What is the poverty rate in Delaware?
Updated monthly
About 9.6% of Delaware’s population in 2024. The poverty rate is the percentage of people whose household income falls below the poverty threshold set by the government. It measures the percentage of people in households that don’t earn enough to pay for basic needs like food, housing, and healthcare. In 2024, 98,553 people in Delaware were considered in poverty.
9.6%
of the population (2024)
98.6K
people living under the poverty line (2024)
Based on data from the American Community Survey dating back to 2010, Delaware's poverty rate hit a peak in 2017 of 13.6%. Its lowest point was in 2022 at 9.4%. The state's poverty rate was 9.6% in 2024, 0.9 percentage point higher than the previous year.
In 2024, 9.6% of Delaware population were living under the poverty line.
Poverty rate
While the poverty rate shows the overall trend, the total number matters because many aid programs and funding decisions are based on how many people are in poverty, not just the percentage. In 2024, 98,553 people living in Delaware were in poverty — down 22.4% from the 2017 peak of 126,986.
In 2024, 98,600 people in Delaware were in poverty.
People living under poverty line
Poverty doesn’t affect all groups equally. Rates vary widely by demographic group, family type and location.
From 2014 to 2024, the poverty rate for children under 18 in Delaware decreased from 17.7% to 12.6%. During the same period, the poverty rate for adults under 65 years decreased from 11.9% to 8.5%. For those older than 65, the poverty rate increased from 7.5% to 9.8%.
In 2024, 12.6% of children in Delaware were living under the poverty line.
Poverty rate by age group
Among racial or ethnic groups in Delaware during 2024, four had a higher poverty rate than the state’s overall rate: Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race), and two or more races.
Four had a lower than average poverty rate: American Indian and Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, some other race, White alone, not Hispanic or Latino.
Over the previous ten years, the poverty rate for the some other race population shifted the most, decreasing from 24% in 2014 to 7.7% in 2024.
In Delaware, the poverty rate for the some other race population decreased from 24.0% in 2014 to 7.7% in 2024.
Poverty rate by race or ethnicity
In 2019-2023, the poverty rate among Delaware counties ranged from 10.2% in New Castle County to 11.5% in Sussex County. The poverty rate in the state’s largest county — New Castle County — was 10.2%.
In 2019-2023, the poverty rate among Delaware counties ranged from 10.2% to 11.5%.
Poverty rate
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
