest New Castle County $4.23, highest Kent County $4.26. Counties and metro areas
Regular, per gallon, Delaware, October 10, 2026
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for the history of that area.
The state, its counties and metro areas, updated daily. A separate series from the weekly survey prices above.
Business locations, employees and payroll by industry, 2023. Click an industry for its US report.
Business locations
30K
+1.8%vs 2022
2023, places with paid employees
Employees
458K
+7.9%vs 2022
Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance (16.8%).
2023, mid-March
Annual payroll
$33.2B
Wages and salaries paid during the year.
2023, all industries
Average pay
$72,543
Highest sector: Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction $164,515.
Per employee per year
Share of Delaware's employees, 2023
| Industry | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 38,651 | $24,963 |
| Depository Credit Intermediation | 24,559 | $119,272 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 22,894 | $93,557 |
| Employment Services | 13,104 | $43,937 |
| Computer Systems Design and Related Services | 11,143 | $140,102 |
| Offices of Physicians | 9,719 | $102,328 |
| Grocery Stores | 9,372 | $28,894 |
| Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses | 8,740 | $47,410 |
| Animal Slaughtering and Processing | 8,701 | $43,715 |
| Services to Buildings and Dwellings | 8,592 | $41,689 |
| Building Equipment Contractors | 8,414 | $73,748 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 7,586 | $134,968 |
Most values are changed slightly to protect the privacy of single businesses; a few are withheld and shown as a range. Counties and metro areas have the same numbers in the area card above (Industries).
Offered pay in certified work-visa filings, fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025). Click a company for its jobs and salaries.
In fiscal year 2025, employers offered a median of $117,400 a year in 2,430 certified H-1B filings for jobs in Delaware, up 10.2% from 2024 (US: $120,000). The largest job group was Software Developers. Fiscal year 2026 so far covers filings decided through Jun 30, 2026.
Median offered pay
$117,400
+10.2%vs 2024
Middle half: $91,270 to $147,500.
H-1B, fiscal year 2025
H-1B filings
2,430
+2.1%vs 2024
2,869 positions asked for.
Certified, full-time, fiscal year 2025
Top job group
$131,500
Software Developers, 887 filings.
Median offered pay of the largest job group
Green card jobs
$122,533
+7.5%vs 2024
519 PERM filings.
PERM median, fiscal year 2025
Median and middle half of the offers in Delaware, next to the US median. Hover a year for the numbers.
| Job group | Filings | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Software Developers | 887 | $131,500 |
| Data Scientists | 210 | $123,550 |
| Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians | 199 | $100,085 |
| Computer Programmers | 116 | $96,175 |
| Computer Systems Analysts | 82 | $88,550 |
| Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers | 69 | $94,935 |
| Statisticians | 58 | $138,400 |
| Financial Quantitative Analysts | 58 | $109,000 |
| Physicians, All Other | 52 | $263,020 |
| Financial and Investment Analysts | 49 | $123,800 |
| Employer | Filings | Cities |
|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 420 | 5 |
| Tata Consultancy Services Limited TCS.NS | 94 | 3 |
| BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. BLK | 72 | 1 |
| Mphasis Corporation MPHASIS.NS | 61 | 4 |
| Citibank, N.A. C | 52 | 2 |
| University of Delaware | 49 | 1 |
| Cognizant Technology Solutions US Corp. CTSH | 42 | 5 |
| Barclays Services Corp. BCS | 31 | 1 |
| Christiana Care Health Services, Inc. | 31 | 3 |
| Barclays Bank Delaware BCS | 29 | 1 |
| City | Filings | Median pay | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmington | 1,333 | $127,000 | $104,000 to $153,461 |
| Newark | 532 | $105,206 | $86,736 to $135,200 |
| Middletown | 154 | $106,000 | $86,038 to $138,570 |
| New Castle | 151 | $92,394 | $85,530 to $119,496 |
| Dover | 103 | $97,000 | $85,000 to $220,360 |
| Claymont | 32 | $109,845 | $101,722 to $135,000 |
| Bear | 32 | $114,342 | $91,270 to $141,475 |
| Lewes | 12 | $96,350 | $80,766 to $252,500 |
| Milford | 10 | $282,184 | $225,000 to $314,367 |
| Seaford | 10 | $310,292 | $100,000 to $456,360 |
Yearly pay that employers offered in certified work-visa filings (H-1B, E-3 and PERM green card), from official public data. Pay is the lower end of the offered pay range, for full-time positions only. These are offered pay figures for positions in work-visa filings, not the pay of all employees. A filing is an offer for a position, not a hire, and one person can appear in several filings. Fiscal years run from October to September. Groups with fewer than 3 filings show counts only. Employers are ranked by filings in the cities of Delaware added up.
Declared disasters and flood insurance claims: what happened, from official public data.
Delaware has had 26 declared disasters and emergencies since 1962, 17 of them since 2000, most often Hurricane. Flood insurance has paid $91.8 million on 6,339 claims since 1978; the biggest year was 2012 ($18.4 million).
Declared disasters
17
12 major disasters. Most often Hurricane (10 since 1962).
Since 2000, all types; 26 since 1962
Flood claims paid
$13.4M
594 claims. Biggest year 2012 ($18.4M).
2016 to 2025, flood insurance
Policies in force
25,665
Average premium $768 a year.
2025, flood insurance policies
Most-declared county
13
New Castle County, latest Oct 24, 2021.
Declarations since 2000
Declarations for Delaware, 1962 to today
Claims paid in Delaware by the year of the flood, US dollars
Declarations since 1962
Declarations naming the county since 2000; statewide ones not counted
All years since 1978; policies are a yearly average. Top 3 of 3.
| # | County | Claims | Paid | Policies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Castle County | 1,575 | $51.7M | 3,107 |
| 2 | Sussex County | 4,307 | $35.7M | 21,006 |
| 3 | Kent County | 376 | $3.57M | 1,000 |
A declaration opens federal help after a disaster; it can name counties or the whole state. Flood insurance numbers count insured losses only (most homes have no flood insurance) and are not adjusted for inflation; the current year is data so far. For the flood-zone risk of a place, open the area on the real estate map.
Environmental compliance records, workplace safety inspections and greenhouse gas reports of facilities in Delaware, from official public data.
Official public data lists 957 facilities in Delaware with records since 2010, 944 of them with environmental compliance records. In 2022 to 2026, the largest penalties were at Delaware City Refining CO LLC in Delaware City ($1,495,000). 35 large facilities reported 5.82 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2023, down 12.5% from 2022.
Facilities with records
957
944 with environmental records.
Since 2010
Largest penalties
$1.50M
Delaware City Refining CO LLC, Delaware City.
One facility, 2022 to 2026
Greenhouse gases
5.82M t
-12.5%vs 2022
35 reporting facilities.
Metric tons CO2e, 2023
Largest emitter
3.42M t
Delaware City Refining CO LLC, Delaware City.
Metric tons CO2e, 2023
| Facility | Penalties | Violations |
|---|---|---|
| Delaware City Refining CO LLC Delaware City | $1,495,000 | 37 |
| Clean Loop Group LLC New Castle | $1,000,000 | 5 |
| Donovan Salvage Works, INC. Georgetown | $250,000 | 23 |
| Delaware Recyclable Products, INC. New Castle | $200,000 | 1 |
| Kent County Regional Wwtf Milford | $200,000 | 4 |
| Homalite Div of Brandywine Inv Group Wilmington | $100,000 | 0 |
| FMC Corporation Newark | $75,000 | 3 |
| Agilent Techs INC Newport Site Newport | $53,920 | 12 |
| NRG Energy Center-Dover Dover | $50,000 | 2 |
| Milford Processing Plant Milford | $34,000 | 3 |
| Facility | Metric tons CO2e |
|---|---|
| Delaware City Refining CO LLC Delaware City | 3,416,063 |
| Hay Road Energy Center Wilmington | 913,892 |
| Garrison Energy Center Dover | 322,457 |
| Air Products H2 SMR Plant at DCRC (Unit 37) Delaware City | 246,813 |
| De Solid Waste Authority Cherry Island Wilmington | 204,065 |
| Edge Moor Wilmington | 166,549 |
| Linde Inc. Delaware City | 121,190 |
| Mountaire Farms of Delaware Millsboro | 83,090 |
| NRG Energy Center-Dover Dover | 55,478 |
| E I Dupont de Nemours - Experimental Station New Castle | 39,431 |
Large facilities in Delaware, metric tons of CO2 equivalent. Hover a year for the number.
Their facilities in Delaware, 2022 to 2026. Click a company for its Risk & Compliance tab.
| Company | Facilities | Penalties | CO2e (t) |
|---|---|---|---|
| PBF Energy Inc. PBF | 1 | $1.50M | 3.42M |
| Walmart Inc. WMT | 6 | $6,250 | - |
| NRG Energy, Inc. NRG | 1 | $0 | 30K |
Official public data on environmental compliance records, workplace safety inspections and greenhouse gas reports, summarized by facility and year since 2010. A record does not mean a site is unsafe today; penalties and violations vary a lot by industry and size. Penalties are the amounts assessed (after settlements), not amounts paid. Recent years can still change.
Cost, students and graduate earnings of the colleges in the state, from official public data.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Delaware, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Delaware is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row. Daily gas prices are average pump prices for Delaware, its counties and metro areas on the day shown. The weekly gas prices in the explorer come from a separate weekly survey that publishes a price for only some states, so a state without one shows the price of its region there; the two series are never combined.
The unemployment rate in Delaware was 4.7% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 5.0% a year earlier. 481,714 people were employed out of a labor force of 505,307. Among its counties, Sussex County had the lowest rate (4.5%) and Kent County the highest (5.5%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Delaware was $1,606 in Q1 2026, up 3.1% from a year earlier, across 473,598 jobs at 47,081 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 582 new homes in Delaware in August 2026 (498 single-family and 84 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 4,583, up 5.6% from the same months last year, and 6,477 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Sussex County (3,621), New Castle County (1,536), Kent County (1,320) over the last 12 months.
Yes. From 2022 to 2023, 36,247 people moved to Delaware and 28,513 moved away, a net gain of 7,734 (+9.6 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and most people who left went to Pennsylvania, Maryland, Florida.
Regular gasoline in Delaware averaged $4.24 per gallon on October 10, 2026, up $1.28 from a year earlier. Diesel averaged $6.32. Among its counties, New Castle County had the lowest regular price ($4.23) and Kent County the highest ($4.26).
Health Care and Social Assistance (76,784 employees), Retail Trade (62,102 employees), Accommodation and Food Services (46,106 employees) were the largest sectors in Delaware in 2023. In all, 29,706 business locations employed 457,635 people at an average pay of $72,543 a year.
$117,400 a year was the median pay offered in 2,430 certified H-1B filings for jobs in Delaware in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025), up 10.2% from 2024. The middle half of the offers ranged from $91,270 to $147,500. The US median was $120,000. These are offered pay figures in work-visa filings, not the pay of all workers.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (420), Tata Consultancy Services Limited (94), BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. (72), Mphasis Corporation (61), Citibank, N.A. (52) had the most certified H-1B filings for jobs in Delaware in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025).
Software Developers (887 filings, median $131,500), Data Scientists (210 filings, median $123,550), Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians (199 filings, median $100,085) were the largest job groups in certified H-1B filings in Delaware in fiscal year 2025.
$127,000 was the median offered pay in Wilmington, the highest among the Delaware cities with the most H-1B filings in fiscal year 2025 (1,333 filings).
$122,533 a year was the median pay offered in 519 certified PERM green card filings for jobs in Delaware in fiscal year 2025.
26 disasters and emergencies have been declared for Delaware since 1962, 17 of them since 2000 (12 major disasters). The most common type is Hurricane (10 declarations).
New Castle County, with 13 declarations since 2000, followed by Sussex County (13) and Kent County (12). Statewide declarations are not counted for single counties.
$91.8 million on 6,339 flood insurance claims since 1978. The biggest year was 2012, with $18.4 million paid on 1,558 claims. New Castle County received the most ($51.7 million).
$768 a year in 2025, across 25,665 flood insurance policies in Delaware. Most homes have no flood insurance; the premium depends on the home's flood risk and coverage.