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US State economic profile
Delaware - Economic Profile
Statistics, economic information and rankings for the First State
In 2026, the state of Delaware has a population of 1,083,098, having grown an annualized 1.5% over the five years to 2026, which ranks it 6th out of all 50 US states by growth rate. Delaware's gross state product (GSP) in 2026 reached $88.9b, with growth of 3.4% over the 5 years to 2026. Businesses in Delaware employed a total of 639,103 people in 2026, with average annual employment growth over the past five years of 2.0%. The top three sectors by total employment are Finance & Insurance, Real Estate & Rental & Leasing, Healthcare & Social Assistance, while the unemployment rate across the state in 2026 was 5.0%.
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State economic profile
Delaware Economic Overview
$88.9b
Gross state product
1,083,098
Population
153,080
Businesses
What is Delaware's Gross Domestic Product (GDP)?
In 2026, Delaware's GDP reached $88.9b, representing an increase of 3.4% from 2025. Delaware's GDP has grown at an annualized rate of 2.5% over the five years to 2026. Moreover, Delaware's trailing five-year GDP growth ranks it 5th out of all 50 US states.
State GDP, or Gross State Product, is a measurement of a state's output, or the sum of value added from all industries in the state. It is a common indicator used to track the health of a state's economy.
You can track trends in Delaware's GDP, and compare them to the national average, using the chart below.
State economic profile
Delaware Industry Trends
Learn about current trends affecting the most significant industries for Delaware's state economy, down to the county level. IBISWorld offers state industry research reports on over 30,000 industries across all 50 states in the US, including 613 industries in Delaware.
What are Delaware's Largest Industries by Revenue?
The largest industries by revenue in Delaware are Commercial Banking, Drug, Cosmetic & Toiletry Wholesaling and Credit Card Issuing, which generated $37.5b, $25.7b and $24.2b in 2026.
| Industry | 2026 revenue | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Commercial Banking | $37.5b |
| 2. | Drug, Cosmetic & Toiletry Wholesaling | $25.7b |
| 3. | Credit Card Issuing | $24.2b |
| 4. | Intellectual Property Licensing | $10.6b |
| 5. | Hospitals | $6.8b |
| 6. | IT Consulting | $4.9b |
| 7. | Chemical Wholesaling | $4.9b |
| 8. | New Car Dealers | $4.5b |
| 9. | Portfolio Management & Investment Advice | $3.9b |
| 10. | Pharmacies & Drug Stores | $3.4b |
State economic profile
Top Companies in Delaware
Learn about current trends affecting the top companies in Delaware. IBISWorld offers benchmarking data and tools on over 5,000 companies in the US.
Top 10 Companies Headquartered in Delaware by Employment
The largest companies by employment in Delaware are ChristianaCare, Jpmorgan Chase and Amazon.Com, which employed 11,856, 11,000 and 7,000 people in 2026.
| Company | 2026 employment | Share of employment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | ChristianaCare | 11,856 | 1.9% |
| 2. | Jpmorgan Chase | 11,000 | 1.7% |
| 3. | Amazon.Com | 7,000 | 1.1% |
| 4. | Bank Of America | 6,000 | 0.9% |
| 5. | University Of Delaware | 4,746 | 0.7% |
| 6. | Walmart | 4,336 | 0.7% |
| 7. | Bayhealth Medical Center | 4,000 | 0.6% |
| 8. | Perdue Farms | 3,000 | 0.5% |
| 9. | United States Postal Service | 2,127 | 0.3% |
| 10. | Home Depot, inc. | 1,859 | 0.3% |
State economic profile
Delaware Sector Statistics
In Delaware, certain sectors drive a higher share of state GDP and employ more workers than others. However, simply looking at raw numbers doesn't always tell the whole story. Factoring in the current year growth percentage, in addition to the annualized growth percentage over the past five years, will give you a deeper understanding of the economic situation.
What is Delaware's GDP by Sector?
The Finance & Insurance, Real Estate & Rental & Leasing and Healthcare & Social Assistance sectors contributed the most to Delaware's GDP in 2026, representing a combined 53.5% of state GDP.
GDP trends by sector are an important indicator of which sectors are contributing the most value-add to the state economy, in addition to how the state economy is evolving over time.
| Sector | GDP | Growth 2026 | Annualized growth 2021-26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance & Insurance | 17,359,824,749 | -0.5% | 0.1% |
| Real Estate & Rental & Leasing | 16,439,489,152 | 3.1% | 3.1% |
| Healthcare & Social Assistance | 7,050,234,845 | 3.9% | 4.3% |
| Manufacturing | 6,743,459,124 | 4.3% | 4.0% |
| Professional, Scientific & Technical Services | 6,078,877,101 | 2.8% | 2.6% |
| Retail Trade | 3,683,438,464 | 4.4% | 3.8% |
| Administration, Business Support and Waste Management Services | 2,518,729,511 | 2.9% | 3.5% |
| Construction | 2,237,822,113 | -3.2% | -4.2% |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 2,229,518,462 | 1.3% | 2.3% |
| Information | 2,039,934,910 | 10.3% | 10.4% |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 2,022,355,786 | 5.1% | 4.3% |
| Wholesale Trade | 1,972,339,492 | -0.4% | -0.3% |
| Transportation & Warehousing | 1,827,637,621 | 4.5% | 4.6% |
| Utilities | 1,435,136,224 | 6.1% | 6.3% |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 934,483,307 | -1.3% | -1.0% |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting | 768,837,103 | 10.9% | 8.5% |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | 542,249,167 | 6.3% | 7.2% |
| Educational Services | 430,952,799 | 1.6% | 2.5% |
| Mining | 6,101,313 | -1.1% | -1.3% |
What is Delaware's Employment by Sector?
The Retail Trade, Healthcare & Social Assistance and Professional, Scientific & Technical Services sectors contributed the most to employment in Delaware in 2026, representing a combined 39.3% of state employment.
Employment trends by sector are an important indicator of which sectors are growing or contracting most rapidly relative to the state economy as a whole.
| Sector | Employment | Growth 2026 | Annualized growth 2021-26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Trade | 97,633 | 1.7% | 6.8% |
| Healthcare & Social Assistance | 91,760 | 2.7% | 3.2% |
| Professional, Scientific & Technical Services | 61,951 | 4.0% | 5.6% |
| Finance & Insurance | 58,019 | 1.2% | 1.9% |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 48,402 | 1.5% | 5.6% |
| Transportation & Warehousing | 43,921 | 5.4% | 6.3% |
| Administration, Business Support and Waste Management Services | 39,749 | 0.7% | 1.4% |
| Construction | 34,317 | 1.3% | 1.3% |
| Manufacturing | 30,423 | -0.1% | 0.8% |
| Educational Services | 27,545 | -1.8% | 0.4% |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 24,589 | 1.9% | 3.7% |
| Information | 24,322 | 12.6% | 22.5% |
| Wholesale Trade | 20,342 | 1.9% | 1.7% |
| Real Estate & Rental & Leasing | 16,737 | 2.2% | 1.6% |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | 12,698 | 2.1% | 4.6% |
| Utilities | 5,585 | 2.2% | -0.1% |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting | 607 | 2.5% | -0.5% |
| Mining | 503 | -0.8% | -1.9% |
State economic profile
Delaware Employment Trends
639.1k
Employment
5.0%
Unemployment
What Employment Trends are Impacting Delaware?
The state of Delaware employs 639,103 people in 2026, which ranks it 43rd out of all 50 US states. Employment in Delaware has grown at an annualized rate of 4.1% over the five years to 2026, overperforming the national average of 1.7%. Major sectors by employment in Delaware include Retail Trade, Healthcare & Social Assistance and Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, which employed 97,633, 91,760 and 61,951 people in 2026, respectively. Delaware's unemployment rate is 5.0% in 2026, which ranks it 37th out of all 50 US states. Delaware's unemployment rate has trended downwards at a rate of -1.8% over the five years to 2026, overperforming the US economy as a whole.
Employment trends indicate the degree of tightness or slack in labor markets, in addition to the overall strength of an economy. Faster employment growth typically indicates a strong and growing economy, while lower unemployment tends to imply tightness in labor markets.
You can track unemployment trends in Delaware, and compare them to the US economy, using the chart below.
$84.2k
Per capita disposable income
What is Delaware's Per Capita Disposable Income?
Per capita disposable income, also known as disposable personal income (DPI), is the amount of money that the average person in an economy has available for spending and saving after accounting for income taxes. Delaware's DPI in 2026 was $84.2k, compared to the US average of $156.5k, which places it 34th out of all 50 US states.
Disposable income is regarded as a key economic indicator as trends in disposable income are indicative of the level of aggregate demand, the state of labor markets and the financial strength of households.
You can track trends in Delaware's per capita disposable income, and compare it to the US average, using the chart below.
State economic profile
Delaware Construction & Building Trends
$894.6tn
Nonresidential construction
$808.6b
Residential construction
6,329
Building permits
What can construction trends tell you about a state’s economy?
In Delaware, non-residential construction was $894.6tn in 2026, which ranks it 1st out of all 50 US states. Residential construction was $808.6b in 2026, which places Delaware 2nd out of all 50 US states. The number of building permits issued in Delaware in 2026 was 6,329, representing a -6.3% annualized growth rate between 2021 and 2026.
Trends in the construction sector are important because it creates jobs, income and tax revenue for a state. In addition, construction sector activity impacts other sectors in its supply chain, including manufacturing, wholesaling, warehousing, transportation, and real estate, rental and leasing services. Therefore, construction trends are important indicators of the health of an economy.
You can track trends in the number of building permits issued in Delaware, and compare it to trends in the number issued in the United States as a whole, using the chart below.
State economic profile
Delaware Population Statistics
Which Counties in Delaware have the Largest Populations?
The counties with the highest populations in Delaware are New Castle County, Sussex County and Kent County, which had populations of 587,339, 287,731 and 196,813 people in 2026.
| Region | 2026 population | Annual growth 2021-26 | Share of population |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Castle | 587.3k | 0.5% | 54.2% |
| Sussex | 287.7k | 3.0% | 26.6% |
| Kent | 196.8k | 1.2% | 18.2% |
State economic profile
Delaware Demographics
In Delaware, 36.0% of the population has a Bachelors or higher. The largest ethnic group in Delaware is White, accounting for 56.5% of the state's population.
Education level in Delaware
| Education level | Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Bachelors or higher | 36.0 |
| Other | 64.0 |
Race in Delaware
| Race | Share (%) |
|---|---|
| White | 56.5 |
| Black | 22.9 |
| Hispanic | 12.5 |
| Asian | 5.0 |
| Other | 3.1 |
Delaware State industry reports
IBISWorld State Industry Reports help you quickly understand how an industry performs at the state level compared with the national level, with accurate and unbiased industry information with a local focus. Use this collection to:
- Discover key local industry trends
- Identify threats and opportunities at the subnational level
- Inform your business strategies and planning
See our list of 613 Delaware industry reports.
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Compare Delaware’s economy with other states in the United States.
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