Like all states, Delaware has certain places that are going on hard times. These Delaware places have an above-average percentage of people living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
Even as the economy continues to improve, it’s worthwhile to look at the places in each state struggling to make ends meet. So we set our sites on locating the poorest places in Delaware.
To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 23 cities in Delaware with more than 2,000 people.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
What’s the poorest city in Delaware? According to the facts, Laurel is the poorest place in Delaware for 2024.
This isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.
For more Delaware reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Delaware
- Cheapest Places To Live In Delaware
- Most Dangerous Cities In Delaware
- The poorest states in the US
- The poorest cities in the US
The 10 Poorest Cities In Delaware For 2024
1. Laurel
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Laurel, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Delaware thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 3,954 people averages the lowest median household income in Delaware and the highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
2. Seaford
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Population: 8,055
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 6)
Median Income: $49,469 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 20.2% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,629
More on Seaford: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
The second poorest city in Delaware is Seaford.
The city ranks as having the 5th highest incidence of poverty and 3rd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 2nd highest in the First State.
3. Wilmington
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Population: 71,034
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 1)
Median Income: $54,731 (6th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 24.3% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 17,239
More on Wilmington: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Placing as the third poorest city, Wilmington’s median income ranks as the 6th lowest.
And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 24.27% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the First State.
4. Georg
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Population: 7,247
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Median Income: $47,238 (2nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 17.8% (7th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,290
More on Georg: Data
Georg ranks as the fourth poorest place in Delaware.
The town ranks as having the 2nd lowest median household income and the 7th highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
5. Dover
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Population: 38,879
Rank Last Year: 5 (No Change)
Median Income: $54,438 (5th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 20.0% (6th highest)
People In Poverty: 7,779
More on Dover: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
The fifth poorest city in Delaware is Dover.
The city ranks as having the 5th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 6th highest in Delaware.
Still not the best news for Dover.
6. Milford
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Population: 11,714
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 2)
Median Income: $53,472 (4th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 15.9% (8th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,868
More on Milford: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Milford ranks as the sixth poorest place in the First State.
It ranks as having the 8th highest incidence of poverty and the 9th highest unemployment rate.
7. Newark
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Population: 30,655
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 1)
Median Income: $67,738 (12th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 24.4% (2nd highest)
People In Poverty: 7,492
More on Newark: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Newark places as the seventh poorest city in Delaware.
The city of over 30,655 ranks as having the 2nd highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
8. Delmar
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Population: 2,398
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 1)
Median Income: $55,625 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 14.4% (10th highest)
People In Poverty: 345
More on Delmar:
Delmar ranks as the eighth poorest city in Delaware.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as one of the highest in the state.
9. Bridgeville
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Population: 2,590
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 1)
Median Income: $61,523 (9th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 14.4% (9th highest)
People In Poverty: 373
More on Bridgeville: Crime
Bridgeville couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Delaware; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 9th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Bridgeville ranks as having the 9th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Delaware.
10. Elsmere
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Population: 6,194
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 2)
Median Income: $70,773 (15th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 20.4% (4th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,262
More on Elsmere: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Delaware is Elsmere.
The city of 6,194 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the First State.
Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In Delaware for 2024
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “poorest places”. So we used Saturday Night Science to look at this set of criteria from the newly released 2018-2022 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
After we collected the data for all 23 places with more than 2,000 people in Delaware, we ranked each place from 1 to 23 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Poor Score” with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Laurel, crowned the “Poorest Place In Delaware For 2024”.
This report has been updated for 2024, which is our tenth time ranking the poorest places in Delaware.
Summary: The Poorest Cities In Delaware For 2024
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Delaware, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Delaware.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in Delaware, according to data:
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Richest: Townsend
2nd Richest: New Castle
3rd Richest: Selbyville
For more Delaware reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In Delaware
- Safest Places In Delaware
- Worst Places To Live In Delaware
- Most Expensive Places To Live In Delaware
Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Delaware
| Rank | City | Population | Poverty Rate | Median Income | People In Poverty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laurel | 3,954 | 39.6% | $42,710 | 1,564 |
| 2 | Seaford | 8,055 | 20.2% | $49,469 | 1,629 |
| 3 | Wilmington | 71,034 | 24.3% | $54,731 | 17,239 |
| 4 | Georg | 7,247 | 17.8% | $47,238 | 1,290 |
| 5 | Dover | 38,879 | 20.0% | $54,438 | 7,779 |
| 6 | Milford | 11,714 | 15.9% | $53,472 | 1,868 |
| 7 | Newark | 30,655 | 24.4% | $67,738 | 7,492 |
| 8 | Delmar | 2,398 | 14.4% | $55,625 | 345 |
| 9 | Bridgeville | 2,590 | 14.4% | $61,523 | 373 |
| 10 | Elsmere | 6,194 | 20.4% | $70,773 | 1,262 |
| 11 | Harrington | 3,770 | 13.3% | $63,814 | 502 |
| 12 | Millsboro | 6,876 | 12.8% | $64,622 | 878 |
| 13 | Camden | 3,914 | 7.2% | $60,549 | 282 |
| 14 | Milton | 3,349 | 11.4% | $67,763 | 383 |
| 15 | Smyrna | 12,870 | 10.0% | $68,260 | 1,285 |
| 16 | Ocean View | 2,660 | 11.0% | $88,004 | 292 |
| 17 | Lewes | 3,339 | 5.8% | $87,458 | 194 |
| 18 | Clayton | 3,978 | 7.2% | $98,367 | 287 |
| 19 | Millville | 2,052 | 5.6% | $92,961 | 114 |
| 20 | Middl | 23,573 | 6.8% | $104,662 | 1,595 |
| 21 | Selbyville | 2,907 | 3.1% | $93,971 | 90 |
| 22 | New Castle | 5,523 | 4.3% | $95,884 | 240 |
| 23 | Townsend | 2,728 | 1.5% | $147,917 | 41 |