New Castle County, Delaware: commercial real estate data.
New Castle County, Delaware had an estimated 588,093 residents on July 1, 2024, up 3.0 percent since the 2020 census base of 570,721, across 426 square miles. County output reached $75.96 bn in 2024, 17,855 establishments operate here, and the SBA record carries 747 7(a) approvals worth $320.6 m since FY2020.
Underlined figures are computed by MMCG Analytics, not published by the agency.
New Castle County
How many people live in New Castle County
- Population, American Community Survey 2020-2024577,961
- Households224,173
- Average household size2.58
- Median household income$91,166
- Median age39.3
- Median gross rent$1,448 per month
- Median owner-occupied home value$352,200
- Home value to household income3.9 times
- Annual rent as a share of median income19.1 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher39.7 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree17.2 percent
- Adults 25 and over402,879
- Population under 18122,695
- Share under 1821.2 percent
- Population 65 and over98,558
- Share 65 and over17.1 percent
- Working age population, 18 to 64356,708
- Civilian labor force307,946
- Unemployment rate4.8 percent
- Labor force participation, adults 18 and over67.6 percent
- Rank by population among Delaware counties1st of 3
- Rank by population among US county-equivalents, Puerto Rico included122nd of 3,222
New Castle County is the 1st largest of 3 Delaware counties by population. A median home costs 3.9 times median household income, which is moderately unaffordable by national standards. Residents under 18 outnumber those 65 and over, at 21.2 percent against 17.1 percent, a household formation profile rather than a retirement one.
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.
New Castle County
Is New Castle County's population growing?
- Population, July 1, 2024588,093
- Census 2020 base population570,721
- Population change since the 2020 census base3.04 percent
- Population change, 2023 to 20245,768
- Births, 20245,904
- Deaths, 20245,270
- Natural change, 2024634
- Net domestic migration, 2024-90
- Net international migration, 20245,209
- Total net migration, 20245,119
- Cumulative net domestic migration, 2021 to 20242,365
- Rank by growth among US county-equivalents862nd of 3,144
The county has grown 3.04 percent since the 2020 census base. The population grew in 2024 from both sources: births exceeded deaths and more people moved in than left.
US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2024, Vintage 2024, estimates 2020 to 2024.
New Castle County
Where are people moving to New Castle County from?
- Tax returns filed by households arriving12,561
- People arriving, from those returns21,216
- Tax returns filed by households leaving11,817
- Net household movement744
- Adjusted gross income arriving$987.1 m
- Net adjusted gross income movement$-118.3 m
- Average income of an arriving household$78,585
- Average income of a leaving household$93,542
- Largest single originPhiladelphia County (1,400 households)
- Largest single destinationKent County (1,096 households)
| Origin | Households | People | Adjusted gross income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia County | 1,400 | 2,560 | $85.8 m |
| Delaware County | 1,269 | 2,315 | $83.0 m |
| Kent County | 795 | 1,294 | $44.4 m |
| Chester County | 704 | 1,201 | $90.3 m |
| Cecil County | 540 | 885 | $31.0 m |
| Sussex County | 397 | 612 | $30.6 m |
| Montgomery County | 268 | 443 | $21.2 m |
| Kings County | 187 | 305 | $11.5 m |
Households arriving report $14,957 less average income than households leaving, which drains spending power even where headcount holds up. The largest single source of arrivals is Philadelphia County, which is the catchment a retail or multifamily study should look at first.
US Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income county migration flows, 2021 to 2022 filing years.
New Castle County
What is the New Castle County economy?
- County GDP, 2024$75.96 bn
- County GDP, 2023$71.27 bn
- GDP change, 2023 to 20246.6 percent
- GDP change over five years38.5 percent
- Rank by GDP among the Delaware areas BEA publishes1st of 3
- Rank by GDP among the US county areas BEA publishes71st of 3,127
- GDP per resident$131,434
Output grew 6.6 percent in the latest year and 38.5 percent over five, which is the trend line a lender will read behind any single year figure.
US Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional, table CAGDP2, CAGDP2, through 2024.
New Castle County
Employment by industry in New Castle County
- Covered employment, annual average303,806
- Establishments reporting27,696
- Average annual pay$80,334
- Average weekly wage$1,545
- Health care and social assistance, employment53,019
- Health care and social assistance, average annual pay$73,518
- Finance and insurance, employment38,330
- Finance and insurance, average annual pay$133,584
- Retail trade, employment28,448
- Retail trade, average annual pay$40,563
- Accommodation and food services, employment22,568
- Accommodation and food services, average annual pay$26,289
- Professional, scientific and technical services, employment21,314
- Administrative and support and waste management services, employment18,126
| Sector | Employment | Establishments | Average annual pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 53,019 | 3,676 | $73,518 |
| Finance and insurance | 38,330 | 1,598 | $133,584 |
| Retail trade | 28,448 | 2,110 | $40,563 |
| Accommodation and food services | 22,568 | 1,402 | $26,289 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 21,314 | 6,129 | $136,043 |
| Administrative and support and waste management services | 18,126 | 2,894 | $58,651 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 17,908 | 692 | $53,068 |
| Construction | 14,737 | 2,037 | $82,564 |
Health care and social assistance is the largest private sector at 53,019 jobs, 17.5 percent of covered employment.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages.
New Castle County
How many businesses are in New Castle County?
- Establishments, all industries17,855
- Employment at those establishments306,745
- Annual payroll$24.91 bn
- Establishments per 1,000 residents30.9
These are counts of establishments physically operating in the county, not listings, so they are the supply side a feasibility study measures demand against. County Business Patterns counts private establishments with paid employees in March 2023, while the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages above counts every unemployment-insured employer, public ones included, as a 2024 annual average, so the two establishment and employment counts differ.
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023.
New Castle County
Building permits in New Castle County
- Housing units authorized by permit, 20241,586
- Declared construction value permitted$229.1 m
- Single family units authorized1,364
- Multifamily units authorized222
- Multifamily share of units14.0 percent
- Average declared value per unit$144,435
- Units authorized per 1,000 households7.1
Single-family homes are 86.0 percent of units authorized, so the pipeline is predominantly single-family.
US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
New Castle County
SBA loans in New Castle County (7(a) and 504)
- 7(a) approvals recorded747
- 7(a) gross approval dollars$320.6 m
- Average 7(a) approval$429,190
- Median 7(a) approval$150,000
- 10th percentile approval$20,000
- 90th percentile approval$1,194,000
- Largest single approval$5,000,000
- Jobs reported supported, 7(a)6,735
- Jobs per approval9.0
- Distinct 7(a) lenders active75
- Distinct industries receiving approvals236
- Median 7(a) term120 months
- Share of loans on real estate terms, 240 months or longer7.2 percent
- Loans on real estate terms54
- Loans on working capital terms, 120 months or shorter649
- Franchise loans87
- Franchise share of approvals11.6 percent
- Leading industry by approval countFull-Service Restaurants (31)
- Most active lenderManufacturers and Traders Trust Company (185)
- 504 approvals recorded61
- 504 gross approval dollars$62.9 m
- Average 504 approval$1,031,361
- Median 504 approval$657,000
- Distinct CDCs active5
- 504 jobs per approval15.0
- 504 jobs per million dollars approved14.6
- Most active CDCDelaware Community Development Corporation (49)
- Combined SBA approval dollars, 7(a) FY2020 to FY2026 and 504 FY2010 to FY2026$383.5 m
The average approval of $429,190 sits well above the median of $150,000, pulled up by a few larger deals, so the median is the better guide to what a typical borrower here gets. Only 7.2 percent of approvals run on real estate terms, so SBA credit here is mostly working capital and equipment rather than property acquisition.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30. US Small Business Administration, 504 FOIA release, FY2010 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
New Castle County
SBA loan default and charge-off rates in New Castle County
Do SBA loans in New Castle County get paid back?
- Loans with a final outcome recorded116
- Paid in full92
- Charged off24
- Charge-off rate on resolved loans20.7 percent
- Status: Cancelled99
- Status: Paid in full92
- Status: Exempt from disclosure465
- Status: Charged off24
- Status: Committed, not yet disbursed67
Of the 116 loans that have reached a final outcome, 20.7 percent were charged off. This is computed only over resolved loans, because a loan still running has not yet succeeded or failed and counting it either way would be wrong.
Compare against the national and state SBA charge-off rates, computed the same way over resolved loans only.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
New Castle County
SBA lending by place in New Castle County
- Borrower cities with recorded lending24
- Wilmington, approvals336
- Newark, approvals150
- Middletown, approvals75
- New Castle, approvals69
- Bear, approvals44
- Claymont, approvals15
| Borrower city | Approvals | Gross approval dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Wilmington | 336 | $140,626,000 |
| Newark | 150 | $76,823,900 |
| Middletown | 75 | $26,334,400 |
| New Castle | 69 | $33,343,100 |
| Bear | 44 | $11,069,000 |
| Claymont | 15 | $5,430,000 |
| Hockessin | 13 | $4,940,900 |
| Newport | 8 | $5,367,000 |
| 16 other borrower cities | 37 | $16,670,700 |
Wilmington accounts for 336 approvals against 150 in Newark. County level figures average over that gap, which is why a site decision is made at the submarket rather than the county.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
New Castle County
How large is New Castle County?
- Land area426 sq mi
- Rank by land area among Delaware counties3rd of 3
- Width, east to west19.9 mi
- Height, north to south37.4 mi
- Geographies sharing a boundary7
- Residents per square mile of land1,357
- Establishments per square mile41.91
US Census Bureau county boundary geometry, TIGER, adjacency computed from shared boundary vertices, TIGER county boundaries. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year. US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023.
New Castle County
Flood risk in New Castle County
- Participation of the county's own NFIP community New Castle County, unincorporated areasParticipating, community 105085
- Community Rating System class of the county's own communityClass 5
- Communities in the county in the NFIP Community Status Book14
- Of those, participating in the NFIP10
- NFIP participation rate71.4 percent
- Best Community Rating System class in the county A lower CRS class is a larger flood insurance premium discount.Class 5
- Communities carrying a CRS class4
- Radon levels in New Castle County, EPA zone predicted average indoor radon screening level from 2 to 4 pCi/LZone 2
The county's own community in the status book, unincorporated New Castle County (community 105085), participates in the National Flood Insurance Program and carries Community Rating System class 5, a flood insurance premium discount for policies written there. The EPA places New Castle County in radon zone 2, a predicted average indoor radon screening level from 2 to 4 pCi/L. The zone is a screening prediction for the county and does not substitute for a test at an address. The best Community Rating System class among the county's communities is 5, which carries a flood insurance premium discount for policies written in that community. 71.4 percent of the county's listed communities participate in the National Flood Insurance Program, per Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26.
Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26. US EPA, Map of Radon Zones, county spreadsheet, 2024-05 publication, EPA 402/A-16/001.
Coverage
What this page does not hold.
Traffic counts, zoning and the flood zone at an address are not on this page; they resolve at the address in the platform. How this page was built →
Feasibility studies
When a New Castle County site needs a document a lender will accept.
The same data layer behind this page is the one the studies are written from. A study for a New Castle County site starts with the figures you are reading, carrying the same source and period into the credit file.
- Population, American Community Survey 2020-2024577,961
- Households224,173
- Average household size2.58
- Median household income$91,166
- Median age39.3
Common questions
New Castle County questions, answered from the record.
How many people live in New Castle County, Delaware?
The Census Bureau estimates 588,093 residents on July 1, 2024 (US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2024). The American Community Survey 2020-2024 five-year estimate is 577,961, in 224,173 households, ranking 1st of 3 Delaware counties. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.
Is New Castle County's population growing?
The population has grown 3.04 percent since the 2020 census base of 570,721, to 588,093 on July 1, 2024. In 2024 there were 5,904 births against 5,270 deaths, with net migration of 5,119. Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2024, Vintage 2024, estimates 2020 to 2024.
What is the median household income in New Castle County?
$91,166. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $352,200, which is 3.9 times income, and median gross rent is $1,448 per month. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.
How many businesses are in New Castle County?
17,855 establishments, employing 306,745 people with an annual payroll of $24.91 bn. These are establishments physically operating in the county, not listings. Source: US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023.
What is employment by industry in New Castle County?
Health care and social assistance is the largest private sector at 53,019 jobs, 17.5 percent of covered employment. Covered employment averages 303,806 jobs at an average annual pay of $80,334, or $1,545 a week. Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages.
How much SBA lending happens in New Castle County?
747 7(a) approvals totaling $320.6 m since FY2020, across 75 lenders, with a median approval of $150,000, plus 61 504 approvals worth $62.9 m since FY2010. These are approvals recorded in the release, not loans disbursed.
Do SBA loans in New Castle County get paid back?
Of the 116 loans that have reached a final outcome, 92 were paid in full and 24 charged off, a charge-off rate of 20.7 percent. Loans still running are excluded, because they have not yet succeeded or failed.
How many building permits were issued in New Castle County?
1,586 housing units were authorized by permit in 2024, with a declared construction value of $229.1 m. Multifamily was 14.0 percent of units. Source: US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
What is the radon zone for New Castle County?
Zone 2, a predicted average indoor radon screening level from 2 to 4 pCi/L. Source: US EPA, Map of Radon Zones, county spreadsheet, 2024-05 publication, EPA 402/A-16/001.
Where do people moving to New Castle County come from?
The largest single origin is Philadelphia County, with 1,400 households. Arriving households report an average income of $78,585 against $93,542 for those leaving. Source: US Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income county migration flows, 2021 to 2022 filing years.
Are traffic counts available for New Castle County on this page?
No. Annual average daily traffic resolves in the platform rather than in this dataset, so no AADT figure is printed here. It is a gap we know about rather than a figure we estimated.
Is zoning published for New Castle County?
No. Nothing on this page presents parcel level zoning, and where a statutory framework applies it is marked as the statewide frame, to be confirmed locally.
New Castle County
Cities and places in New Castle.
28 Census places lie wholly or partly in New Castle County. All 28 carry enough published place level data for a page of their own and are linked.
| Place | Type | Population | SBA 7(a) approvals, projects in this county | Lies in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmington | city | 71,727 | 336 | Wholly in this county |
| Newark | city | 30,330 | 150 | Wholly in this county |
| Middletown | town | 24,661 | 75 | Wholly in this county |
| Bear | CDP | 22,370 | 44 | Wholly in this county |
| Glasgow | CDP | 15,546 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Brookside | CDP | 15,115 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Hockessin | CDP | 13,439 | 13 | Wholly in this county |
| Smyrna | town | 13,165 | 4 | 21.2 percent here, 78.8 percent Kent County |
| Pike Creek Valley | CDP | 12,431 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Claymont | CDP | 8,786 | 15 | Wholly in this county |
| Wilmington Manor | CDP | 8,214 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| North Star | CDP | 7,834 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Pike Creek | CDP | 7,129 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Edgemoor | CDP | 6,349 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Elsmere | town | 6,203 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| New Castle | city | 5,579 | 69 | Wholly in this county |
| Clayton | town | 4,222 | 1 | 10.4 percent here, 89.6 percent Kent County |
| Greenville | CDP | 3,713 | 1 | Wholly in this county |
| Townsend | town | 2,832 | 8 | Wholly in this county |
| Delaware City | city | 1,950 | 4 | Wholly in this county |
| St. Georges | CDP | 1,530 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Bellefonte | town | 1,388 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Newport | town | 900 | 8 | Wholly in this county |
| Arden | village | 627 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Port Penn | CDP | 592 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Odessa | town | 409 | 2 | Wholly in this county |
| Ardentown | village | 233 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Ardencroft | village | 213 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
A further 17 of the county's 747 SBA 7(a) approvals are to borrowers in cities that match no Census place in New Castle County, the largest being Christiana (5), Historic New Castle (3), Brooklyn (2). Those are postal cities, unincorporated areas and cities outside the county, so no place row claims them; they are counted in the county total above.