View source for Delaware

{{Short description|U.S. state}}
{{About|the U.S. state}}
{{pp-pc}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox U.S. state
| name = Delaware
| image_flag = Flag of Delaware.svg
| flag_link = Flag of Delaware
| image_seal = Seal of Delaware.svg
| image_map = Delaware in United States (zoom).svg
| motto = "[[Liberty and Independence]]"
| anthem = "[[Our Delaware]]"
| population_demonym = Delawarean
| OfficialLang = None
| nicknames = The First State; The Small Wonder;<ref>{{cite web|first=Melissa|last=Nann Burke|url=http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2015/01/04/delaware-small-wonder/21270787/|title=Delaware a Small Wonder no more?|date=January 5, 2015|publisher=Delaware Online|access-date=March 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402112539/http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2015/01/04/delaware-small-wonder/21270787/|archive-date=April 2, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Blue Hen State; The Diamond State
| Former = [[Province of Pennsylvania]] ([[Lower Counties on the Delaware]])
| seat = [[Dover, Delaware|Dover]]
| LargestCity = [[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]]
| LargestCounty = [[New Castle County, Delaware|New Castle]]
| LargestMetro = [[Philadelphia metropolitan area|Philadelphia]]
| Governor = {{nowrap|[[Matt Meyer]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])}}
| Lieutenant Governor = {{nowrap|[[Kyle Evans Gay]] (D)}}
| Legislature = [[Delaware General Assembly|General Assembly]]
| Upperhouse = [[Delaware Senate|Senate]]
| Lowerhouse = [[Delaware House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]
| Judiciary = [[Delaware Supreme Court]]
| Senators = [[Chris Coons]] (D)<br> [[Lisa Blunt Rochester]] (D)
| Representative = [[Sarah McBride]] (D)
| postal_code = DE
| TradAbbreviation = Del.
| area_rank = 49th
| area_total_km2 = {{convert|2489|sqmi|km2|disp=number}}
| area_total_sq_mi = 2489<ref>{{cite web | url=https://census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2010/geo/state-area.html | title=State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates }}</ref>
<!--| area_land_km2 = 5,060
| area_land_sq_mi = 1,854
| area_water_km2 = 1,387
| area_water_sq_mi = 536-->| area_water_percent = 21.7<ref>{{cite web|last1=USGS|first1=Howard Perlman|title=Area of each state that is water |url=https://water.usgs.gov/edu/wetstates.html |publisher=water.usgs.gov|access-date=March 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010154347/https://water.usgs.gov/edu/wetstates.html|archive-date=October 10, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
| population_rank = 45th
| population_as_of = 2025
| 2020Pop = {{IncreaseNeutral}} 1,059,952<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/DE/PST045224|access-date=January 9, 2025|title= United States Census Quick Facts Delaware}}</ref>
<!--| population_density_rank = 6th{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}-->| 2010Density = 190<!--calculated from 491 per sq mi-->
| 2020DensityUS = 491<ref name="State of Delaware – My Healthy Community">{{cite web |title=State of Delaware Community Characteristics|website=State of Delaware – My Healthy Community |url=https://myhealthycommunity.dhss.delaware.gov/about/acceptable-use |access-date=July 16, 2022}}</ref>
| population_density_rank = 6th
| MedianHouseholdIncome = ${{round|81361|-2}} (2<span>0</span>23)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2024/demo/acsbr-023.pdf|title=Household Income in States and Metropolitan Areas: 2023|access-date=January 12, 2025}}</ref>
| IncomeRank = [[List of U.S. states and territories by income#States and territories ranked by median household income|15th]]
| AdmittanceOrder = 1st
| AdmittanceDate = {{Start date and age|1787|12|7}}
| timezone1 = [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]]
| utc_offset1 = −05:00
| timezone1_DST = [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]]
| utc_offset1_DST = −04:00
| Longitude = 75° 3′ W to 75° 47′ W
| Latitude = 38° 27′ N to 39° 50′ N
| width_km = 48
| width_mi = 30
| length_km = 154
| length_mi = 96
| elevation_max_point = Near the{{break}}[[Ebright Azimuth]]<ref name=USGS>{{cite web|url=http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html|title=Elevations and Distances in the United States|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|year=2001|access-date=October 21, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015012701/http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html|archive-date=October 15, 2011}}</ref>{{efn|name=NAVD88|Elevation adjusted to [[North American Vertical Datum of 1988]]}}<ref name="The Delaware Geological Survey highest point">{{cite web |title=Highest point in Delaware |website=The Delaware Geological Survey |url=https://www.dgs.udel.edu/delaware-geology/highest-point-delaware |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220617202307/https://www.dgs.udel.edu/delaware-geology/highest-point-delaware |archive-date=June 17, 2022 |url-status=live |access-date=July 16, 2022}}</ref>
| elevation_max_m = 136.50468
| elevation_max_ft = 447.85
| elevation_m = 20
| elevation_ft = 60
| elevation_min_point = Atlantic Ocean<ref name=USGS />
| elevation_min_m = 0
| elevation_min_ft = 0
| iso_code = US-DE
| website = https://delaware.gov
| Representatives =
| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-marker = none
}}
{{Infobox region symbols|country=United States
| image_flag = Flag of Delaware.svg
| image_seal = Seal of Delaware.svg
| image_arms = Coat of arms of Delaware.svg
| state = Delaware
| bird = [[Delaware Blue Hen]]
| butterfly = [[Eastern tiger swallowtail]]
| fish = [[Weakfish]]
| flower = [[Peach|Peach blossom]]
| insect = [[Coccinella septempunctata|7-spotted ladybug]]
| tree = [[American holly]]
| wildlife_animal = [[Grey fox]]
| beverage = [[Milk]]
| colors = [[Flag of Delaware|Colonial blue]], [[buff (color)|buff]]
| food = [[Strawberry]], [[Custard pie|peach custard pie]]
| fossil = [[Belemnite]]
| mineral = [[Sillimanite]]
| slogan = ''Endless Discoveries''—<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2015/01/05/delawares-new-tourism-brand-endless-discoveries/21289179/|title=Delaware's new tourism brand: Endless Discoveries|author=Molly Murray|date=January 6, 2015|publisher=Delaware Online|access-date=March 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402143458/http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2015/01/05/delawares-new-tourism-brand-endless-discoveries/21289179/|archive-date=April 2, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Formerly: ''It's Good Being First''
| soil = [[Greenwich (soil)|Greenwich]]
| image_route = Elongated circle 1.svg
| image_quarter = 1999 DE Proof.png
| quarter_release_date = 1999
}}

'''Delaware''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=en-us-Delaware.ogg|ˈ|d|ɛ|l|ə|w|ɛər}} {{respell|DEL|ə|wair}})<ref>''[[Random House Dictionary]]''</ref> is a [[U.S. state|state]] in the [[Mid-Atlantic (United States)|Mid-Atlantic]] and [[South Atlantic states|South Atlantic]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Census Regions and Divisions of the United States |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/maps/reference/us_regdiv.pdf}}</ref> regions of the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic/|title=Mid-Atlantic Home : Mid–Atlantic Information Office : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics|website=bls.gov|access-date=July 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408092405/https://www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic/|archive-date=April 8, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> It borders [[Maryland]] to its south and west, [[Pennsylvania]] to its north, [[New Jersey]] to its northeast, and the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to its east. The state's name derives from the adjacent [[Delaware Bay]], which in turn was named after [[Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr]], an English nobleman and the [[Colony of Virginia]]'s first colonial-era governor.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Delaware |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Delaware |url-status=live |dictionary=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=February 24, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012121643/http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=Delaware |archive-date=October 12, 2007}}</ref>

Delaware occupies the northeastern portion of the [[Delmarva Peninsula]], and some islands and territory within the [[Delaware River]]. It is the [[List of U.S. states and territories by area|second-smallest]] and [[List of U.S. states and territories by population|sixth-least populous]] state, but also the [[List of U.S. states and territories by population density|sixth-most densely populated]]. Delaware's most populous city is [[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]], and the state's [[List of capitals in the United States|capital]] is [[Dover, Delaware|Dover]], the second-most populous city in Delaware. The state is divided into three counties, the fewest number of counties of any of the 50 U.S. states; from north to south, the three counties are: [[New Castle County, Delaware|New Castle County]], [[Kent County, Delaware|Kent County]], and [[Sussex County, Delaware|Sussex County]]. The southern two counties, Kent and Sussex, have historically been predominantly agrarian economies. New Castle is more [[Urbanized area|urbanized]] and is considered part of the [[Philadelphia metropolitan area]]. Delaware is considered part of the [[Southern United States]] by the [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]],<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |date=June 17, 2016 |title=Census Regions and Divisions of the United States |url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/maps/reference/us_regdiv.pdf |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402092445/http://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/maps/reference/us_regdiv.pdf |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |access-date=November 21, 2022 |website=U.S. Census Bureau }}</ref> but the state's geography, culture, and history are a hybrid of the Mid-Atlantic, [[Northeastern United States|Northeastern]], and Southern regions of the country.<ref name="Kent"/><ref name="Slowerlower"/><ref name="Atlanticdialect"/>

Before the Delaware coastline was explored and developed by [[Ethnic groups in Europe|Europeans]] in the 17th century, the state was inhabited by several [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] tribes, including the [[Lenape]] in the north and [[Nanticoke people|Nanticoke]] in the south. The state was first colonized by [[Dutch people|Dutch]] traders at [[Zwaanendael Colony|Zwaanendael]], near present-day [[Lewes, Delaware]], in 1631. Delaware was one of the [[Thirteen Colonies]] that participated in the [[American Revolution]] against [[British Army during the American Revolutionary War|Great Britain]], which established the United States as an independent nation. On December 7, 1787, Delaware was the first state to ratify the [[Constitution of the United States]], earning it the nickname "The First State".<ref>"The First to Ratify" would be more accurate, as the beginnings of the states themselves date back to the Declaration of Independence, celebrated July 4, 1776, when what was to become the State of Delaware was still the three lower counties of Pennsylvania with the governor in Philadelphia, and not establishing independence from that body until [[Delaware Constitution of 1776#Background|September 20, 1776]]. According to Delaware's own website, "Delaware became a state in 1776, just two months after the signing of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]]." (ref-[https://delaware.gov/facts/DelawareFactsandSymbols.pdf pdf] ) Delaware was the last of the [[Thirteen Colonies]] to establish itself as a state following the end of the Revolutionary War. The [[50 State Quarters#Designs|Delaware State Quarter]] is minted with this nickname, but shows [[Caesar Rodney#American Revolution|Caesar Rodney]] on horseback in commemoration of his role as the final delegate to arrive at the [[Continental Congress]] in [[Philadelphia]] for the historic vote for independence on July 4, 1776, which was adopted unanimously by the 56 delegates. Delaware was the [[Articles of Confederation#Ratification|12th of the 13 states to ratify]] the [[Articles of Confederation]], which pre-dated the [[United States Constitution]].</ref>

Since the turn of the 20th century, Delaware has become an onshore [[corporate haven]] whose [[Delaware General Corporation Law|corporate laws]] are deemed appealing to corporations; over half of all [[New York Stock Exchange]]-listed corporations and over three-fifths of the [[Fortune 500|''Fortune'' 500]] are legally incorporated in Delaware. Over 90% of all U.S. based companies that went [[initial public offering|public]] in 2021 incorporated themselves in Delaware.<ref name=DelawareCorporateSafeHaven>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/13/why-more-than-60percent-of-fortune-500-companies-incorporated-in-delaware.html|title=Here's why more than 60% of Fortune 500 companies are incorporated in Delaware|author=Charlotte Morabito|publisher=[[CNBC]]|date=March 13, 2023|access-date= August 2, 2024|quote="When you want to go global and you've incorporated in Canada, no one is going to look at you at all," said Cleanster.com co-founder and CEO Gloria Oppong. "Delaware protects both ourselves, the entrepreneurs, and also the investors eventually that are going to be joining on."}}</ref>

==Etymology==
Delaware was named after its location on the Delaware Bay, which in turn derived its name from [[Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr]] (1577–1618), the first governor of the [[Colony of Virginia]]. The Delaware people, a name used by Europeans for [[Lenape]] people Indigenous to the Delaware Valley, also derive their name from the same source.

The name ''de La Warr'' was derived from [[Sussex]] and is of [[England|Anglo]]-French origin.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ware DeGidio |first=Wanda |year=2011 |title=Ware Family History: Descendants from Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Kings and Queens, and Presidents of the United States |editor-first=Wanda |editor-last=Ware DeGidio |pages=10 |publisher=Wanda DeGidio |isbn=978-1-4010-9930-5 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Ware DeGidio |first=Wanda |year=2011 |title=Ware Family History: Descendants from Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Kings and Queens, and Presidents of the United States |editor-first=Wanda |editor-last=Ware DeGidio |page=10 |publisher=Wanda DeGidio |isbn=978-1-4010-9930-5 }}</ref> It came probably from a [[Norman language|Norman]] [[lieu-dit]] ''La Guerre''. This [[toponymic]] likely derived from [[Latin language|Latin]] ''[[wikt:ager#Latin|ager]]'', the [[Breton language|Breton]] ''[[wikt:gwern#Breton|gwern]]'' or from the [[Late Latin]] {{Lang|la|varectum}} ([[fallow]]). The toponyms Gara, Gare, Gaire, (the sound [[Open central unrounded vowel|[ä]]] often mutated in [[Near-open front unrounded vowel|[æ]]]) also appear in historical texts cited by [[Lucien Musset]], where the word ''ga(i)ra'' means [[Gore (road)|gore]]. It could also be linked with a [[patronymic]] from the [[Old Norse]] ''[[wikt:verr#Old Norse|verr]]''.

==History==
{{Main|History of Delaware}}

{{more citations needed section|date=December 2018}}

===Native Americans===
Before Delaware was settled by European colonists, the present-day state was home to the Eastern [[Algonquian peoples|Algonquian]] tribes known as the Unami [[Lenape]], or Delaware, who lived mostly along the coast, and the [[Nanticoke people|Nanticoke]] who occupied much of the southern [[Delmarva Peninsula]]. John Smith also showed two Iroquoian tribes, the Kuskarawock and [[Tockwogh]], living north of the Nanticoke—they may have held small portions of land in the western part of the state before migrating across the Chesapeake Bay.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sonofthesouth.net/revolutionary-war/maps/captain-smith-virginia-map.jpg |title=Archived copy |access-date=October 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320024903/http://www.sonofthesouth.net/revolutionary-war/maps/captain-smith-virginia-map.jpg |archive-date=March 20, 2015 |url-status=live }} {{Title missing|date=September 2025}}</ref> The Kuskarawocks were most likely the [[Tuscarora people|Tuscarora]].{{CN|date=March 2026}}

The Unami Lenape in the [[Delaware Valley]] were closely related to [[Munsee]] Lenape tribes along the [[Hudson River]]. They had a settled hunting and agricultural society, and they rapidly became middlemen in an increasingly frantic fur trade with their ancient enemy, the Minqua or [[Susquehannock]]. With the loss of their lands on the [[Delaware River]] and the destruction of the Minqua by the [[Iroquois]] of the Five Nations in the 1670s, the remnants of the Lenape who wished to remain identified as such left the region and moved over the [[Allegheny Mountains]] by the mid-18th century.{{CN|date=March 2026}}

===Colonial Delaware===
{{Main|New Netherland|New Sweden|Delaware Colony}}

The [[Dutch people|Dutch]] were the first Europeans to settle in present-day Delaware in the middle region by establishing a trading post at [[Zwaanendael, Delaware|Zwaanendael]], near the site of [[Lewes, Delaware|Lewes]] in 1631.<ref>{{cite book|author=Myers, Albert Cook|title=Narratives of Early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey and Delaware, 1630–1707, Volume 13|publisher=C. Scribner's Sons|year=1912|page=8}}</ref> Within a year, all the settlers were killed in a dispute with [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American tribes]] living in the area. In 1638, [[New Sweden]], a [[Swedish people|Swedish]] trading post and colony, was established at [[Fort Christina]] (now in [[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]]) by [[Peter Minuit]] at the head of a group of Swedes, [[Finnish people|Finns]] and Dutch. The colony of New Sweden lasted 17 years. In 1651, the Dutch, reinvigorated by the leadership of [[Peter Stuyvesant]], established a fort at present-day [[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]] and, in 1655, they conquered the New Sweden colony, annexing it into the Dutch [[New Netherland]].<ref name=hod>{{cite book|title=History of Delaware|first =John A |last = Munroe|edition = 5th, illustrated|publisher= University of Delaware Press|year=2006|isbn=978-0-87413-947-1|page=45|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vs7NcOKnlNUC&q=%22Lower+counties%22+%22on+the+delaware%22&pg=PA46 | chapter = 3. The Lower Counties on The Delaware}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |editor1-last = Scheltema |editor1-first = Gajus |editor2-last = Westerhuijs |editor2-first = Heleen |title = Exploring Historic Dutch New York |publisher = Museum of the City of New York/Dover |place = New York |year = 2011 |isbn = 978-0-486-48637-6}}</ref> Only nine years later, in 1664, the Dutch were conquered by a fleet of English ships by Sir Robert Carr under the direction of [[James II of England|James, the Duke of York]]. Fighting off a prior claim by [[Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore]], [[Province of Maryland|Proprietor of Maryland]], the Duke passed his somewhat dubious ownership on to [[William Penn]] in 1682. Penn strongly desired access to the sea for his [[Province of Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania province]] and leased what then came to be known as the "Lower Counties on the Delaware"<ref name = hod /> from the Duke.

Penn established representative government and briefly combined his two possessions under one General Assembly in 1682. However, by 1704 the province of Pennsylvania had grown so large their representatives wanted to make decisions without the assent of the Lower Counties, and the two groups of representatives began meeting on their own, one at [[Philadelphia]], and the other at New Castle. Penn and his heirs remained proprietors of both and always appointed the same person Governor for their province of Pennsylvania and their territory of the Lower Counties. The fact that Delaware and Pennsylvania shared the same governor was not unique; from 1703 to 1738, New York and New Jersey shared a governor.<ref>{{Citation |last = Lurie |first = Mappen M |title = Encyclopedia of New Jersey |publisher = Rutgers University Press |year = 2004 |isbn = 978-0-8135-3325-4 |page = 327}}</ref> Massachusetts and New Hampshire also shared a governor for some time.<ref>{{Citation |last = Mayo |first = LS |title = John Wentworth, Governor of New Hampshire: 1767–1775 |publisher = Harvard University Press |year = 1921 |page = 5}}</ref>

Dependent in early years on indentured labor, Delaware imported more slaves as the number of English immigrants decreased with better economic conditions in England. The colony became a slave society and cultivated tobacco as a cash crop, although English immigrants continued to arrive.

===American Revolution===
{{Main|American Revolutionary War|Lee Resolution|United States Declaration of Independence|Philadelphia campaign|Articles of Confederation#Ratification|Treaty of Paris (1783)|Constitutional Convention (United States)|Admission to the Union|List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union}}

[[File:Recto Delaware 2 shillings 6 pence 1777 urn-3 HBS.Baker.AC 1085935.jpeg|alt=A two-shilling, six-pence banknote issued by Delaware in 1777 with the inscription: "Two Shillings & Six-pence. This Indented Bill shall pass current for Two Shillings and Six-pence, within the Delaware State according to an Act of Genera Assembly of the said State, made in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy-six. Dated the First Day of May, 1777."; Within border cuts: "Half a Crown"|thumb|A two-shilling, six-pence banknote issued by Delaware in 1777]]
Like the other middle colonies, the Lower Counties on the Delaware initially showed little enthusiasm for a break with [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]]. The citizenry had a good relationship with the Proprietary government, and generally were allowed more independence of action in their Colonial Assembly than in other colonies. Merchants at the port of Wilmington had trading ties with the British.

New Castle lawyer [[Thomas McKean]] denounced the [[Stamp Act 1765|Stamp Act]] in the strongest terms, and Kent County native [[John Dickinson (delegate)|John Dickinson]] became the "Penman of the Revolution". Anticipating the Declaration of Independence, [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriot]] leaders Thomas McKean and [[Caesar Rodney]] convinced the Colonial Assembly to declare itself separated from British and Pennsylvania rule on June 15, 1776. The person best representing Delaware's majority, [[George Read (signer)|George Read]], could not bring himself to vote for a Declaration of Independence. Only the dramatic overnight ride of Caesar Rodney gave the delegation the votes needed to cast Delaware's vote for independence.

Initially led by [[John Haslet]], Delaware provided one of the premier regiments in the [[Continental Army]], known as the "Delaware Blues" and nicknamed the "[[Delaware Blue Hen|Blue Hen's Chicks]]". In August 1777 [[William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe|General Sir William Howe]] led a British army through Delaware on his way to a victory at the [[Battle of Brandywine]] and capture of the city of Philadelphia. The only real engagement on Delaware soil was the [[Battle of Cooch's Bridge]], fought on September 3, 1777, at [[Cooch's Bridge]] in New Castle County, although there was a [[Clow Rebellion|minor Loyalist rebellion]] in 1778.

Following the Battle of Brandywine, Wilmington was occupied by the British, and [[List of governors of Delaware|State President]] [[John McKinly]] was taken prisoner. The British remained in control of the Delaware River for much of the rest of the war, disrupting commerce and providing encouragement to an active [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalist]] portion of the population, particularly in Sussex County. Because the British promised slaves of rebels freedom for fighting with them, escaped slaves flocked north to join their lines.<ref>{{Citation | first = Simon | last = Schama | author-link = Simon Schama | title = Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves, and the American Revolution | place = New York | publisher = Harper Collins | year = 2006| title-link = Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves, and the American Revolution }}</ref>

Following the [[American Revolution]], statesmen from Delaware were among the leading proponents of a strong central United States with equal representation for each state.

===Slavery and race===
{{Main|History of slavery in Delaware}}

Many colonial settlers came to Delaware from [[Maryland]] and [[Virginia]], where the population had been increasing rapidly. The economies of these colonies were chiefly based on labor-intensive tobacco and increasingly dependent on African [[Slavery in the United States|slaves]] because of a decline in working class immigrants from England. Most of the English colonists had arrived as [[Indentured servitude|indentured servants]] (contracted for a fixed period to pay for their passage), and in the early years the line between servant and slave was fluid.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}

Most of the free African-American families in Delaware before the Revolution had migrated from Maryland to find more affordable land. They were descendants chiefly of relationships or marriages between white servant women and enslaved, servant or free African or African-American men.<ref>{{citation |last=Heinegg |first=Paul |title=Free African Americans in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware |url=http://www.freeafricanamericans.com/ |url-status=dead |access-date=February 15, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100807191511/http://www.freeafricanamericans.com/ |archive-date=August 7, 2010}}</ref> Under slavery law, children took the social status of their mothers, so children born to white women were free, regardless of their paternity, just as children born to enslaved women were born into slavery. As the flow of indentured laborers to the colony decreased with improving economic conditions in England, more slaves were imported for labor and the caste lines hardened.

By the end of the colonial period, the number of enslaved people in Delaware began to decline. Shifts in the agriculture economy from tobacco to mixed farming resulted in less need for slaves' labor. In addition local [[Methodist]]s and [[Quaker]]s encouraged slaveholders to free their slaves following the American Revolution, and many did so in a surge of individual manumissions for idealistic reasons. By 1810, three-quarters of all blacks in Delaware were free. When John Dickinson freed his slaves in 1777, he was Delaware's largest slave owner with 37 slaves. In 1840, Delaware's population was 78,085 of whom 2,605 were slaves.<ref>{{cite book |title=The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge |date=1840 |publisher=Charles Knight |location=London |page=293 |edition=First}}</ref> By 1860, the largest slaveholder owned 16 slaves.{{sfn|Kolchin|1994|pp=78, 81–82}}

Although attempts to abolish slavery failed by narrow margins in the legislature, in practical terms the state had mostly ended the practice. By the [[United States Census, 1860|1860 census]] on the verge of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], 91.7% of the black population were free;{{sfn|Kolchin|1994|pp=81–82}} 1,798 were slaves, as compared to 19,829 "free colored persons".<ref>{{citation |title=Historical Census Browser |url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/php/start.php?year=V1860 |contribution=1860 Federal Census |publisher=University of Virginia Library |access-date=November 30, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141011024040/http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/php/start.php?year=V1860 |archive-date=October 11, 2014 }}</ref>

An independent black denomination was chartered in 1813 by freed slave [[Peter Spencer (religious leader)|Peter Spencer]] as the "[[Spencer Churches|Union Church of Africans]]". This followed the 1793 establishment in Philadelphia of the [[African Methodist Episcopal Church]] by [[Richard Allen (bishop)|Richard Allen]], which had ties to the Methodist Episcopal Church until 1816. Spencer built a church in Wilmington for the new denomination.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.udel.edu/BlackHistory/antebellum.html|first=Peter T.|last=Dalleo|title=The Growth of Delaware's Antebellum Free African Community|publisher=University of Delaware|date=June 27, 1997|access-date=June 21, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110905050734/http://www.udel.edu/BlackHistory/antebellum.html|archive-date=September 5, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> This was renamed as the [[African Union First Colored Methodist Protestant Church and Connection]], more commonly known as the [[A.U.M.P. Church]]. In 1814, Spencer called for the first annual gathering, known as the [[Big August Quarterly]], which continues to draw members of this denomination and their descendants together in a religious and cultural festival.<ref>{{Cite web|title=August Quarterly Festival Celebration
|url=http://www.augustquarterly.org/|access-date=February 2, 2021|website=www.augustquarterly.org}}</ref>

Delaware voted against [[secession]] on January 3, 1861, and so remained in the Union. While most Delaware citizens who fought in the war served in the regiments of the state, some served in companies on the Confederate side in [[List of Maryland Confederate Civil War units|Maryland]] and [[List of Virginia Civil War units|Virginia]] Regiments. Delaware is notable for being the only slave state from which no Confederate regiments or militia groups were assembled.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}} Delaware essentially freed the few slaves who were still in bondage shortly after the Civil War{{explain|date=June 2020}} but rejected the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|13th]], [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|14th]], and [[Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|15th]] Amendments to the Constitution; the 13th Amendment was rejected on February 8, 1865, the 14th Amendment was rejected on February 8, 1867, and the 15th Amendment was rejected on March 18, 1869. Delaware officially ratified the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments on February 12, 1901, decades after they had already come into force.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bill Detail - Delaware General Assembly |url=https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail/48275#:~:text=Since%20the%2014th%20Amendment%20to,,%20color,%20or%20national%20origin. |access-date=June 29, 2024 |website=legis.delaware.gov}}</ref>

===Reconstruction and industrialization===
During the [[Reconstruction era of the United States|Reconstruction Era]] that followed the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], Democratic [[Redeemers|Redeemer]] governments led by the South's [[Bourbon Democrats|Bourbon aristocracy]] continued to dominate the region and imposed explicitly [[white supremacist]] regimes in the former slave states. The Delaware legislature declared Black people to be second-class citizens in 1866, and restricted their voting rights despite the 15th Amendment, ensuring continued Democratic success in the state throughout most of the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |first1=John |title=History of Delaware |date=2001 |publisher=University of Delaware Press |location=Newark, DE |pages=146–150 |edition=4th}}</ref> Fearful that the [[1875 Civil Rights Act]] passed by Congress might establish racial equality, Delaware legislators passed [[Jim Crow laws]] that mandated [[racial segregation|segregation]] in public facilities. The state's educational system was segregated by operation of law.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Brown v. Board of Education |url=https://archives.delaware.gov/delaware-historical-markers/brown-v-board-education/ |access-date=June 29, 2024 |website=Delaware Public Archives - State of Delaware |language=en-US}}</ref> Delaware's segregation was written into the state constitution, which, while providing at Article X, Section 2, that "no distinction shall be made on account of race or color", nonetheless required that "separate schools for white and colored children shall be maintained."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chapter - Delaware General Assembly |url=https://legis.delaware.gov/SessionLaws/Chapter?id=21337 |access-date=June 29, 2024 |website=legis.delaware.gov}}</ref>

Beginning in the late 19th century, the Wilmington area grew into a manufacturing center. Investment in manufacturing in the city grew from $5.5&nbsp;million in 1860 to $44&nbsp;million in 1900.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |date=2001 |title=History of Delaware |page=156}}</ref> The most notable manufacturer in the state was the chemical company [[DuPont]], which to this day is heavily credited with making the state what it is today in many ways.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Editorial |date=June 23, 2020 |title=The Dupont Legacy |url=https://delawarebusinesstimes.com/supplements/innovation/the-dupont-legacy/ |access-date=October 14, 2022 |website=Delaware Business Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Because of Wilmington's growth, local politicians from the city and New Castle County pressured the state government to adopt a new constitution providing the north with more representation. However, the subsequent 1897 constitution did not proportionally represent the north and continued to give the southern counties disproportionate influence.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |title=History of Delaware |date=2001 |pages=165–169}}</ref>

As manufacturing expanded, businesses became major players in state affairs and funders of politicians through families such as the Du Ponts. Republican [[J. Edward Addicks|John Addicks]] attempted to buy a US Senate seat multiple times in a rivalry with the Du Ponts until the passage of the [[Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|17th Amendment]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |date=2001 |title=History of Delaware |pages=173–180}}</ref> The allegiance of industries with the Republican party allowed them to gain control of the state's governorship throughout most of the 20th century. The GOP ensured black people could vote because of their general support for Republicans and thus undid restrictions on Black suffrage.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |title=History of Delaware |date=2001 |pages=180–181}}</ref>

Delaware benefited greatly from World War I because of the state's large gunpowder industry. DuPont, the most dominant business in the state by WWI, produced an estimated 40% of all gunpowder used by the Allies during the war. It produced nylon in the state after the war and began investments into [[General Motors]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |date=2001 |title=History of Delaware |pages=185–189}}</ref> Additionally, the company invested heavily in the expansion of public schools in the state and colleges such as the [[University of Delaware]] in the 1910s and 1920s. This included primary and secondary schools for Black people and women.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |date=2001 |title=History of Delaware |pages=190–205}}</ref> Delaware suffered less during the [[Great Depression]] than other states, but the depression spurred further migration from the rural south to urban areas.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |date=2001 |title=History of Delaware |pages=216–217}}</ref>

===World War II to present===
Like in World War I, the state enjoyed a big stimulus to its gunpowder and shipyard industries in World War II. New job opportunities during and after the war in the Wilmington area coaxed Black people from the southern counties to move to the city. The proportion of blacks constituting the city's population rose from 15% in 1950 to over 50% by 1980.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |date=2001 |title=History of Delaware |pages=219–223}}</ref> The surge of Black migrants to the north sparked [[white flight]], in which middle class whites moved from the city to suburban areas, leading to ''de facto'' segregation of Northern Delaware's society. In the 1940s and 1950s, Delaware attempted to integrate its schools, although the last segregated school in the state did not close until 1970.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://segregationinamerica.eji.org/report/beyond-brown.html | title=Beyond Brown: Opposition Intensifies}}</ref> The [[University of Delaware]] admitted its first black student in 1948, and local courts ruled that primary schools had to be integrated. Delaware's integration efforts partially inspired the US Supreme Court's decision in ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'', which found racial segregation in United States [[State school|public schools]] to be unconstitutional.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |date=2001 |title=History of Delaware |pages=225–227}}</ref> The result of the ''Brown'' ruling was that Delaware became fully integrated, albeit with time and much effort.

In October 1954, the city of [[Milford, Delaware|Milford]] became the scene of one of the country's first pro-segregation [[boycotts]] after eleven Black students were enrolled in the previously all-white [[Milford High School (Delaware)|Milford High School]]. Mass protests continued in Milford; the school board eventually ceded to the protestors, expelling the Black students.<ref>{{Cite news|date=October 16, 1954|title=White Supremacy Leader Arrested|work=Indianapolis Recorder|url=https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19541016-01.1.1&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite magazine|date=October 11, 1954|title=Education: Racial Flare-Up|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,936456,00.html|access-date=January 31, 2023|archive-date=January 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128201953/https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,936456,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Webb|first=Clive|title=Rabble Rousers: the American Far Right in the Civil Rights Era|publisher=University of Georgia Press|year=2010|location=Athens}}</ref> The ensuing unrest, which included [[cross burning]]s, rallies, and pro-segregation demonstrations, contributed to [[Desegregation in the United States|desegregation]] in most of Southern Delaware being delayed for another ten years. [[Sussex County, Delaware|Sussex County]] did not start closing or integrating its segregated schools until 1965, 11 years after the ''Brown'' ruling.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/delaware/2015/02/05/historic-black-school-remains-fond-memory/22914463/ | title=Historic black school remains a fond memory}}</ref> Throughout the state, integration only encouraged more white flight, and poor economic conditions for the black population led to some violence during the 1960s. Riots broke out in Wilmington in 1967 and again in [[Wilmington riot of 1968|1968 in response to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr]], after which the National Guard occupied the city for nine months to prevent further violence.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |date=2001 |title=History of Delaware |pages=228–230}}</ref>

Since WWII, the state has been generally economically prosperous and enjoyed relatively high per capita income because of its location between major cities like Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, DC.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |date=2001 |title=History of Delaware |page=230}}</ref> Its population grew rapidly, particularly in the suburbs in the north where New Castle county became an extension of the [[Philadelphia metropolitan area]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |date=2001 |title=History of Delaware |pages=242}}</ref> Americans, including migrants from Puerto Rico, and immigrants from Latin America flocked to the state. By 1990, only 50% of Delaware's population consisted of natives to the state.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munroe |date=2001 |title=History of Delaware |pages=259}}</ref>

==Geography==
{{Main|Twelve-Mile Circle|Wedge (border)|Mason–Dixon Line|Transpeninsular Line}}

{{See also|#Counties|l1="Counties" section below}}
[[File:Twelve-mile-circle.gif|thumb|The [[Twelve-Mile Circle]]]]
[[File:National-atlas-delaware.png|thumb|Map of Delaware]]
[[File:Woodbrook test.jpg|thumb|Sunset in [[Woodbrook, Delaware]]]]
[[File:Blackbird pond.jpg|thumb|The Blackbird Pond on the [[Blackbird State Forest]] Meadows Tract in [[New Castle County, Delaware]]]]
[[File:MiddleRunArea Field LenapeTrail.jpg|thumb|A field north of Fox Den Road along the Lenape Trail in [[Middle Run Valley Natural Area]]]]
Delaware is {{convert|96|mi|km}} long and ranges from {{convert|9|to|35|mi|km}} across, with a land area of {{convert|1982|sqmi|km2}}<ref>{{Cite web|last=Delaware|first=The State of|title=State of Delaware|url=https://de.gov/topics/facts/geo.shtml|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818174548/https://de.gov/topics/facts/geo.shtml|archive-date=August 18, 2021|access-date=August 18, 2021|website=delaware.gov|language=en}}</ref> and a total area of {{convert|2489|sqmi|km2}},<ref name="ReferenceA">britannica.com/facts/Delaware-state</ref> making it the second-smallest state by either metric in the United States after [[Rhode Island]]. Delaware is bounded to the north by [[Pennsylvania]]; to the east by the [[Delaware River]], [[Delaware Bay]], [[New Jersey]], and the Atlantic Ocean; and to the west and south by [[Maryland]]. Small portions of Delaware are also situated on the eastern side of the Delaware River sharing land boundaries with New Jersey. The state of Delaware, together with the [[Eastern Shore of Maryland|Eastern Shore counties of Maryland]] and [[Eastern Shore of Virginia|two counties of Virginia]], form the [[Delmarva Peninsula]], which stretches down the Mid-Atlantic Coast.

The definition of the northern boundary of the state is unusual. Most of the boundary between Delaware and Pennsylvania was originally defined by an arc extending {{convert|12|mi|km|sigfig=3}} from the [[cupola]] of the courthouse in the city of [[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The story of how Delaware got its shape |url=https://www.delawareonline.com/story/life/2018/07/05/delaware-defined-story-how-first-state-got-its-shape/744188002/ |access-date=May 24, 2023 |website=The News Journal |language=en-US}}</ref> This boundary is often referred to as the [[Twelve-Mile Circle]].{{efn|Because of surveying errors, the actual line is several compound arcs with centers at different points in New Castle.}} Although the Twelve-Mile Circle is often claimed to be the only territorial boundary in the U.S. that is a true [[Arc (geometry)|arc]], the Mexican boundary with Texas includes several arcs,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/bi-51757.pdf |title=Treaty to resolve pending boundary differences and maintain the Rio Grande and Colorado River as the international boundary |access-date=February 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160410052222/http://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/bi-51757.pdf |archive-date=April 10, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> and many cities in the South (such as [[Plains, Georgia]])<ref>Frank Jacobs, [http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/655-enigma-georgia-mystery-of-the-souths-circular-towns "Enigma, Georgia: Mystery of the South's Circular Towns"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523230226/http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/655-enigma-georgia-mystery-of-the-souths-circular-towns |date=May 23, 2014}}, Strange Maps, April 30, 2014.</ref> also have circular boundaries.

This border extends all the way east to the low-tide mark on the New Jersey shore, then continues south along the shoreline until it again reaches the {{convert|12|mi|adj=on}} arc in the south; then the boundary continues in a more conventional way in the middle of the main channel ([[thalweg]]) of the Delaware River.

On the west, Delaware and Maryland are mostly separated by a line running from the midpoint of the [[Transpeninsular Line]], going slightly west of due north up to its tangent point on the [[Twelve-Mile Circle]]. The border follows the Circle for a short distance and then continues in a straight line due north until reaching the southern border of Pennsylvania.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schenck |first=William |date=2007 |title=Delaware's State Boundaries |url=https://www.dgs.udel.edu/sites/default/files/publications/info6.pdf |access-date=September 13, 2024 |website=Delaware Geological Survey}}</ref> [[The Wedge (border)|The Wedge]] of land between the northwest part of the arc and the Maryland border was claimed by both Delaware and Pennsylvania until 1921, when Delaware's claim was confirmed.

===Topography===
Delaware is on a level plain, with the lowest mean elevation of any state in the nation.<ref name="census">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/04statab/geo.pdf|page=216|title=Extreme and Mean Elevations by State and Other Area|website=Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2004–2005|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=March 16, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310194411/http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/04statab/geo.pdf|archive-date=March 10, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Its highest elevation, located at [[Ebright Azimuth]], near [[Concord High School (Wilmington, Delaware)|Concord High School]], is less than {{convert|450|ft}} above sea level.<ref name="census" /> The northernmost part of the state is part of the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont Plateau]] with hills and rolling surfaces.

The [[Atlantic Seaboard fall line]] approximately follows the [[Delaware Route 2|Robert Kirkwood Highway]] between [[Newark, Delaware|Newark]] and [[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]]; south of this road is the [[Atlantic Coastal Plain]] with flat, sandy, and, in some parts, swampy ground.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dgs.udel.edu/delaware-geology/summary-geologic-history-delaware|title=A Summary of the Geologic History of Delaware|publisher=The Delaware Geological Survey|access-date=March 19, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312150937/http://www.dgs.udel.edu/delaware-geology/summary-geologic-history-delaware|archive-date=March 12, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> A ridge about {{convert|75|to|80|ft}} high extends along the western boundary of the state and separates the [[drainage basin|watersheds]] that feed Delaware River and Bay to the east and the [[Chesapeake Bay]] to the west.

===Climate===
{{further|Climate change in Delaware}}
[[File:Köppen Climate Types Delaware.png|thumb|The Köppen climate classification for Delaware]]
Since almost all of Delaware is a part of the [[Atlantic coastal plain]], the effects of the ocean moderate its climate. The state lies in the [[humid subtropical climate]] (Köppen ''Cfa'') zone. Despite its small size (roughly {{convert|100|mi|km}} from its northernmost to southernmost points), there is significant variation in mean temperature and amount of snowfall between Sussex County and New Castle County. Moderated by the Atlantic Ocean and [[Delaware Bay]], the southern portion of the state has a milder climate and a longer growing season than the northern portion of the state.

Summers are long, hot, and humid in Delaware, often with intense (but brief) late day thundershowers. Delaware averages 2,300 hrs of sunshine annually (higher than the USA average). Winters are modestly cool to cold in northern Delaware, and cool to mild in southern Delaware. The normal seasonal snowfall ranges from about 20.0 inches in Wilmington to only 10.0 inches in Lewes. In many winters no snow will fall in coastal Delaware. Northern Delaware falls into USDA Garden Zone 7a, while southern and coastal areas fall into USDA zone 7b and 8a. The milder climate in southern Delaware allows for [[subtropical]] [[flora]] such as the [[windmill palm]], [[needle palm]], and [[dwarf palmetto]].

Delaware's all-time record high of {{convert|110|F|C}} was recorded at [[Millsboro, Delaware|Millsboro]] on July 21, 1930. The all-time record low of {{convert|-17|F|C}} was also recorded at Millsboro, on January 17, 1893. The [[hardiness zone]]s are 7B and 8A at the [[Delaware Beaches]].

===Environment===
The transitional climate of Delaware supports a wide variety of vegetation. In the northern third of the state are found [[Northeastern coastal forests]] and mixed [[Quercus|oak]] forests typical of the northeastern United States.<ref name="ecoregions">{{cite journal|author=Olson |title=Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World: A New Map of Life on Earth |journal=[[BioScience]] |year=2001 |volume=51 |issue=11 |pages=933–938 |doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0933:TEOTWA]2.0.CO;2 |author2=D. M |author3=E. Dinerstein |display-authors=3 |issn=0006-3568 |last4=Burgess |first4=Neil D. |last5=Powell |first5=George V. N. |last6=Underwood |first6=Emma C. |last7=d'Amico |first7=Jennifer A. |last8=Itoua |first8=Illanga |last9=Strand |first9=Holly E. |doi-access=free }}</ref> In the southern two-thirds of the state are found [[Middle Atlantic coastal forests]].<ref name="ecoregions" /> [[Trap Pond State Park]], along with areas in other parts of Sussex County, for example, support the northernmost stands of [[Taxodium distichum|bald cypress]] trees in North America.

===Environmental management===

Delaware provides [[Government subsidy|government subsidy support]] for the [[Environmental remediation|clean-up]] of property "lightly contaminated" by [[hazardous waste]], the proceeds for which come from a tax on wholesale petroleum sales.<ref>{{cite news |title=Cleaning up contamination |first=Jeff |last=Montgomery |newspaper=[[The News Journal]] |date=May 14, 2011 |access-date=May 14, 2011 |url=http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110514/NEWS02/105140360/-1/NLETTER01/Cleaning-up-contamination |location=New Castle, Delaware |at=DelawareOnline |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240525083145/https://www.webcitation.org/5ygBz8xTN?url=http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110514/NEWS02/105140360/-1/NLETTER01/Cleaning-up-contamination |archive-date=May 25, 2024 |url-status=live }} ''The first online page is archived; the page containing information related here is not in the archived version.''</ref>

==Municipalities==
{{Further|List of Delaware municipalities|List of counties in Delaware}}

Wilmington is the state's most populous city (70,635) and its economic hub. It is located within commuting distance of both Philadelphia and Baltimore. Dover is the state capital and the second most populous city (38,079).

===Counties===
{{colbegin|colwidth=12em}}
* [[Kent County, Delaware|Kent]]
* [[New Castle County, Delaware|New Castle]]
* [[Sussex County, Delaware|Sussex]]
{{colend}}

===Cities===
{{colbegin|colwidth=12em}}
* [[Delaware City, Delaware|Delaware City]]
* [[Dover, Delaware|Dover]]
* [[Harrington, Delaware|Harrington]]
* [[Lewes, Delaware|Lewes]]
* [[Middletown, Delaware|Middletown]]
* [[Milford, Delaware|Milford]]
* [[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]]
* [[Newark, Delaware|Newark]]
* [[Rehoboth Beach, Delaware|Rehoboth Beach]]
* [[Seaford, Delaware|Seaford]]
* [[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]]
{{colend}}

===Towns===
{{colbegin|colwidth=12em}}
* [[Bellefonte, Delaware|Bellefonte]]
* [[Bethany Beach, Delaware|Bethany Beach]]
* [[Bethel, Delaware|Bethel]]
* [[Blades, Delaware|Blades]]
* [[Bowers, Delaware|Bowers]]
* [[Bridgeville, Delaware|Bridgeville]]
* [[Camden, Delaware|Camden]]
* [[Cheswold, Delaware|Cheswold]]
* [[Clayton, Delaware|Clayton]]
* [[Dagsboro, Delaware|Dagsboro]]
* [[Delmar, Delaware|Delmar]]
* [[Dewey Beach, Delaware|Dewey Beach]]
* [[Ellendale, Delaware|Ellendale]]
* [[Elsmere, Delaware|Elsmere]]
* [[Farmington, Delaware|Farmington]]
* [[Felton, Delaware|Felton]]
* [[Fenwick Island, Delaware|Fenwick Island]]
* [[Frankford, Delaware|Frankford]]
* [[Frederica, Delaware|Frederica]]
* [[Georgetown, Delaware|Georgetown]]
* [[Greenwood, Delaware|Greenwood]]
* [[Hartly, Delaware|Hartly]]
* [[Henlopen Acres, Delaware|Henlopen Acres]]
* [[Houston, Delaware|Houston]]
* [[Kenton, Delaware|Kenton]]
* [[Laurel, Delaware|Laurel]]
* [[Leipsic, Delaware|Leipsic]]
* [[Little Creek, Delaware|Little Creek]]
* [[Magnolia, Delaware|Magnolia]]
* [[Millsboro, Delaware|Millsboro]]
* [[Millville, Delaware|Millville]]
* [[Milton, Delaware|Milton]]
* [[Newport, Delaware|Newport]]
* [[Ocean View, Delaware|Ocean View]]
* [[Odessa, Delaware|Odessa]]
* [[Selbyville, Delaware|Selbyville]]
* [[Slaughter Beach, Delaware|Slaughter Beach]]
* [[Smyrna, Delaware|Smyrna]]
* [[South Bethany, Delaware|South Bethany]]
* [[Townsend, Delaware|Townsend]]
* [[Viola, Delaware|Viola]]
* [[Woodside, Delaware|Woodside]]
* [[Wyoming, Delaware|Wyoming]]
{{colend}}

===Villages===
{{colbegin|colwidth=12em}}
* [[Arden, Delaware|Arden]]
* [[Ardencroft, Delaware|Ardencroft]]
* [[Ardentown, Delaware|Ardentown]]
{{colend}}

===Unincorporated places===
{{colbegin|colwidth=12em}}
* [[Bear, Delaware|Bear]]
* [[Brookside, Delaware|Brookside]]
* [[Christiana, Delaware|Christiana]]
* [[Clarksville, Delaware|Clarksville]]
* [[Claymont, Delaware|Claymont]]
* [[Dover Base Housing, Delaware|Dover Base Housing]]
* [[Edgemoor, Delaware|Edgemoor]]
* [[Glasgow, Delaware|Glasgow]]
* [[Greenville, Delaware|Greenville]]
* [[Gumboro, Delaware|Gumboro]]
* [[Harbeson, Delaware|Harbeson]]
* [[Highland Acres, Delaware|Highland Acres]]
* [[Hockessin, Delaware|Hockessin]]
* [[Kent Acres, Delaware|Kent Acres]]
* [[Lincoln City, Delaware|Lincoln City]]
* [[Long Neck, Delaware|Long Neck]]
* [[Marshallton, Delaware|Marshallton]]
* [[Mount Pleasant, Delaware|Mount Pleasant]]
* [[North Star, Delaware|North Star]]
* [[Oak Orchard, Delaware|Oak Orchard]]
* [[Omar, Delaware|Omar]]
* [[Pennyhill, Delaware|Pennyhill]]
* [[Pike Creek, Delaware|Pike Creek]]
* [[Pike Creek Valley, Delaware|Pike Creek Valley]]
* [[Rising Sun-Lebanon, Delaware|Rising Sun-Lebanon]]
* [[Riverview, Delaware|Riverview]]
* [[Rodney Village, Delaware|Rodney Village]]
* [[Roxana, Delaware|Roxana]]
* [[Saint Georges, Delaware|Saint Georges]]
* [[Sandtown, Delaware|Sandtown]]
* [[Stanton, Delaware|Stanton]]
* [[Wilmington Manor, Delaware|Wilmington Manor]]
* [[Wooddale, Delaware|Wooddale]]
* [[Woodland, Delaware|Woodland]]
* [[Woodside East, Delaware|Woodside East]]
* [[Yorklyn, Delaware|Yorklyn]]
{{colend}}
<gallery class="center">
File:Dover Delaware.jpg|[[Dover, Delaware|Dover]]
File:Newark DE Main Street.jpg|[[Newark, Delaware|Newark]]
File:High Street, Seaford, Delaware (2006).jpg|[[Seaford, Delaware|Seaford]]
File:Wilmington Delaware skyline.jpg|[[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]]
</gallery>

The table below lists the ten largest municipalities in the state based on the [[2020 United States census]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Census QuickFacts |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045221 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=March 26, 2023}}</ref>

{{Largest cities
| country = Delaware
| stat_ref = 2020 U.S. Census populations
| list_by_pop =
| div_name =
| div_link = Counties of Delaware{{!}}County
| city_1 = Wilmington, Delaware{{!}}Wilmington
| div_1 = New Castle County, Delaware{{!}}New Castle
| pop_1 = 70,898
| city_2 = Dover, Delaware{{!}}Dover
| div_2 = Kent County, Delaware{{!}}Kent
| pop_2 = 39,403
| city_3 = Newark, Delaware{{!}}Newark
| div_3 = New Castle County, Delaware{{!}}New Castle
| pop_3 = 30,601
| city_4 = Middletown, Delaware{{!}}Middletown
| div_4 = New Castle County, Delaware{{!}}New Castle
| pop_4 = 23,192
| city_5 = Bear, Delaware{{!}}Bear
| div_5 = New Castle County, Delaware{{!}}New Castle
| pop_5 = 23,060
| city_6 = Glasgow, Delaware{{!}}Glasgow
| div_6 = New Castle County, Delaware{{!}}New Castle
| pop_6 = 15,288
| city_7 = Brookside, Delaware{{!}}Brookside
| div_7 = New Castle County, Delaware{{!}}New Castle
| pop_7 = 14,974
| city_8 = Hockessin, Delaware{{!}}Hockessin
| div_8 = New Castle County, Delaware{{!}}New Castle
| pop_8 = 13,478
| city_9 = Smyrna, Delaware{{!}}Smyrna
| div_9 = Kent County, Delaware{{!}}Kent{{))!}}, {{!((}}New Castle County, Delaware{{!}}New Castle
| pop_9 = 12,883
| city_10 = Pike Creek Valley, Delaware{{!}}Pike Creek Valley
| div_10 = New Castle County, Delaware{{!}}New Castle
| pop_10 = 11,692
}}

==Demographics==
{{See also|Largest municipalities in Delaware}}
[[File:Delaware population density 2020.png|thumb|The population density map for Delaware]]
{{US Census population
|1790= 59096
|1800= 64273
|1810= 72674
|1820= 72749
|1830= 76748
|1840= 78085
|1850= 91532
|1860= 112216
|1870= 125015
|1880= 146608
|1890= 168493
|1900= 184735
|1910= 202322
|1920= 223003
|1930= 238380
|1940= 266505
|1950= 318085
|1960= 446292
|1970= 548104
|1980= 594338
|1990= 666168
|2000= 783600
|2010= 897934
|2020= 989948
|estyear= 2025
|estimate= 1059952
|estref=<ref name=DelawareQuickFacts>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/DE/PST045223|title=United States Census Bureau QuickFacts Delaware|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
|align-fn=center
|footnote=Source: 1910–2020<ref name="censuspoptable">{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/popchange-data-text.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429012609/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/popchange-data-text.html|url-status=dead|title=Historical Population Change Data (1910-2020)|archive-date=April 29, 2021|website=Census.gov}}</ref>}}

The [[United States Census Bureau]] determined that the population of Delaware was 989,948 on April 1, 2020,<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 26, 2021|title=2020 Census|url=https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/data/apportionment/apportionment-2020-table01.pdf|url-status=live|website=census.gov|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426194028/https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/data/apportionment/apportionment-2020-table01.pdf |archive-date=April 26, 2021 }}</ref> an increase from the [[2010 United States census|2010 census]] figure of 897,934.<ref name="PopEstUS">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/DE,US/PST045219|title=QuickFacts Delaware; United States |website=2019 Population Estimates|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]], Population Division|date=February 14, 2020|access-date=February 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209044515/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/DE,US/PST045219|archive-date=February 9, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Delaware Population 1900–2020|url=https://www.macrotrends.net/states/delaware/population|access-date=June 16, 2021|website=www.macrotrends.net|archive-date=April 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409114238/https://www.macrotrends.net/states/delaware/population|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Delaware's history as a [[border states (Civil War)|border state]] has led it to exhibit characteristics of both the [[Northern United States|Northern]] and the [[Southern United States|Southern]] regions of the United States. Generally, the rural Southern (or "Slower Lower") regions of Delaware below the [[Chesapeake and Delaware Canal]] embody a [[Culture of the Southern United States|Southern culture]],<ref name="Kent">{{Cite web|url=https://delawarebusinesstimes.com/news/industry/commercial-real-estate/kent-county-defies-slower-lower-nickname/|title=Kent County defies slower, lower nickname|date=November 8, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Slowerlower">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/food/2004/05/26/slower-lower-delaware/2131e835-ac4f-4790-b78c-564bb97d2ebc/ |title=Slower Lower Delaware |author=Walter Nicholls |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=May 26, 2004 |access-date=December 11, 2020}}</ref> while densely populated Northern Delaware above the canal—particularly Wilmington, a part of the [[Philadelphia metropolitan area]]—has more in common with that of the [[Northeastern United States|Northeast]] and the [[Northern United States|North]].<ref name="Atlanticdialect">{{cite web|url=http://www.evolpub.com/Americandialects/MidAtldialects.html|title=The Mid-Atlantic Dialects|work=Evolution Publishing|access-date=June 3, 2013|archive-date=July 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723033309/http://www.evolpub.com/Americandialects/MidAtldialects.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The U.S. Census Bureau designates Delaware as one of the [[South Atlantic States]],<ref name="auto"/> but it is commonly associated with the [[Mid-Atlantic States]] or [[northeastern (United States)|northeast]]ern United States by other federal agencies, the media, and some residents.<ref name="LOC">{{cite web|url=http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/rrhtml/regdef.html|title=Regions of the United States|website=American Memory|publisher=The Library of Congress|access-date=August 11, 2009}}</ref><ref name="EPA">{{cite web|url=http://www.epa.gov/region03/index.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120802112852/http://www.epa.gov/region03/index.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 2, 2012|title=Region 3: The Mid-Atlantic States|website=[[United States Environmental Protection Agency]]|publisher=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency|access-date=August 11, 2009}}</ref><ref name="FBI">{{cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm |title=Your Local FBI Office |website=www.fbi.gov |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation |access-date=August 11, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090815093807/http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm |archive-date=August 15, 2009 }}</ref><ref name="amtrak">{{cite web|url=http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/Page/Browse_Routes_Page&c=Page&cid=1081256321410&ssid=134|title=Routes Serving the Northeast|publisher=National Railroad Passenger Corporation|access-date=August 11, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090815025107/http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak%2FPage%2FBrowse_Routes_Page&c=Page&cid=1081256321410&ssid=134|archive-date=August 15, 2009}}</ref><ref name="princeton">{{cite web|url=http://www.princetonreview.com/best-regional-colleges.aspx|title=Best Regional Colleges|website=www.princetonreview.com|publisher=The Princeton Review|access-date=August 11, 2009}}</ref><ref>Maryland and Delaware identify as Northeast
* {{cite web |url = http://www.csg-erc.org/about-csg/ |title = About – CSG |work = csg-erc.org |access-date = June 29, 2016 |archive-date = June 23, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160623221327/http://www.csg-erc.org/about-csg/ |url-status = dead }}
* {{cite web |url = http://www.bls.gov/regions/home.htm |title = Home : Geographic Information : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics |work = bls.gov |access-date = June 29, 2016 }}
* {{cite web |url = https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/customer-support/partnerships/regional-climate-centers |title = Regional Climate Centers – National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) formerly known as National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) |work = noaa.gov |access-date = June 29, 2016 }}
* {{cite web |url = http://www.scouting.org/Home/OutdoorProgram/Properties/Region%20and%20Area%20Maps.aspx |title = Region and Area Maps |work = scouting.org |access-date = June 29, 2016 }}
* {{cite web |url = http://www.nps.gov/nhl/contact/nero.htm |title = Northeast Regional Office – National Historic Landmarks Program |work = nps.gov |access-date = June 29, 2016 }}</ref>

Delaware is the sixth most densely populated state, with a population density of 442.6 people per square mile, 356.4 per square mile more than the national average, and ranking 45th in population. Delaware is one of five U.S. states ([[Maine]], [[Vermont]], [[West Virginia]], [[Wyoming]]) that do not have a single city with a population over 100,000 as of the 2010 census.<ref name="Census">{{Citation |url=https://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/voting/011400.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080204083625/http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/voting/011400.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 4, 2008 |publisher=Census |place=US |type=press release |title=Voting }}</ref> The [[center of population]] of Delaware is in New Castle County, in the town of [[Townsend, Delaware|Townsend]].<ref name="cenpopcenter">{{cite web |title=Population and Population Centers by State |year=2000 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/cenpop/statecenters.txt |format=plain text |access-date=March 9, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508041813/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cenpop/statecenters.txt |archive-date=May 8, 2013 }}</ref>

According to [[United States Department of Housing and Urban Development|HUD]]'s 2022 [[Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress|Annual Homeless Assessment Report]], there were an estimated 2,369 [[Homelessness|homeless]] people in Delaware.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2007-2022 PIT Counts by State |url=https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huduser.gov%2Fportal%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fxls%2F2007-2022-PIT-Counts-by-State.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress |url=https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2022-AHAR-Part-1.pdf}}</ref>

===Race and ethnicity===
[[File:Ethnic Origins in Delaware.png|left|thumb|Ethnic origins in Delaware[[File:Ethnic_origins_in_Delaware_(2020).jpg|thumb|Largest alone or in any combination ethnic origin by county in Delaware, per the 2020 census]]]]
[[File:Tribes Maryland Delaware 2020.png|thumb|Largest Non-Hispanic Native American ancestry by county and numbers of people reporting "Native American Alone"]]
According to the 2010 United States census, the racial composition of the state was 68.9% [[White American]] (65.3% [[Non-Hispanic White]], 3.6% White Hispanic), 21.4% [[African American|Black]] or African American, 0.5% [[Native Americans in the United States|American Indian]] and [[Alaska Native]], 3.2% Asian American, 0.0% [[Native Hawaiian]] and other [[Pacific Islander]], 3.4% some other race, and 2.7% of [[Multiracial American|multiracial origin]]. People of [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic]] or Latino origin, of any race, made up 8.2% of the population.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |title=U.S. Census website |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |date=October 5, 2010 |access-date=August 17, 2011 }}</ref>

The 2022 [[American Community Survey]] estimated the state had a racial and ethnic makeup of 60.6% non-Hispanic whites, 23.6% Black or African American, 0.7% American Indian or Alaska Native, 4.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.9% multiracial, and 10.1% Hispanic or Latin American of any race.<ref>{{Cite web|title=2022 QuickFacts|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/DE/PST045219|url-status=live|website=U.S. Census Bureau|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200127141137/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/DE/PST045219 |archive-date=January 27, 2020 }}</ref>

Historical [[Indigenous peoples of Delaware|Indigenous]] tribes include the [[Nanticoke people|Nanticoke]] as well as the [[Lenape]], who were influential in the colonial period of the United States. Documented descendants of Lenape and Nanticoke people who once lived in what is now Delaware and neighboring states are citizens of federally recognized tribes in the US and [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] governments in Canada, including the [[Delaware Nation]] and the [[Delaware Tribe of Indians]] in [[Oklahoma]] and the [[Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation]] in [[Ontario]].<ref name="pritzker">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Pritzker |first=Barry M. |title=Nanticoke |encyclopedia=A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2000 |isbn=978-0-19-513877-1 |pages=440–442 }}</ref> A [[state-recognized tribe]] called the [[Lenape Indian Tribe of Delaware]] is headquartered in Cheswold, Kent County, Delaware.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bies|first=Jessica|title=Lenape Indian Tribe looks to reclaim historic Delaware land, establish sovereignty|url=https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/education/2018/07/16/lenape-indian-tribe-looks-reclaim-land-establish-sovereign-delaware/775992002/|access-date=May 23, 2021|website=The News Journal}}</ref> Another state-recognized tribe called the [[Nanticoke Indian Association]] resides in Sussex County and is headquartered in Millsboro, Sussex County, Delaware.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Duvernay|first=Adam|title=Nanticoke tribe converges for 40th powwow in Millsboro|url=https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2017/09/10/nanticoke-tribe-40th-powwow-delaware/651191001/|access-date=May 23, 2021|website=The News Journal}}</ref> Along with an off-shoot group, the state-recognized [[Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation]] in New Jersey, these three state-recognized tribes in Delaware and New Jersey are descended from the [[Delaware Moors]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://delcode.delaware.gov/title29/c001/index.html |title=Title 29 |publisher=[[The Delaware Code Online]] |accessdate=2026-03-25}}</ref> The Delaware Moors are a mixed-race group who live in and around Cheswold and Millsboro in Delaware, as well as [[Gouldtown, New Jersey]]. The Delaware Moors were legally classified as African Americans until 1914, when the State of Delaware reclassified them as a separate, non-Black group.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bhamgov.org/about_birmingham/city_history/birmingham_museum/virtual_exhibits/a_tale_of_four_families_the_black_history_of_birmingham_part_2_black_but_also_native_american--the_farmer_family_of_wayne_county.php |title=Black and Native American, The Farmer Family |publisher=[[Birmingham, Michigan|City of Birmingham, Michigan]] |accessdate=2026-03-25}}</ref>

In the [[2020 United States Census|2020 Census]], 218,899 Delaware residents were identified as African American (of the total 989,948).<ref>This figure refers to those who report African American and no other race.</ref> In 2 of the state's 3 counties, African Americans make up more than 20% of the population: [[Kent County, Delaware|Kent]] (25.8%) and [[New Castle County, Delaware|New Castle]] (25.7%). African Americans in the seven counties of New Castle (146,544), Kent (46,998), and [[Sussex County, Delaware|Sussex]] (25,357) make up more than 100% of all African Americans in the state.<ref>{{Cite web | title = RACE | work = Decennial Census, DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171), Table P1 | publisher = U.S. Census Bureau | url = https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALPL2020.P1?g=040XX00US10$0500000&y=2020&d=DEC+Redistricting+Data+(PL+94-171)&tp=true| access-date = 2026-01-03 }}</ref>

Delaware's population mainly consisted of people from the British Isles, African slaves, Germans and a few remaining Native Americans during the colonial era. Irish, Germans, Italians, Poles, and Russian Jewish immigrants were attracted by the industries in the Wilmington area. In the late 20th century a Puerto Rican community formed in Wilmington. Guatemalan people migrated to Sussex county to work in Delaware's poultry industry. There is also a small numbers of Asians in New Castle county who work as scientific and engineering professionals.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Delaware-state/Climate|title=Delaware - Humid, Temperate, Coastal &#124; Britannica|website=www.britannica.com}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+'''Delaware  – Racial and ethnic composition'''<br><small>{{nobold|''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.''}}</small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(''NH = Non-Hispanic'')</small>
!Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>{{Cite web|title=P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Delaware |url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=0500000US48117&tid=DECENNIALSF12000.P004|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date= }}</ref>
!Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Delaware |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=0500000US48117&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
!{{partial|Pop 2020}}<ref name=2020CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Delaware |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=0500000US48117&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
!% 2000
!% 2010
!{{partial|% 2020}}
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] alone (NH)
|567,973
|586,752
|style='background: #ffffe6; |579,851
|72.48%
|65.34%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |58.57%
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] alone (NH)
|148,435
|186,782
|style='background: #ffffe6; |212,960
|18.94%
|20.80%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |21.51%
|-
|[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]] alone (NH)
|2,324
|2,824
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,521
|0.30%
|0.31%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.25%
|-
|[[Asian Americans|Asian]] alone (NH)
|16,110
|28,308
|style='background: #ffffe6; |42,398
|2.06%
|3.15%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.28%
|-
|[[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]] alone (NH)
|234
|238
|style='background: #ffffe6; |304
|0.03%
|0.03%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.03%
|-
|[[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|Other race]] alone (NH)
|1,025
|1,525
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,601
|0.13%
|0.17%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.46%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed race or Multiracial]] (NH)
|10,222
|18,284
|style='background: #ffffe6; |43,023
|1.30%
|2.04%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.35%
|-
|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (any race)
|37,277
|73,221
|style='background: #ffffe6; |104,290
|4.76%
|8.15%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |10.53%
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''783,600'''
|'''897,934'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''989,948'''
|'''100.00%'''
|'''100.00%'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''100.00%'''
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="font-size: 90%;"
|+ '''Delaware racial breakdown of population'''
|-
! Racial composition !! 1990<ref>[https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, For The United States, Regions, Divisions, and States] [https://web.archive.org/web/20130605233341/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html Archived copy] at [[WebCite]] (June 22, 2013).</ref> !! 2000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://censusviewer.com/city/ID|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140107210553/http://censusviewer.com/city/ID|url-status=usurped|title=censusviewer.com/city/ID|date=January 7, 2014|archive-date=January 7, 2014}}</ref>!! 2010<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.2010.html|title=2010 Census Data|author=Center for New Media and Promotions (C2PO)|website=census.gov|access-date=September 27, 2015}}</ref>!! 2020<ref name="2020DP1">{{Cite web |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDP2020.DP1?g=040XX00US10 |title=Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2020 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Delaware |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=April 2, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[White American|White]] || 80.3% || 74.6% || 68.9% || 60.4%
|-
| [[African American|Black]] || 16.9% || 19.2% || 21.4% || 22.1%
|-
| [[Asian American|Asian]] || 1.4% || 2.1% || 3.2% || 4.3%
|-
| [[Native Americans in the United States|Native]] || 0.3% || 0.4% || 0.5% || 0.5%
|-
| [[Native Hawaiian]] and{{break}}[[Pacific Islander|other Pacific Islander]] || – || – || – || -
|-
| [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census|Other race]] || 1.1% || 2.0% || 3.4% || 4.9%
|-
| [[Multiracial American|Two or more races]] || – || 1.7% || 2.7% || 7.7%
|}

The top countries of origin for Delaware's immigrants in 2018 were [[Mexico]], [[India]], [[Guatemala]], [[China]], and [[Jamaica]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/immigrants_in_delaware.pdf|title=Immigrants in Delaware|accessdate=November 21, 2025}}</ref>

===Birth data===
''Note: Births in table do not add up because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number.''
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:90%"
|+ Live Births by Single Race/Ethnicity of Mother
|-
! [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census|Race]]
! 2013<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_01.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=May 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911162514/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_01.pdf |archive-date=September 11, 2017 |url-status=live }} {{Title missing|date=September 2025}}</ref>
! 2014<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_12.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=May 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214040341/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_12.pdf |archive-date=February 14, 2017 |url-status=live }} {{Title missing|date=September 2025}}</ref>
! 2015<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr66/nvsr66_01.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=May 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831155911/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr66/nvsr66_01.pdf |archive-date=August 31, 2017 |url-status=live }} {{Title missing|date=September 2025}}</ref>
! 2016<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr67/nvsr67_01.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=May 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180603002249/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr67/nvsr67_01.pdf |archive-date=June 3, 2018 |url-status=live }} {{Title missing|date=September 2025}}</ref>
! 2017<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr67/nvsr67_08-508.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=February 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201210916/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr67/nvsr67_08-508.pdf |archive-date=February 1, 2019 |url-status=live }} {{Title missing|date=September 2025}}</ref>
! 2018<ref>
{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_13-508.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128042511/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_13-508.pdf |archive-date=November 28, 2019 |url-status=live |title=Data |website=www.cdc.gov |access-date=December 2, 2019}}</ref>
! 2019<ref>
{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr70/nvsr70-02-508.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323152401/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr70/nvsr70-02-508.pdf |archive-date=March 23, 2021 |url-status=live |title=Data |website=www.cdc.gov |access-date=March 27, 2021}}</ref>
! 2020<ref>
{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr70/nvsr70-17.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207140709/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr70/NVSR70-17.pdf |archive-date=February 7, 2022 |url-status=live |title=Data |website=www.cdc.gov |access-date=February 20, 2022}}</ref>
! 2021<ref>
{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr72/nvsr72-01.pdf |title=Data |website=www.cdc.gov |access-date=February 2, 2022}}</ref>
! 2022<ref>
{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr73/nvsr73-02.pdf |title=Data |website=www.cdc.gov |access-date=April 4, 2024}}</ref>
! 2023<ref>
{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr74/nvsr74-1.pdf |title=Data |website=www.cdc.gov |access-date=April 11, 2025}}</ref>
|-
| [[Non-Hispanic whites|White]]
| 5,942 (54.8%)
| 5,904 (53.8%)
| 5,959 (53.4%)
| 5,827 (53.0%)
| 5,309 (48.9%)
| 5,171 (48.7%)
| 5,024 (47.6%)
| 4,949 (47.6%)
| 5,042 (48.1%)
| 5,035 (46.6%)
| 4,702 (45.1%)
|-
| [[African Americans|Black]]
| 3,061 (28.3%)
| 2,988 (27.2%)
| 3,134 (28.1%)
| 2,832 (25.7%)
| 2,818 (26.0%)
| 2,773 (26.1%)
| 2,804 (26.5%)
| 2,722 (26.2%)
| 2,711 (25.9%)
| 2,853 (26.4%)
| 2,694 (25.8%)
|-
| [[Asian Americans|Asian]]
| 541 (5.0%)
| 644 (5.9%)
| 675 (6.1%)
| 627 (5.7%)
| 646 (6.0%)
| 634 (6.0%)
| 624 (5.9%)
| 617 (5.9%)
| 538 (5.1%)
| 553 (5.1%)
| 621 (5.9%)
|-
| [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]]
| 25 (0.2%)
| 26 (0.2%)
| 16 (0.1%)
| 13 (0.1%)
| 23 (0.2%)
| 10 (0.1%)
| 18 (0.2%)
| 18 (0.2%)
| 12 (0.1%)
| 13 (0.1%)
| 17 (0.2%)
|-
| ''[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic]]'' (any race)
| ''1,348'' (12.4%)
| ''1,541'' (14.0%)
| ''1,532'' (13.7%)
| ''1,432'' (13.0%)
| ''1,748'' (16.1%)
| ''1,710'' (16.1%)
| ''1,737'' (16.4%)
| ''1,768'' (17.0%)
| ''1,826'' (17.4%)
| ''1,996'' (18.5%)
| ''2,015'' (19.3%)
|-
| '''Total'''
| '''10,831''' (100%)
| '''10,972''' (100%)
| '''11,166''' (100%)
| '''10,992''' (100%)
| '''10,855''' (100%)
| '''10,621''' (100%)
| '''10,562''' (100%)
| '''10,392''' (100%)
| '''10,482''' (100%)
| '''10,816''' (100%)
| '''10,427''' (100%)
|}
[[File:Delaware population pyramid.webp|thumb|Delaware [[population pyramid]]]]
* Since 2016, data for births of [[White Hispanic and Latino Americans|White Hispanic]] origin are not collected, but included in one ''Hispanic'' group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

===Languages===

In 2000, 91% of Delaware residents of age{{spaces}}5 and older spoke only English at home; 5% spoke Spanish. French was the third most spoken language, used by 0.7% of the population, followed by Chinese (0.5%) and German (0.5%). Legislation has been proposed in both the House and the Senate in Delaware to designate English as the [[Languages of the United States|official language]].<ref>{{citation |title=SB 129 |url=https://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/LIS144.NSF/vwLegislation/SB+129?Opendocument |publisher=State of Delaware |access-date=May 9, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100310075049/http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/LIS144.NSF/vwLegislation/SB+129?Opendocument |archive-date=March 10, 2010 |url-status=live}}, assigned on June 13, 2007, to Senate Education Committee.</ref><ref>{{citation |title=HB 436 |url=https://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/LIS143.NSF/vwLegislation/HB+436?Opendocument |url-status=live |publisher=State of Delaware |access-date=May 9, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100310075025/http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/LIS143.NSF/vwLegislation/HB+436?Opendocument |archive-date=March 10, 2010}}, stricken on June 15, 2006,</ref> Neither bill was passed in the legislature.

===Sexual orientation===
A 2012 Gallup poll found that Delaware's proportion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adults stood at 3.4% of the population. This constitutes a total LGBT adult population estimate of 23,698 people. The number of same-sex couple households in 2010 stood at 2,646. This grew by 41.65% from a decade earlier.<ref>{{Cite web|date=February 15, 2013|title=LGBT Percentage Highest in D.C., Lowest in North Dakota|url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/160517/lgbt-percentage-highest-lowest-north-dakota.aspx|access-date=November 18, 2020|website=Gallup.com}}</ref>{{nonspecific|date=November 2013}} On July 1, 2013, same-sex marriage was legalized, and all civil unions were converted into marriages.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ford|first=Zack|date=May 7, 2013|title=BREAKING: Delaware To Become 11th State With Marriage Equality|newspaper=Think Progress|url=http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2013/05/07/1975311/breaking-delaware-to-become-11th-state-with-marriage-equality/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407083938/https://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2013/05/07/1975311/breaking-delaware-to-become-11th-state-with-marriage-equality/|archive-date=April 7, 2014}}</ref>{{better source needed|reason=Need a source which is up-to-date|date=June 2024}}

===Religion===
{{Pie chart|thumb=right|caption=Religion in Delaware per the [[Public Religion Research Institute]]'s 2022 ''American Values Atlas'' survey{{efn|Note: there is a glitch surrounding the display of Delaware's religious tradition data on ''Public Religion Research Institute''. Click the "list" option if results show "N/A". Do not remove pie chart.}}<ref name="ppri">{{Cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=February 24, 2023 |title=2022 American Values Atlas: Religious Tradition |url=https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2022/States/religion/m/US-DE |access-date=April 15, 2023 |website=[[Public Religion Research Institute]] |archive-date=April 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404161714/https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2022/States/religion/m/US-DE |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|label1= [[Protestantism in the United States|Protestantism]]
|value1= 34
|color1= Blue
|label2= [[Catholic Church in the United States|Catholicism]]
|value2= 23
|color2= Purple
|label3= [[Jehovah's Witnesses|Jehovah's Witness]]
|value3= 2
|color3= Teal
|label4= [[Orthodox Church in America|Eastern Orthodoxy]]
|value4= 1
|color4= Lightblue
|label5= [[Irreligion in the United States|Unaffiliated]]
|value5= 33
|color5= White
|label6= [[American Jews|Judaism]]
|value6= 3
|color6= Pink
|label7= [[Hinduism in the United States|Hinduism]]
|value7= 1
|color7= Orange
|label8= [[New Age]]
|value8= 1
|color8= Red
|label9= Other
|value9= 2
|color9= Black}}

The predominant religion practiced in Delaware is [[Christianity in the United States|Christianity]]. A 2014 estimate by the [[Pew Research Center]] found that members of [[Protestantism|Protestant]] churches accounted for almost half of the population,<ref name="pew2014">{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/delaware/|title=Religious Landscape Study|date=March 20, 2019|publisher=Pew Forum|access-date=October 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005101146/http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/delaware/|archive-date=October 5, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> though the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]] was the largest single denomination in the state. By 2020, the [[Public Religion Research Institute]] determined 61% of the population was Christian.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=PRRI – American Values Atlas |url=https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2020/States/religion/m/US-DE |access-date=September 17, 2022 |website=ava.prri.org |archive-date=April 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404161714/https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2020/States/religion/m/US-DE |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2022, the Public Religion Research Institute's survey revealed 60% were Christian, followed by [[Judaism in the United States|Jews]] (3%), [[Hinduism in the United States|Hindus]] (1%), and [[New Age]]rs (1%).<ref name="ppri" />

The [[Association of Religion Data Archives]] reported in 2010 that the three largest Christian denominational groups in Delaware by number of adherents are the [[Catholic Church]] at 182,532 adherents, the [[United Methodist Church]] with 53,656 members reported, and non-denominational [[Evangelicalism|evangelical Protestants]], who numbered 22,973.<ref name="www.thearda.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/10/rcms2010_10_state_cong_2010.asp |title=The Association of Religion Data Archives &#124; State Membership Report |publisher=www.thearda.com |access-date=November 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109012907/http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/10/rcms2010_10_state_cong_2010.asp |archive-date=November 9, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2020, the Association of Religion Data Archives reported the largest Christian denominations were the Catholic Church with 197,094; non-denominational Protestants with 49,392, and United Methodists with 39,959.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2020 Congregational Membership |url=https://www.thearda.com/us-religion/census/congregational-membership?y=2020&y2=0&t=1&c=10 |access-date=April 15, 2023 |website=www.thearda.com}}</ref>

The [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington]] and the [[Episcopal Diocese of Delaware]] oversee the parishes within their denominations. The [[A.U.M.P. Church]], the oldest African-American denomination in the nation, was founded in Wilmington. It still has a substantial presence in the state. Reflecting new immigrant populations, an [[mosque|Islamic mosque]] has been built in the [[Ogletown, Delaware|Ogletown]] area, and a [[Hindu Temple of Delaware|Hindu temple in Hockessin]].

Delaware is home to an [[Amish]] community which resides west of [[Dover, Delaware|Dover]] in [[Kent County, Delaware|Kent County]], consisting of nine church districts and about 1,650 people. The Amish first settled in Kent County in 1915. In recent years, increasing development has led to the decline in the number of Amish living in the community.<ref name="Elizabethtown College_2018">{{cite web |title=Amish Population Profile, 2018|url=https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/statistics/amish-population-profile-2018/ |url-status=dead |work=Elizabethtown College, the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies |date=August 7, 2018 |access-date=January 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205121144/http://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/statistics/amish-population-profile-2018/ |archive-date=February 5, 2019}}</ref><ref name="visitdoveramish">{{cite web|url=http://visitdover.com/index.php/mobile/visit_entry/amish-countryside|title=Amish Countryside|publisher=Kent County & Greater Dover, Delaware Convention and Visitors Bureau|access-date=November 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123053054/http://visitdover.com/index.php/mobile/visit_entry/amish-countryside|archive-date=November 23, 2016}}</ref><ref name="amishamerica">{{cite web|title=Delaware Amish|publisher=Amish America|url=http://amishamerica.com/delaware-amish/|access-date=October 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171007120123/http://amishamerica.com/delaware-amish/|archive-date=October 7, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

A 2012 survey of religious attitudes in the United States found that 34% of Delaware residents considered themselves "moderately religious", 33% "very religious", and 33% as "non-religious".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://thedialog.org/?p=4580|newspaper=The Dialog|title=In 'very religious' USA, Gallup sees Delaware residents as 'moderately' so—by 1 percent|last=[[Catholic News Agency]]|date=April 3, 2012|access-date=April 16, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120625170239/http://thedialog.org/?p=4580|archive-date=June 25, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> At the 2014 [[Pew Research Center|Pew Research]] survey, 23% of the population were irreligious; the 2020 Public Religion Research Institute's survey determined 31% of the population were irreligious.<ref name=":0" /> In 2022, the same study showed 33% of the population as irreligious.<ref name="ppri" />

==Economy==
{{See also|Economy of Delaware|Delaware locations by per capita income}}
{{For|taxes|#Taxation}}

===Affluence===
{| class="wikitable" style="float: right; margin: 10px"
|+ Average sale price for new and existing homes (in U.S. dollars)<ref name="er2011">{{cite news |title=Delaware housing: Home prices slide in all three counties; sales in NCCo, Kent down from year ago |first=Eric |last=Ruth |url=http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110416/BUSINESS/104160310/-1/NLETTER01/Home-prices-slide-in-all-three-counties--sales-in-NCCo--Kent-down-from-year-ago |newspaper=[[The News Journal]] |location=Delaware |date=April 15, 2010 |at=Delaware Online |access-date=March 31, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140403234128/http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110416/BUSINESS/104160310/-1/NLETTER01/Home-prices-slide-in-all-three-counties--sales-in-NCCo--Kent-down-from-year-ago |archive-date=April 3, 2014 |url-status=live }}{{subscription required}}</ref>
|-
!DE County!!March 2010!!March 2011
|-
|New Castle||229,000||216,000
|-
|Sussex||323,000||296,000
|-
|Kent||186,000||178,000
|}

According to a 2020 study by Kiplinger, Delaware had the 17th most millionaires per capita in the United States; altogether, there were 25,937 such individuals. The median income for Delaware households as of 2020 was $64,805.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Millionaires in America 2020: All 50 States Ranked|url=https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/investing/t006-s001-millionaires-america-all-50-states-ranked/index.html|access-date=February 21, 2021|website=Kiplinger|date=May 27, 2020 }}</ref><ref name="frank2014">{{cite news |last=Frank |first=Robert |title=Top states for millionaires per capita |date=January 15, 2014 |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2014/01/15/top-states-for-millionaires-per-capita.html |work=[[CNBC]] |at=CNBC.com |access-date=October 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140122061516/http://www.cnbc.com/id/101338309 |archive-date=January 22, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Agriculture===
[[File:Peach delaware.jpg|thumb|''Picking Peaches in Delaware'', an illustration in an 1878 issue of ''[[Harper's Weekly]]'']]
Delaware's agricultural output consists of poultry, nursery stock, [[soybeans]], dairy products and [[maize|corn]].

===Industries===
{{as of|2025|May|}}, the state's [[unemployment]] rate was 4.0%.<ref>{{Cite web |last=staff |first=CNBC com |date=2025-07-10 |title=29. Delaware |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/10/delaware-top-states-for-business-ranking.html |access-date=2026-01-14 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref>

The state's largest employers are:{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}
* government (State of Delaware, New Castle County)
* education ([[University of Delaware]], [[Delaware Technical Community College]])
* banking ([[Bank of America]], [[M&T Bank]], [[JPMorgan Chase]], [[Citigroup]], [[Deutsche Bank]])
* chemical, pharmaceutical, technology ([[DuPont|DuPont de Nemours Inc.]], [[AstraZeneca]], [[Syngenta]], [[Agilent Technologies]])
* healthcare ([[ChristianaCare]] ([[Christiana Hospital]]), [[Bayhealth Medical Center]], [[Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware]])
* farming, specifically chicken farming in Sussex County ([[Perdue Farms]], [[Mountaire Farms]], [[Allen Family Foods]])
* retail ([[Walmart]], [[Walgreens]], [[Acme Markets]])
In 2025, 98.7% of the businesses in the state were [[small business]]es and employed 50.6% of the state's work force.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2025 Small Business Profile - Delaware |url=https://advocacy.sba.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Delaware_2025-State-Profile.pdf |access-date=February 9, 2026 |website=U.S Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy}}</ref>

====Industrial decline====

Since the mid-2000s, Delaware has seen the departure of the state's automotive manufacturing industry ([[General Motors]] [[Wilmington Assembly]] and [[Chrysler]] [[Newark Assembly]]), the corporate buyout of a major bank holding company ([[MBNA]]), the departure of the state's steel industry ([[Evraz Claymont Steel]]), the bankruptcy of a fiber mill ([[National Vulcanized Fiber]]),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.delawareonline.com/picture-gallery/news/2015/04/22/national-vulcanized-fibre-corp-site-in-yorklyn/26175401/|access-date=December 12, 2015|title=National Vulcanized Fibre Corp. site in Yorklyn|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803220420/https://www.delawareonline.com/picture-gallery/news/2015/04/22/national-vulcanized-fibre-corp-site-in-yorklyn/26175401/|archive-date=August 3, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> and the diminishing presence of [[AstraZeneca]] in Wilmington.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/business/2015/11/19/astrazeneca-lays-off-workers-delaware-headquarters/76048454/|title=AstraZeneca lays off workers at Delaware headquarters|access-date=December 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205095218/http://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/business/2015/11/19/astrazeneca-lays-off-workers-delaware-headquarters/76048454/|archive-date=February 5, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/business/2015/02/20/delaware-officials-concerned-astrazeneca-dupont-threats/23763597/|title=Delaware officials concerned about AstraZeneca, DuPont threats|access-date=December 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205095218/http://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/business/2015/02/20/delaware-officials-concerned-astrazeneca-dupont-threats/23763597/|archive-date=February 5, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

In late 2015, DuPont announced that 1,700 employees, nearly a third of its footprint in Delaware, would be laid off in early 2016.<ref>{{cite web|title=DuPont to cut 1,700 jobs in Delaware in January|date=December 29, 2015 |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-phillydeals/DuPont-to-cut-1700-jobs-in-Delaware-this-winter.html|access-date=December 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151231231119/http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-phillydeals/DuPont-to-cut-1700-jobs-in-Delaware-this-winter.html|archive-date=December 31, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The merger of [[DuPont (1802–2017)|E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.]] and [[Dow Chemical Company]] into [[DuPont|DowDuPont]] took place on September 1, 2017.<ref>{{cite web|title=DuPont merger called 'catastrophic' for Delaware|url=http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/delaware/89056-dupont-merger-called-catastrophic-for-delaware|access-date=December 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151217064717/http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/delaware/89056-dupont-merger-called-catastrophic-for-delaware|archive-date=December 17, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=DuPont merger: A 'sad day' for Delaware|url=http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2015/12/11/dupont-and-dow-combine-merger/77138022/|access-date=December 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131030704/http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2015/12/11/dupont-and-dow-combine-merger/77138022/|archive-date=January 31, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=DuPont-Dow merger 'catastrophic' for Delaware|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2015/12/11/dupont-dow-merger-catastrophic-delaware-markell.html|access-date=December 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151231231119/http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2015/12/11/dupont-dow-merger-catastrophic-delaware-markell.html|archive-date=December 31, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Chemours will lay off 400, including some in Delaware|url=http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2015/11/30/chemours-lays-off-400-workers-including-some-delaware/76580028/|access-date=December 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203144602/http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2015/11/30/chemours-lays-off-400-workers-including-some-delaware/76580028/|archive-date=February 3, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Incorporation in Delaware===

{{Main|Delaware General Corporation Law}}

More than half of all U.S. publicly traded companies, and 63% of the [[Fortune 500]], are [[Incorporation (business)|incorporated]] in Delaware.<ref name="div-corp">{{cite web| url = https://corp.delaware.gov/| title = Delaware Division of Corporations| publisher = Government of DE| access-date = June 10, 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110810011523/http://corp.delaware.gov/| archive-date = August 10, 2011| url-status = live}}</ref> The state's attractiveness as a [[corporate haven]] is largely because of its business-friendly [[Delaware General Corporation Law|corporation law]]. [[Franchise tax]]es on Delaware corporations supply about a fifth of the state's revenue.<ref name="DEFiscalNotebook">{{cite web|url=https://financefiles.delaware.gov/docs/sec2page24.pdf |title=Delaware 2007 Fiscal Notebook—State General Fund Revenues by Category (F.Y. 2002–2005) |access-date=August 17, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816093426/http://finance.delaware.gov/publications/fiscal_notebook_07/Section02/sec2page24.pdf |archive-date=August 16, 2011 }}</ref> Although "USA (Delaware)" ranked as the world's most opaque jurisdiction on the [[Tax Justice Network]]'s 2009 Financial Secrecy Index,<ref>{{Cite news |title = Financial Secrecy Index |publisher = Tax Justice Network |date = November 1, 2009 |url = http://www.financialsecrecyindex.com/Archive2009/FSI-2009/FSI%20-%20Rankings%20-%202009.pdf |access-date = June 24, 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150626125234/http://www.financialsecrecyindex.com/Archive2009/FSI-2009/FSI%20-%20Rankings%20-%202009.pdf |archive-date = June 26, 2015 |url-status = dead }}</ref> the same group's 2011 Index ranks the U.S. fifth and does not specify Delaware.<ref>{{cite news|title = Financial Secrecy Index|publisher = Tax Justice Network|date = October 4, 2011|url = http://www.financialsecrecyindex.com/Archive2011/FSI-2011/FSI-Rankings.pdf|access-date = June 24, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150404031914/http://www.financialsecrecyindex.com/Archive2011/FSI-2011/FSI-Rankings.pdf|archive-date = April 4, 2015|url-status = dead}}</ref> In Delaware, there are more than a million registered corporations.<ref name="div-corp" /> Delaware ranked 4th for most businesses formed in 2025, with 327,103.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-01-23 |title=Report: Florida leads nation in new business creation |url=https://www.businessobserverfl.com/news/2026/jan/23/florida-new-business-creation/ |access-date=2026-02-09 |website=Business Observer |language=en}}</ref>

===Food and drink===

[[s:Delaware Code/Title 4/Chapter 7|Title 4, chapter 7 of the Delaware Code]] stipulates that alcoholic liquor be sold only in specifically licensed establishments, and only between 9:00{{spaces}}a.m. and 1:00{{spaces}}a.m.<ref name="delcode4-8">{{cite web|url=https://delcode.delaware.gov/title4/c007/ |archive-date=June 26, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130626194611/http://delcode.delaware.gov/title4/c007/|title = Chapter 7. Regulatory Provisions|access-date=September 13, 2011|website=Online Delaware Code|url-status=live |publisher=Delaware General Assembly}}</ref> Until 2003, Delaware was among the several states enforcing [[blue law]]s and banned the sale of liquor on Sunday.<ref name="nathans2011">{{cite news |last=Aaron |first=Nathans |title=Del. package stores hope to benefit from Md. tax |newspaper=[[The News Journal]] |location=New Castle, Delaware |date=July 9, 2011 |url=http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011107100328 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120821195354/http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011107100328 |archive-date=August 21, 2012 |access-date=July 10, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Media==

=== Newspapers ===
Two [[daily newspaper]]s are based in Delaware, the ''[[Delaware State News]]'', based in Dover and covering the two southern counties, and ''[[The News Journal]]'' covering Wilmington and northern Delaware. The state is also served by [[List of newspapers in Delaware|several weekly, monthly and online publications]].

===Television===
No standalone television stations are based solely in Delaware. The northern part of the state is served by network stations in [[Philadelphia]] and the southern part by network stations in [[Salisbury, Maryland]]. Philadelphia's [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate, [[WPVI-TV]], maintains a news bureau in downtown Wilmington. Salisbury's [[CBS]] affiliate, [[WBOC-TV]], maintains bureaus in Dover and Milton. Three Philadelphia-market stations—[[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] member [[WHYY-TV]], [[Ion Television|Ion]] affiliate [[WPPX]], and [[MeTV]] affiliate [[WDPN-TV]]—all have Wilmington as their [[city of license]], but maintain transmitters at the market antenna farm in [[Roxborough, Philadelphia]] and do not produce any Delaware-centric programming.
{{Philly TV}}

===Radio===
{{Main|List of radio stations in Delaware}}

There are a numerous radio stations licensed in Delaware. [[WDDE]] 91.1 FM, [[WDEL 1150AM]], [[WHGE-LP|WHGE]]-LP 95.3 FM, WILM 1450 AM, [[WVCW (FM)|WVCW 99.5]], [[WMPH]] 91.7 FM, [[WSTW]] 93.7 FM, [[WTMC]] 1380 AM and [[WWTX]] 1290AM are licensed from Wilmington. [[WRDX]] 92.9 FM is licensed from Smyrna. [[WDOV]] 1410AM, [[WDSD]] 94.7 FM and WRTX 91.7 FM are licensed from Dover.

==Tourism==
[[File:Rehoboth Beach looking north at Delaware Avenue August 2021.jpeg|thumb|[[Rehoboth Beach, Delaware|Rehoboth Beach]], a popular vacation spot during the summer months]]
[[File:Fort Delaware LOC 384066pu.jpg|thumb|[[Fort Delaware State Park]] on [[Pea Patch Island]], a popular spot during the spring and summer; a ferry takes visitors to the fort from nearby [[Delaware City, Delaware|Delaware City]].]]
Delaware is home to [[First State National Historical Park]], a [[National Park Service]] unit composed of historic sites across the state including the [[New Castle Court House Museum|New Castle Court House, Green, and Sheriff's House]], [[Dover Green Historic District|Dover Green]], Beaver Valley, [[Fort Christina]], [[Holy Trinity Church (Old Swedes)|Old Swedes' Church]], [[John Dickinson House|John Dickinson Plantation]], and the [[Ryves Holt House]].<ref>{{cite web|title=First State National Historical Park-Frequently Asked Questions|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/frst/faqs.htm|access-date=June 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190620213847/https://www.nps.gov/frst/faqs.htm|archive-date=June 20, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Delaware has several [[List of museums in Delaware|museums]], [[:Category:National Wildlife Refuges in Delaware|wildlife refuges]], [[:Category:Parks in Delaware|parks]], [[:Category:Houses in Delaware|houses]], [[:Category:Lighthouses in Delaware|lighthouses]], and other [[:Category:National Register of Historic Places in Delaware|historic places]].

[[Rehoboth Beach, Delaware|Rehoboth Beach]], together with the towns of [[Lewes, Delaware|Lewes]], [[Dewey Beach, Delaware|Dewey Beach]], [[Bethany Beach, Delaware|Bethany Beach]], [[South Bethany, Delaware|South Bethany]], and [[Fenwick Island, Delaware|Fenwick Island]], comprise [[Delaware beaches|Delaware's beach resorts]]. Rehoboth Beach often bills itself as "The Nation's Summer Capital" because it is a frequent summer vacation destination for Washington, D.C., residents as well as visitors from Maryland, Virginia, and in lesser numbers, Pennsylvania. Vacationers are drawn for many reasons, including the town's charm, artistic appeal, nightlife, and tax-free shopping. According to SeaGrant Delaware, the Delaware beaches generate $6.9{{spaces}}billion annually and over $711{{spaces}}million in tax revenue.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Contribution of The Coastal Economy to the State of Delaware|publisher=SeaGrant Delaware|url=https://www.deseagrant.org/research/contribution-coastal-economy-state-delaware|access-date=April 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402082704/https://www.deseagrant.org/research/contribution-coastal-economy-state-delaware|archive-date=April 2, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Delaware is home to several festivals, fairs, and events. Some of the more notable festivals are the Riverfest held in [[Seaford, Delaware|Seaford]], the World Championship [[Punkin Chunkin#World Championship Punkin Chunkin|Punkin Chunkin]] formerly held at various locations throughout the state since 1986, the Rehoboth Beach Chocolate Festival, the Bethany Beach Jazz Funeral to mark the end of summer, the Apple Scrapple Festival held in [[Bridgeville, Delaware|Bridgeville]], the [[Clifford Brown]] Jazz Festival in Wilmington, the Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival, the Sea Witch Halloween Festival and Parade in Rehoboth Beach, the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival, the Nanticoke Indian Pow Wow in [[Oak Orchard, Delaware|Oak Orchard]], [[Firefly Music Festival]], and the Return Day Parade held after every election in [[Georgetown, Delaware|Georgetown]].

In 2015, tourism in Delaware generated $3.1{{spaces}}billion, which makes up five percent of the state's GDP. Delaware saw 8.5{{spaces}}million visitors in 2015, with the tourism industry employing 41,730 people, making it the 4th largest private employer in the state. Major origin markets for Delaware tourists include Philadelphia, [[Baltimore]], New York City, Washington, D.C., and [[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania|Harrisburg]], with 97% of tourists arriving to the state by car and 75% of tourists coming from a distance of {{convert|200|mi|km}} or less.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Value of Tourism 2015|publisher=Visit Delaware|url=https://www.visitsoutherndelaware.com/sites/default/files/The_Value_of_Tourism_2015_5e45388c-8bcf-428e-a246-8fbb26f6bb1d.pdf|access-date=February 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207123022/https://www.visitsoutherndelaware.com/sites/default/files/The_Value_of_Tourism_2015_5e45388c-8bcf-428e-a246-8fbb26f6bb1d.pdf|archive-date=February 7, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Delaware is also home to two large sporting venues. [[Dover Motor Speedway]] is a race track in Dover, and [[Daniel S. Frawley Stadium|Frawley Stadium]] in Wilmington is the home of the [[Wilmington Blue Rocks]], a Minor League Baseball team that is currently affiliated with the Washington Nationals.

==Education==
{{See also|List of high schools in Delaware}}
[[File:UDel Memorial and Magnolia Circle.JPG|thumb|The [[University of Delaware]] in [[Newark, Delaware|Newark]]]]
In the early 1920s, [[Pierre S. du Pont]] served as president of the state board of education. At the time, state law prohibited money raised from white taxpayers from being used to support the state's schools for black children. Appalled by the condition of the black schools, du Pont donated four million dollars to construct 86 new school buildings.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Okrent |first1=Daniel |title=Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition |year=2010 |publisher=Scribner |isbn=978-0743277020 |at=loc 5645(Kindle) |author-link=Daniel Okrent}}</ref>

Delaware was the origin of ''[[Belton v. Gebhart]]'' (1952), one of the four cases which were combined into ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'', the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] decision that led to the end of officially [[racial segregation|segregated]] public schools. Significantly, ''Belton'' was the only case in which the state court found for the plaintiffs, thereby ruling that segregation is unconstitutional.

Unlike many states, Delaware's educational system is centralized in a state Superintendent of Education, with local school boards retaining control over taxation and some curriculum decisions. This centralized system, combined with the small size of the state, likely contributed to Delaware becoming the first state, after completion of a three-year, $30{{spaces}}million program ending in 1999, to wire every K-12 classroom in the state to the Internet.<ref>{{cite conference|last=Millard|first=Sandra K.|date=October 29, 1999|title=University of Delaware Library / Statewide K–12 Partnership Providing Online Resources and Training: UDLib/SEARCH|url=https://archive.org/details/ERIC_ED450718/|conference=EDUCAUSE '99|location=Long Beach, CA|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

{{As of|2011}}, the Delaware Department of Education had authorized the founding of 25 charter schools in the state, one of them being [[Single-sex education|all-girls]].<ref name="Dobo20110612">{{cite news |last=Dobo |first=Nichole |title=Delaware schools: Checkered past goes unchecked |access-date=June 13, 2011 |newspaper=[[The News Journal]] |url=http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110612/NEWS03/106120369/-1/NLETTER01/Checkered-past-goes-unchecked?source=nletter-news |date=June 12, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623091720/http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110612/NEWS03/106120369/-1/NLETTER01/Checkered-past-goes-unchecked?source=nletter-news |archive-date=June 23, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2010, Delaware had the largest percentage of students attending private schools of places within the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.delawarepublic.org/2010-12-16/private-schools-increasing-financial-aid-to-retain-students|title=Private schools increasing financial aid to retain students |publisher=[[Delaware Public Media]]|date=December 16, 2010|access-date=March 30, 2025|quote=In Delaware, with the nation's highest percentage of private school enrollment,[...]}}</ref>

All teachers in the State's public school districts are unionized.<ref name="dobo2012">{{Cite news|last=Dobo|first=Nichole|publication-date=January 19, 2012|year=2012|title=Charter votes to join union|newspaper=[[The News Journal]]|at=delawareonline|access-date=January 19, 2012|url=http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20120119/NEWS03/201190345/-1/NLETTER01/Charter-votes-to-join-union|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609103243/http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20120119/NEWS03/201190345/-1/NLETTER01/Charter-votes-to-join-union|archive-date=June 9, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> {{As of|January 2012}}, none of the State's charter schools are members of a teachers [[Trade union|union]].<ref name="dobo2012" /> One of the State's teachers' unions is Delaware State Education Association (DSEA).<ref name="dobo2012" />

===Colleges and universities===
* [[Delaware College of Art and Design]]
* [[Delaware State University]]
* [[Delaware Technical Community College]]
* [[Goldey-Beacom College]]
* [[University of Delaware]]—Ranked 63rd in the U.S. and in top 201–250 in the world ([[Times Higher Education World University Rankings]] 2018)
* [[Widener University School of Law]]
* [[Wilmington University]]

==Transportation==
[[File:1969 Delaware license plate 000000 sample.jpg|thumb|Delaware's [[Vehicle registration plates of Delaware|license plate]] design, introduced in 1959, is the longest-running one in U.S. history.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Auto tag No. 6 likely to sell for $1 million |author=Harlow, Summer |journal=The News Journal |date=January 20, 2008 |url=http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080120/NEWS/801200351&template=printart |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923213454/http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20080120%2FNEWS%2F801200351&template=printart |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 23, 2015 }}</ref>]]

The transportation system in Delaware is under the governance and supervision of the [[Delaware Department of Transportation]] (DelDOT).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deldot.gov/index.shtml|title=State of Delaware Department of Transportation|access-date=June 30, 2006|publisher=State of Delaware|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060701234021/http://www.deldot.gov/index.shtml|archive-date=July 1, 2006|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Staff (Delaware Department of Transportation Public Relations)|year=2005|title=Delaware Transportation Facts 2005|publisher=DelDOT Division of Planning|url=http://www.deldot.gov/information/pubs_forms/fact_book/pdf/2005/2005_deldot_fact_book.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080909223639/http://www.deldot.gov/information/pubs_forms/fact_book/pdf/2005/2005_deldot_fact_book.pdf|archive-date=September 9, 2008}}</ref> Funding for DelDOT projects is drawn, in part, from the Delaware Transportation Trust Fund, established in 1987 to help stabilize transportation funding; the availability of the Trust led to a gradual separation of DelDOT operations from other Delaware state operations.<ref name=montgomery2012nj>{{Cite news|last=Montgomery|first=Jeff|date=January 29, 2011|title=Crisis ahead on Delaware roads|newspaper=[[The News Journal]]|at=delawareonline|access-date=January 29, 2012|url=http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20120129/NEWS/201290341/-1/NLETTER01/Crisis-ahead-on-Delaware-roads|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609105718/http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20120129/NEWS/201290341/-1/NLETTER01/Crisis-ahead-on-Delaware-roads|archive-date=June 9, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> DelDOT manages programs such as a Delaware [[Adopt-a-Highway]] program, major road route snow removal, traffic control infrastructure (signs and signals), toll road management, Delaware [[Division of Motor Vehicles]], the Delaware Transit Corporation (branded as "[[DART First State]]", the state government public transportation organization), and others.

In 2009, DelDOT maintained 13,507 lane-miles, totaling 89 percent of the state's public roadway system, the rest being under the supervision of individual municipalities. This far exceeds the national average (20 percent) for state department of transportation maintenance responsibility.<ref name=deldotfactbook>{{cite book |title=Delaware Transportation Facts |publisher=Delaware Department of Transportation |year=2009 |url=http://www.deldot.gov/information/pubs_forms/fact_book/pdf/2009/2009_fact_book.pdf |access-date=April 16, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511185126/http://deldot.gov/information/pubs_forms/fact_book/pdf/2009/2009_fact_book.pdf |archive-date=May 11, 2012 }}</ref>

===Roads===
{{Further|Delaware State Route System}}
[[File:DE 1 NB from DE 299 overpass.jpeg|thumb|[[Delaware Route&nbsp;1]] (DE{{spaces}}1) is a partial [[toll road]] linking [[Fenwick Island, Delaware|Fenwick Island]] and [[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]].]]
One major branch of the U.S. [[Interstate Highway System]], [[Interstate 95 in Delaware|Interstate{{spaces}}95]] (I-95), crosses Delaware southwest-to-northeast across New Castle County. Two [[Auxiliary Interstate Highway]] routes are also located in the state. [[Interstate 495 (Delaware)|Interstate 495 (I-495)]] is an eastern bypass of Wilmington. [[Interstate 295 (Delaware–Pennsylvania)|Interstate 295 (I-295)]] is a bypass of Philadelphia which begins south of Wilmington. In addition to Interstate highways, there are six [[U.S. Highway System|U.S. highways]] that serve Delaware: [[U.S. Route 9 in Delaware|U.S.{{spaces}}9]], [[U.S. Route 13 in Delaware|U.S.{{spaces}}13]], [[U.S. Route 40 in Delaware|U.S.{{spaces}}40]], [[U.S. Route 113 in Delaware|U.S.{{spaces}}113]], [[U.S. Route 202 in Delaware|U.S.{{spaces}}202]], and [[U.S. Route 301 in Delaware|U.S.{{spaces}}301]]. There are also several state highways that cross the state of Delaware; a few of them include [[Delaware Route 1|DE{{spaces}}1]], [[Delaware Route 9|DE{{spaces}}9]], and [[Delaware Route 404|DE{{spaces}}404]]. U.S.{{spaces}}13 and DE{{spaces}}1 are primary north–south highways connecting Wilmington and Pennsylvania with Maryland, with DE{{spaces}}1 serving as the main route between Wilmington and the [[Delaware beaches]]. DE{{spaces}}9 is a north–south highway connecting Dover and Wilmington via a scenic route along the [[Delaware Bay]]. U.S.{{spaces}}40 is a primary east–west route, connecting Maryland with New Jersey. DE{{spaces}}404 is another primary east–west highway connecting the [[Chesapeake Bay Bridge]] in Maryland with the Delaware beaches. The state also operates three toll highways, the Delaware Turnpike, which is I-95, between Maryland and New Castle; the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway, which is DE{{spaces}}1, between Wilmington and Dover; and the U.S. 301 toll road between the Maryland border and DE{{spaces}}1 in New Castle County.

A bicycle route, [[Delaware Bicycle Route&nbsp;1]], spans the north–south length of the state from the Maryland border in [[Fenwick Island, Delaware|Fenwick Island]] to the Pennsylvania border north of [[Montchanin, Delaware|Montchanin]]. It is the first of several signed bike routes planned in Delaware.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/bike_and_ped/bike_facilities/pages/regional_routes.shtml|publisher=Delaware Department of Transportation|title=Projects: Delaware Bicycle Facility Master Plan|access-date=September 28, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918130554/https://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/bike_and_ped/bike_facilities/pages/regional_routes.shtml|archive-date=September 18, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Delaware has about 875 bridges,<ref name="Anderson 2022 c677">{{cite web | last=Anderson | first=Craig | title=Delaware's bridges ranked fourth in nation | website=Bay to Bay News | date=February 6, 2022 | url=https://baytobaynews.com/stories/bridges,70418 | access-date=February 14, 2024}}</ref> 95 percent of which are under the supervision of DelDOT. About 30 percent of all Delaware bridges were built before 1950, and about 60 percent of the number are included in the [[National Bridge Inventory]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=2024 - Bridge Condition by Highway System - National Bridge Inventory - Bridge Inspection - Safety Inspection - Bridges & Structures - Federal Highway Administration |url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/nbi/no10/condition24.cfm |access-date=2026-03-09 |website=www.fhwa.dot.gov}}</ref>{{better source|date=March 2026}} Some bridges not under DelDOT supervision includes the four bridges on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, which are under the jurisdiction of the [[U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]],<ref name="Mace 2023 b637">{{cite web | last=Mace | first=Ben | title=DelDOT announces St. Georges Bridge to be closed 18 months for repairs | website=Delawareonline.com | date=January 27, 2023 | url=https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2023/01/27/deldot-announces-st-georges-bridge-to-be-closed-18-months-for-repairs/69847264007/ | access-date=February 14, 2024}}</ref><ref name="
 Philadelphia District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
 2023 c005">{{cite web | title=Philadelphia District Civil Works – Chesapeake and Delaware Canal | website=Philadelphia District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers | date=August 22, 2023 | url=https://www.nap.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Chesapeake-Delaware-Canal/ | ref={{sfnref |   Philadelphia District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers  | 2023}} | access-date=February 14, 2024 | archive-date=September 28, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928124813/http://www.nap.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/ChesapeakeDelawareCanal.aspx | url-status=dead }}</ref> and the [[Delaware Memorial Bridge]], which is under the bi-state [[Delaware River and Bay Authority]].<ref name="Feliciano 2023 o698">{{cite web | last=Feliciano | first=Octavia | title=Delaware River and Bay Authority plans a new ferry fleet | website=Delaware Currents | date=April 21, 2023 | url=https://delawarecurrents.org/2023/04/21/delaware-bay-ferries/ | access-date=February 14, 2024}}</ref><ref name="Perez-Gonzalez 2023 t619">{{cite web | last=Perez-Gonzalez | first=Johnny | title=$71 million Delaware Memorial Bridge resurfacing project complete | website=WHYY | date=November 11, 2023 | url=https://whyy.org/articles/delaware-memorial-bridge-resurfacing-project-finished/ | access-date=February 14, 2024}}</ref>

It has been noted that the [[tar and chip]] composition of secondary roads in Sussex County makes them more prone to [[Road surface#Surface deterioration|deterioration]] than are the [[Asphalt concrete|asphalt]] roadways in almost the rest of the state.<ref name=nj20110417>{{cite news |location=Wilmington, Delaware |title=Anything Once: On the road, taking plenty of pot shots |author=Justin Williams |url=http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110417/NEWS02/304170008/-1/NLETTER01/On-the-road--taking-plenty-of-pot-shots |newspaper=News Journal |date=April 17, 2011 |at=DelawareOnline |access-date=April 17, 2011 }}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Among these roads, Sussex (county road) 236 is among the most problematic.<ref name=nj20110417/>

===Ferries===
[[File:MV Delaware DEE1.jpg|thumb|The [[Cape May–Lewes Ferry]]]]
Three ferries operate in the state of Delaware:
* [[Cape May–Lewes Ferry]] crosses the mouth of [[Delaware Bay]] between [[Lewes, Delaware]] and [[Cape May, New Jersey]].
* [[Woodland Ferry]] (a [[cable ferry]]) crosses the [[Nanticoke River]] southwest of [[Seaford, Delaware|Seaford]].
* [[Forts Ferry Crossing]] connects [[Delaware City]] with [[Fort Delaware]] and [[Fort Mott (New Jersey)|Fort Mott]], New Jersey.

===Rail and bus===
{{Delaware rail network}}
[[File:Wilmington Station from parking garage, July 2014.JPG|thumb|[[Wilmington station (Delaware)|Wilmington Station]] in [[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]]]]
[[Amtrak]] has two stations in Delaware along the [[Northeast Corridor]]; the relatively quiet [[Newark Rail Station (Delaware)|Newark Rail Station]] in [[Newark, Delaware|Newark]], and the busier [[Wilmington station (Delaware)|Wilmington Station]] in [[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]]. The Northeast Corridor is also served by [[SEPTA]]'s [[Wilmington/Newark Line]], part of [[SEPTA Regional Rail]], which serves [[Claymont station|Claymont]], Wilmington, [[Churchmans Crossing, Delaware|Churchmans Crossing]], and Newark.

Two [[Class I railroad]]s, [[Norfolk Southern]] and [[CSX]], provide freight rail service in northern New Castle County. Norfolk Southern provides freight service along the Northeast Corridor and to industrial areas in [[Edgemoor, Delaware|Edgemoor]], [[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]], and [[Delaware City, Delaware|Delaware City]]. CSX's [[Philadelphia Subdivision]] passes through northern New Castle County parallel to the Amtrak Northeast Corridor. Multiple [[short-line railroad]]s provide freight service in Delaware. The [[Delmarva Central Railroad]] operates the most trackage of the short-line railroads, running from an interchange with Norfolk Southern in [[Porter, Delaware|Porter]] south through [[Dover, Delaware|Dover]], [[Harrington, Delaware|Harrington]], and [[Seaford, Delaware|Seaford]] to [[Delmar, Delaware|Delmar]], with another line running from Harrington to [[Frankford, Delaware|Frankford]] and branches from [[Ellendale, Delaware|Ellendale]] to [[Milton, Delaware|Milton]] and from [[Georgetown, Delaware|Georgetown]] to [[Gravel Hill, Delaware|Gravel Hill]]. The Delmarva Central Railroad connects with the [[Maryland and Delaware Railroad]], which serves local customers in Sussex County.<ref name=dcr>{{cite web|title=Delmarva Central Railroad|publisher=Carload Express|url=http://carloadexpress.com/railroads/delmarva-central-railroad/|access-date=March 27, 2017|date=November 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170524215403/http://carloadexpress.com/railroads/delmarva-central-railroad/|archive-date=May 24, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> CSX connects with the freight/[[heritage railroad|heritage]] operation, the [[Wilmington and Western Railroad]], based in Wilmington and the [[East Penn Railroad]], which operates a line from Wilmington to [[Coatesville, Pennsylvania]].

The last north–south passenger trains through the main part of Delaware was the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]'s local Wilmington-Delmar train in 1965.<ref>Pennsylvania Railroad local division timetable, 1965</ref><ref>Freight only: {{cite journal |title=Pennsylvania Railroad, Table 155|journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=99 |issue=7 |date=December 1966}}</ref> This was a successor to the ''[[Del-Mar-Va Express]]'' and ''Cavalier'', which had run from Philadelphia through the state's interior, to the end of the Delmarva Peninsula until the mid-1950s.<ref>{{Citation |first = Christopher T |last = Baer |title = Named Trains of The PRR Including Through Services |year = 2009 |url = http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR%20NAMED%20TRAINS.pdf |publisher = PRRTHS |access-date = July 25, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131014024426/http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR%20NAMED%20TRAINS.pdf |archive-date = October 14, 2013 |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>All named trains were gone by the end of 1957 {{cite journal |title=Pennsylvania Railroad, Table 65|journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=90 |issue=7 |date=December 1957}}</ref>

The [[DART First State]] public transportation system was named "Most Outstanding Public Transportation System" in 2003 by the [[American Public Transportation Association]]. Coverage of the system is broad within northern New Castle County with close association to major highways in Kent and Sussex counties. The system includes bus, subsidized passenger rail operated by Philadelphia transit agency SEPTA, and subsidized taxi and [[paratransit]] modes. The paratransit system, consisting of a statewide door-to-door bus service for the elderly and disabled, has been described by a Delaware state report as "the most generous paratransit system in the United States".<ref name=montgomery2012nj/> {{As of|2012}}, fees for the paratransit service have not changed since 1988.<ref name=montgomery2012nj/>

===Air===
{{See also|Aviation in Delaware}}

{{As of|2023}}, Delaware is served exclusively by [[Avelo Airlines]] out of [[Wilmington Airport (Delaware)|Wilmington Airport]], launching five routes to Florida on February 1.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rains |first=Taylor |date=October 22, 2022 |title=The only US state without commercial airline service is getting 5 new routes to Florida next year — see the full list |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/low-cost-startup-launching-5-new-routes-abandoned-delaware-list-2022-10 |work=Business Insider |access-date=February 1, 2023}}</ref> This put an end to an eight-month period during which Delaware had no scheduled air service, one of several since 1991.<ref>See [[Wilmington Airport (Delaware)|Wilmington Airport]] for history and details.</ref> Various airlines had served Wilmington Airport, the latest departure being [[Frontier Airlines]] in June 2022.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rains |first=Taylor |date=May 16, 2022 |title=Frontier Airlines is ending flights to Delaware, leaving the state without any airline service |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/delaware-to-become-the-only-state-without-airline-service-2022-5 |work=Business Insider |access-date=February 1, 2023}}</ref>

Delaware is centrally situated in the [[Northeast megalopolis]] region of cities along [[Interstate 95|I-95]]. Therefore, Delaware [[commercial airline]] passengers most frequently use [[Philadelphia International Airport]] (PHL), [[Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport]] (BWI) and [[Washington Dulles International Airport]] (IAD) for domestic and international transit. Residents of Sussex County will also use [[Wicomico Regional Airport]] (SBY), as it is located less than {{convert|10|mi|km}} from the Delaware border. [[Atlantic City International Airport]] (ACY), [[Newark Liberty International Airport]] (EWR), and [[Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport]] (DCA) are also within a {{convert|100|mi|km|adj=on}} radius of New Castle County.

Other general aviation airports in Delaware include [[Summit Airport (Delaware)|Summit Airport]] near [[Middletown, Delaware|Middletown]], [[Delaware Airpark]] near [[Cheswold, Delaware|Cheswold]], and [[Delaware Coastal Airport]] near [[Georgetown, Delaware|Georgetown]].

[[Dover Air Force Base]], one of the largest in the country, is home to the [[436th Airlift Wing]] and the [[512th Airlift Wing]]. In addition to its other responsibilities in the [[Air Mobility Command]], it serves as the entry point and [[mortuary]] for U.S. military personnel (and some civilians) who die overseas.

==Law and government==
Delaware's fourth and current constitution, adopted in 1897, provides for executive, judicial and legislative branches.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Delaware Constitution of 1897 as amended|url=https://delcode.delaware.gov/constitution/|website=State of Delaware|access-date=August 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160908150654/http://www.delcode.delaware.gov/constitution/|archive-date=September 8, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Legislative branch===
[[File:Delaware State Capitol.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Delaware General Assembly]] meets in [[Delaware Legislative Hall]] in [[Dover, Delaware|Dover]].]]
The [[Delaware General Assembly]] consists of a [[Delaware House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] with 41 members and a [[Delaware Senate|Senate]] with 21 members. It sits in Dover, the state capital. Representatives are elected to two-year terms, while senators are elected to four-year terms. The Senate confirms judicial and other nominees appointed by the governor.

Delaware's U.S. Senators are [[Lisa Blunt Rochester]] (Democrat) and [[Chris Coons]]  (Democrat). Delaware's single U.S. Representative is [[Sarah McBride]] (Democrat).

===Judicial branch===
The Delaware Constitution establishes a number of courts:
* The [[Delaware Supreme Court]] is the state's highest court.
* The [[Delaware Superior Court]] is the state's trial court of general jurisdiction.
* The [[Delaware Court of Chancery]] deals primarily in corporate disputes.
* The [[Family court#In the United States|Family Court]] handles domestic and custody matters.
* The [[Delaware Court of Common Pleas]] has jurisdiction over a limited class of civil and criminal matters.

Minor non-constitutional courts include the [[Justice of the Peace]] Courts and Aldermen's Courts.

Significantly, Delaware has one of the few remaining Courts of [[Court of equity|Chancery]] in the nation, which has jurisdiction over [[Equity (law)|equity]] cases, the vast majority of which are corporate disputes, many relating to [[mergers and acquisitions]]. The [[Delaware Court of Chancery|Court of Chancery]] and the Delaware Supreme Court have developed a worldwide reputation for rendering concise opinions concerning [[corporate law]] which generally (but not always) grant broad discretion to corporate boards of directors and officers. In addition, the [[Delaware General Corporation Law]], which forms the basis of the Courts' opinions, is widely regarded as giving great flexibility to corporations to manage their affairs. For these reasons, Delaware is considered to have the most business-friendly legal system in the United States; therefore a great number of companies are [[incorporated in Delaware]], including 60% of the companies listed on the [[New York Stock Exchange]].<ref name="divcorpabout">{{cite web|url= https://corp.delaware.gov/aboutagency/ |title= About Agency|access-date= July 23, 2008 |publisher =Delaware Division of Corporations|url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070228002805/http://www.state.de.us/corp/aboutagency.shtml |archive-date=February 28, 2007}}</ref>

Delaware was the last U.S. state to use [[judicial corporal punishment]], in 1952.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Pleck|first=Elizabeth Hefkin|title=Domestic Tyranny: The Making of American Social Policy Against Family Violence from Colonial Times to the Present|publisher=University of Illinois Press|year=2004|page=120|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zN2A2shTz6YC&pg=PA120|isbn=978-0-252-07175-1|access-date=October 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151231231119/https://books.google.com/books?id=zN2A2shTz6YC&pg=PA120|archive-date=December 31, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Executive branch===
{{See also|List of governors of Delaware}}

The executive branch is headed by the [[Governor of Delaware]]. The current governor is [[Matt Meyer]] (Democrat), who took office January 21, 2025. The lieutenant governor is [[Kyle Evans Gay]]. The governor presents a "[[State of the State]]" speech to a [[joint session]] of the Delaware legislature annually.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.delawarestatehouse.com/ |year=2010 |title=Delaware House of Representatives Minority Caucus |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416030742/http://www.delawarestatehouse.com/ |archive-date=April 16, 2009 |access-date=January 24, 2001 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The executive branch also consists of the [[Attorney General of Delaware]] currently held by [[Kathy Jennings]], the State Treasurer currently held by [[Colleen Davis]], the Auditor of Accounts currently held by [[Lydia York]] and the Insurance Commissioner currently held by [[Trinidad Navarro]].

===Counties===

Delaware is subdivided into [[List of counties in Delaware|three counties]]; from north to south they are [[New Castle County, Delaware|New Castle]], [[Kent County, Delaware|Kent]] and [[Sussex County, Delaware|Sussex]]. This is the fewest among all states. Each county elects its own legislative body (known in New Castle and Sussex counties as '''County Council''', and in Kent County as '''Levy Court'''), which deal primarily in zoning and development issues. Most functions which are handled on a county-by-county basis in other states—such as court and law enforcement—have been centralized in Delaware, leading to a significant concentration of power in the Delaware state government. The counties were historically divided into [[Hundred (country subdivision)|hundreds]], which were used as tax reporting and voting districts until the 1960s, but now serve no administrative role, their only current official legal use being in real estate title descriptions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://history.delaware.gov/museums/vc/vc_hundreds.shtml |title=The Hundreds of Delaware |website=Department of State: Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs |publisher=Delaware State Archives |access-date=September 28, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100617061234/http://history.delaware.gov/museums/vc/vc_hundreds.shtml |archive-date=June 17, 2010 }}</ref>

===Politics===
{{Main|Politics of Delaware}}

[[File:Joe Biden presidential portrait (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Joe Biden]], the 46th president of the United States and a [[United States Senate|U.S. senator]] from Delaware from 1973 to 2009]]
The [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] holds a [[pluralism (political theory)|plurality]] of registrations in Delaware. Currently, Democrats hold all positions of authority in Delaware, as well as majorities in the state Senate and House. The Democrats have held the governorship since 1993, having won the last seven gubernatorial elections. Democrats presently hold all the nine statewide elected offices, while the Republicans last won any statewide offices in 2014, [[State Auditor]] and [[State Treasurer]].

During the [[First Party System|First]] and [[Second Party System]]s, Delaware was a stronghold for the [[Federalist Party|Federalist]] and [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] Parties, respectively. After a relatively brief adherence to the Democratic Solid South following the [[American Civil War|US Civil War]], Delaware became a Republican-leaning state from [[1896 United States presidential election|1896]] through [[1948 United States presidential election|1948]], voting for losing Republicans [[Charles Evans Hughes]] in [[1916 United States presidential election|1916]], [[Herbert Hoover]] in [[1932 United States presidential election|1932]], and [[Thomas E. Dewey|Thomas Dewey]] in 1948.

During the second half of the 20th century, Delaware was a bellwether state, voting for the winner of every presidential election from [[1952 United States presidential election|1952]] through [[1996 United States presidential election|1996]]. Delaware's bellwether status came to an end when Delaware voted for [[Al Gore]] in [[2000 United States presidential election|2000]] by 13%. Subsequent elections have continued to demonstrate Delaware's current strong Democratic lean: [[John Kerry]] carried the First State by 8% in [[2004 United States presidential election|2004]]; [[Barack Obama]] carried it by 25% and by 19% in his two elections of [[2008 United States presidential election|2008]] and [[2012 United States presidential election|2012]]; and [[Hillary Clinton]] carried it by 11% as she lost the Electoral College in [[2016 United States presidential election|2016]]. In 2020, Delaware native (and Barack Obama's former vice president and running mate) Joe Biden headed the Democratic ticket; he carried his home state by just shy of 19% en route to a national 4.5% win.<ref>{{Cite news|date=November 3, 2020|title=Delaware Election Results|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/results-delaware.html}}</ref>

The dominant factor in Delaware's political shift has been the strong Democratic trend in heavily urbanized [[New Castle County, Delaware|New Castle County]], home to 55% of Delaware's population. New Castle County has not voted Republican in a presidential election since [[1988 United States presidential election|1988]], and has given Democrats over 60% of its vote in every election from 2004 on. In 1992, 2000, 2004, and 2016, the Republican presidential candidate carried both Kent and Sussex but lost by double digits each time in New Castle County, which was a large enough margin to tip the state to the Democrats. New Castle County also elects a substantial majority of the state legislature; 27 of the 41 state house districts and 14 of the 21 state senate districts are based in New Castle County.

In a 2020 study, Delaware was ranked as the 18th hardest state for citizens to vote in.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=J. Pomante II |first1=Michael |last2=Li |first2=Quan |title=Cost of Voting in the American States: 2020 |journal=Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy |date=December 15, 2020 |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=503–509 |doi=10.1089/elj.2020.0666 |s2cid=225139517 |doi-access=free  |issn=1533-1296}}</ref>

===Freedom of information===
{{See also|Freedom of information in the United States#State legislation}}

Each of the 50 states of the United States has passed some form of freedom of information legislation, which provides a mechanism for the general public to request information of the government.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.foiadvocates.com/records.html|title=State Public Record Laws|website=FOIAdvocates}}</ref> In 2011 Delaware passed legislation placing a 15 business day time limit on addressing freedom-of-information requests, to either produce information or an explanation of why such information would take longer than this time to produce.<ref>{{Citation | last1 = Bennett | first1 = Rep. | first2 = Sen. | last2 = Peterson | first3 = Sen. | last3 = Katz | date = January 6, 2011 | publication-date = April 15, 2011 | contribution = An Act to Amend Title 29 of the Delaware Code Relating to the Freedom of Information Act | access-date = April 22, 2011 | contribution-url = http://legis.delaware.gov/lis/lis146.nsf/vwlegislation/HB+5 | edition = online | title = Delaware Code | volume = 78 | at = 10 | id = House Bill # 5 | url = https://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/lis146.nsf/vwLegislation/HB+5/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111002095945/http://legis.delaware.gov/lis/lis146.nsf/vwlegislation/HB+5 | archive-date = October 2, 2011 | url-status = live }}</ref> A bill aimed at restricting Freedom of Information Act requests, Senate Bill 155, was discussed in committee.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://delawarelive.com/speakers-at-senate-meeting-strongly-oppose-changing-foia/ | title=Speakers at Senate meeting strongly oppose changing FOIA &#124; Delaware Live News | date=June 9, 2021 }}</ref>

===Taxation===

Tax is collected by the [[Delaware Division of Revenue]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://revenue.delaware.gov/|title=Division of Revenue—Department of Finance—State of Delaware|website=Division of Revenue—State of Delaware}}</ref>

Delaware has six different [[income tax]] brackets, ranging from 2.2% to 5.95%. The state does not assess [[sales tax]] on consumers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Avery |first=Brett Holzhauer,Dan |date=2021-09-03 |title=What states have no sales tax? |url=https://www.cnbc.com/select/states-with-no-sales-tax/ |access-date=2025-12-30 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sadek |first=Nicole |date=2022-06-27 |title='Delaware is everywhere': how a little-known tax haven made the rules for corporate America - ICIJ |url=https://www.icij.org/inside-icij/2022/06/delaware-is-everywhere-how-a-little-known-tax-haven-made-the-rules-for-corporate-america/ |access-date=2025-12-30 |language=en-US}}</ref> The state does, however, impose a tax on the gross receipts of most businesses. Business and occupational license tax rates range from 0.096% to 1.92%, depending on the category of business activity.

Delaware does not assess a state-level tax on real or personal property. Real estate is subject to county [[property tax]]es, school district property taxes, vocational school district taxes, and, if located within an incorporated area, municipal property taxes.

[[Gambling in the United States#Authorized types|Gambling]] provides significant revenue to the state. For instance, the [[Delaware Park Racetrack#Casino|casino at Delaware Park Racetrack]] provided more than $100{{spaces}}million to the state in 2010.<ref>{{cite news |title=Delaware crime: Wave of brazen attacks sounds alarm at casino |first=Chris |last=Barrish |url=http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110423/NEWS01/104230342/-1/NLETTER01/Wave-of-brazen-attacks-sounds-alarm-at-casino |location=Wilmington, DE |date=April 23, 2011 |work=Delaware Online |access-date=April 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201210192633/https://www.webcitation.org/5ygCHfM0y?url=http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110423/NEWS01/104230342/-1/NLETTER01/Wave-of-brazen-attacks-sounds-alarm-at-casino |archive-date=December 10, 2020 |at=1st page of online article archived via link provided |url-status=live }}</ref>

In June 2018, Delaware became the first U.S. state to legalize [[sports betting]] following the [[Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992#US Supreme Court decision|Supreme Court ruling to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992]] (PASPA).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bestbettingsites.uk/news/sports-betting/delaware-becomes-first-state-legalise-sports-betting.html | title=Delaware becomes the first state to legalise sports betting | access-date=June 22, 2018 | date=June 2, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622140539/https://www.bestbettingsites.uk/news/sports-betting/delaware-becomes-first-state-legalise-sports-betting.html | archive-date=June 22, 2018 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Voter registration===
{| class=wikitable
|+ Voter registration and party enrollment {{as of|2025|October|lc=y}}:<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://elections.delaware.gov/candidates/regtotals.shtml |title=Voter Registration Totals - Delaware Department of Elections |access-date=March 3, 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119195904/https://elections.delaware.gov/reports/regtotals/2022/vrt_PP20220101.pdf |archive-date=January 19, 2022 }}</ref>
|-
! colspan = 2 | Party
! Number of voters
! Percentage
|-
| {{party color cell|Democratic Party (United States)}}
| [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 334,999
| style="text-align:center;"| 41.89%
|-
| {{party color cell|Independent politician}}
| Unaffiliated/nonpartisan
| style="text-align:center;"| 241,063
| style="text-align:center;"| 30.15%
|-
| {{party color cell|Republican Party (United States)}}
| [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 202,188
| style="text-align:center;"| 25.29%
|-
| {{party color cell| Independent politician}}
| [[Independent Party of Delaware]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 12,247
| style="text-align:center;"| 1.53%
|-
| {{party color cell| Independent politician}}
| Minor parties
| style="text-align:center;"| 9,084
| style="text-align:center;"| 1.14%
|-
! colspan = 2 | Total
! style="text-align:center;"| 799,581
! style="text-align:center;"| 100.00%
|}

==Culture==
===Festivals===
{{Main|Delaware festivals}}

===Sports===
[[File:2017 Apache Warrior 400 from turn 1.jpg|thumb|[[NASCAR]] racing at [[Dover Motor Speedway]] in [[Dover, Delaware|Dover]]]]
;Professional teams
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Team
!Sport
!League
|-
|[[Delaware Black Foxes]]
|[[Rugby league]]
|[[USA Rugby League]]
|-
|[[Delaware Blue Coats]]
|[[Basketball]]
|[[NBA G League]]
|-
|[[Delaware Thunder]]
|[[Ice hockey|Hockey]]
|[[Federal Prospects Hockey League]]
|-
|[[Diamond State Roller Girls]]
|[[Roller derby]]
|[[Women's Flat Track Derby Association]]
|-
|[[Wilmington Blue Rocks]]
|[[Baseball]]
|[[South Atlantic League]]
|}

As Delaware has no franchises in the major American professional sports leagues, many Delawareans follow either [[Sports in Philadelphia|Philadelphia]] or [[Sports in Baltimore|Baltimore]] teams. In the [[Women's National Basketball Association|WNBA]], the [[Washington Mystics]] enjoy a major following due to the presence of Wilmington native and University of Delaware product [[Elena Delle Donne]]. The [[Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football|University of Delaware's football team]] has a large following throughout the state, with the [[Delaware State Hornets football|Delaware State University]] and [[Wesley College (Delaware)|Wesley College]] teams also enjoying a smaller degree of support.

Delaware is home to [[Dover Motor Speedway]] and [[Bally's Dover]]. Dover Motor Speedway, also known as the ''Monster Mile'', is one of only 10 tracks in the nation to have hosted 100 or more [[NASCAR]] Cup Series races. Bally's Dover is a popular [[harness racing]] facility. It is the only co-located horse- and car-racing facility in the nation, with the Bally's Dover track located inside the Dover Motor Speedway track.

Delaware is represented in [[USA Rugby League|rugby]] by the Delaware Black Foxes, a 2015 expansion club.

Delaware has been home to two [[professional wrestling]] outfits: [[Combat Zone Wrestling]] (CZW) and its [[CZW Tournament of Death|Tournament of Death]], and [[East Coast Wrestling Association|ECWA]] with its annual [[ECWA Super 8 Tournament|Super{{spaces}}8 Tournament]].

Delaware's official state sport is [[bicycling]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.legis.delaware.gov/LIS/LIS147.NSF/vwLegislation/HB+235 |title=An Act to Amend Title 29 of the Delaware Code Relating to the Designation of a State Sport|access-date=July 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303213444/http://www.legis.delaware.gov/LIS/LIS147.NSF/vwLegislation/HB+235 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Foreign affairs==

=== Sister state ===
Delaware has had a foreign [[Paradiplomacy#United States|sister state]] in Japan, named [[Miyagi Prefecture]].<ref>{{cite web|author=McDowell|author2=Sen. McBride|author3=Rep. George|date=March 22, 2011|publication-date=March 23, 2011|title=Mourning Those Lost in the Recent Earthquake and Related Disasters that have Befallen Japan, and Expressing the Thoughts and Prayers of All Delawareans for the Citizens of Our Sister State of Miyagi Prefecture During These Difficult Times|access-date=April 22, 2011|id=Senate Joint Resolution # 3|url=https://legis.delaware.gov/AllLegislation/146|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002100208/http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/LIS146.NSF/vwlegislation/58CC58989B6361AD8525785B005381FB|archive-date=October 2, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> These two have shared relations since 1997, and have had [[Student exchange program|exchange programs available for students]] that were briefly paused in wake of the [[earthquake]] and the [[tsunami]] that ensued in the [[Prefectures of Japan|prefecture]] during March 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Prado |first=Antonio |title=Delaware's sister state in Japan, Miyagi Prefecture, thanks Diamond State for help |url=https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2012/01/24/delaware-s-sister-state-in/63999237007/ |access-date=February 5, 2024 |website=The News Journal |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Delawareans ==

{{Main|List of people from Delaware}}

Prominent Delawareans include the [[du Pont family]] of politicians and businesspersons, and the 46th [[president of the United States]] [[Joe Biden]]. Biden's family moved to Delaware during his childhood, and he later represented Delaware for 36 years in the [[United States Senate]] from 1973 to 2009, before becoming 47th [[vice president of the United States]] from 2009 to 2017.

==See also==
* [[Index of Delaware-related articles]]
* [[Outline of Delaware]]
* '''''<small>{{portal-inline|Delaware}}</small>'''''
* '''''<small>{{portal-inline|United States}}</small>'''''

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{Citation | first = Peter | last = Kolchin | title = American Slavery: 1619–1877 | place = New York | publisher = Hill & Wang | year = 1994}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|voy=Delaware|Delaware}}

===History===
* {{Citation | url = https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/states/delaware/ | title = Delaware State Guide | publisher = Library of Congress}}

===General===
* {{Citation | url = https://www.delaware.gov | title = State of Delaware | type = official website}}
* {{OSM relation|162110}}
* [https://www.visitdelaware.com/ Delaware Tourism homepage]
* [https://de-firstmap-delaware.hub.arcgis.com/ Delaware Map Data]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080620004847/http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=DE Energy & Environmental Data for Delaware]
* [https://www.usgs.gov/science/regions?State=DE USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Delaware]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140222010344/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/10000.html U.S. Census Bureau]
* [https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets/state-data.aspx?StateFIPS=10&StateName=Delaware Delaware State Facts from USDA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810151430/http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets/state-data.aspx?StateFIPS=10&StateName=Delaware |date=August 10, 2014 }}
* [https://www2.census.gov/census_2000/datasets/demographic_profile/Delaware/2kh10.pdf 2000 Census of Population and Housing for Delaware], [[U.S. Census Bureau]]
* {{Ballotpedia|Delaware|Delaware}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080515221005/http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/Delaware Delaware State Databases]—Annotated list of searchable databases produced by Delaware state agencies and compiled by the Government Documents Roundtable of the American Library Association

{{S-start}}
{{S-new|first}}
{{S-ttl|title = [[List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union]]
| years = Ratified [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] on December 7, 1787 (1st)}}
{{S-aft|after = [[Pennsylvania]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Delaware|expanded}}
{{Northeast US}}
{{Southern United States}}
{{Thirteen Colonies}}
{{United States political divisions}}
{{authority control}}
{{coord|39.0|-75.4|dim:200000_region:US-DE_type:adm1st|name=State of Delaware|display=title}}

[[Category:Delaware| ]]
[[Category:1787 establishments in Delaware| ]]
[[Category:1787 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Contiguous United States]]
[[Category:Mid-Atlantic states]]
[[Category:Northeastern United States]]
[[Category:Southern United States]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1787]]
[[Category:States of the East Coast of the United States]]
[[Category:States of the United States]]