County profile

Delaware County

Pennsylvania · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
579,222
Median household income
$89,546
People below poverty
10.2%
Median home value
$332,200

Income

The median income of households in Delaware County, Pennsylvania was $89,546. An estimated 4.7% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 17.8% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 4.7
$10,000 to $14,999 3.1
$15,000 to $24,999 5.2
$25,000 to $34,999 5.6
$35,000 to $49,999 9.8
$50,000 to $74,999 14.2
$75,000 to $99,999 12.1
$100,000 to $149,999 17.3
$150,000 to $199,999 10.1
$200,000 or more 17.8

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 75283
Female 62332

An estimated 78.6% of households received earnings. An estimated 32.5% of households received Social Security and an estimated 25.5 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $25,783. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 78.6
Social Security 32.5
Retirement income 25.5
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 5.1
Cash public assistance income 3.4

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 10.2 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 13.2% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 9.1% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 9.4% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 10.2
Children under 18 years below poverty 13.2
People 65 years old and over below poverty 9.1
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 9.4

In 2020-2024, 13.3 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 46.8% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 39.4% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 37.3% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024, 95.4% had health insurance coverage and 4.6% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 75.7% and public coverage was 35.1%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 3.5%.


In 2020-2024, Delaware County, Pennsylvania had a total population of 579,222 - 298,623 (51.6%) females and 280,599 (48.4%) males. The median age was 39.1 years. An estimated 22% of the population was under 18 years, 32.3% was 19 to 44 years, 25% was 45 to 64 years, and 17.4 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 16937 15993
5 to 9 17069 16854
10 to 14 19623 18467
15 to 19 21077 20451
20 to 24 19029 18576
25 to 29 17033 17504
30 to 34 18633 20084
35 to 39 18868 20385
40 to 44 18310 18640
45 to 49 16282 16877
50 to 54 17143 17999
55 to 59 18672 20374
60 to 64 18004 19372
65 to 69 15992 17995
70 to 74 11781 14345
75 to 79 7067 9669
80 to 84 4973 6262
85 and over 4106 8776

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 63.2% were White; 22.2% were Black or African American; 3.3% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 6.3% were Asian; 7.8% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 5.7% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 5% of the people in Delaware County, Pennsylvania were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 62.4% of the people in Delaware County, Pennsylvania were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 216,946 households in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The average household size was 2.56 people.

Married-couple households made up 45.5% of the households in Delaware County, Pennsylvania while cohabiting couple households made up 5.9% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 31.1% of all households, while 17.6% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 12.5% of households were male householders living alone, and 17.6% were female householders living alone, for a total of 30.1% of all households.

In Delaware County, Pennsylvania, 30.2% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 33.5% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 45.5
Cohabiting Couples 5.9
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
17.6
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
31.1

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 47.9% of males and 42.4% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 40.4 37.1
Now married, except separated 47.9 42.4
Separated 1.7 1.6
Widowed 3 8.5
Divorced 7 10.3

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Delaware County, Pennsylvania, 11,022 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 25.7% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 88.8% of the people living in Delaware County, Pennsylvania were U.S. natives. 69.8% of the Delaware County, Pennsylvania population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 11.2% of Delaware County, Pennsylvania residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 62.9% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 63 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Delaware County, Pennsylvania come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 19.5
Asia 41
Europe 15.2
Africa 22.6
Northern America 1.5
Oceania 0.2

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024, 13.5 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 3% of people at least five years old; 5.4% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 3
Other Indo-European languages 4.7
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 3.9
Other languages 1.9

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 90.7 % of the people at least one year old living in Delaware County, Pennsylvania were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 90.7
Different house, same county 4.3
Different county, same state 3
Different state 1.6
Abroad 0.4

Education

In 2020-2024, 93.9 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 41.9% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 6.1% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Delaware County, Pennsylvania was 145,679 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 9,134 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 92,861. College or graduate school enrollment was 43,684.

Educational Attainment of People in Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 6.1
High school diploma or equivalency 27.3
Some college, no degree 16.6
Associate's degree 8
Bachelor's degree 23.5
Graduate or professional degree 18.4

Disability

In Delaware County, Pennsylvania, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 12.5 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 5% of people under 18 years old, to 10.3% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 30% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Delaware County, Pennsylvania, 61 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 34.4% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 84% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 11.1% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 4.8 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 238,588 84
Federal, state, or local government workers 31,632 11.1
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 13,527 4.8

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Delaware County, Pennsylvania worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 0.4
Construction 5.9
Manufacturing 7.7
Wholesale trade 1.8
Retail trade 10.2
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 5.7
Information 1.8
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 8.8
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 12.9
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 29.7
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 6.6
Other Services, except public administration 4.8
Public administration 3.5

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 133,999 47.2
Service occupations 46,017 16.2
Sales and office occupations 56,097 19.8
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 18,583 6.5
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 29,254 10.3

Commuting to Work

An estimated 64.4% of Delaware County, Pennsylvania workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 6.6% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 28.1 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 64.4
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 6.6
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 5.9
Walked 3.3
Other means 1.8
Worked from home 18

In 2020-2024, Delaware County, Pennsylvania had a total of 229,715 housing units. Of these housing units, 75.6% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 24% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 0.3% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 75.6
Apartments in multi-unit structures 24
Mobile homes 0.3
Boat, RV, van, etc 0

3.5% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 22.1% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Delaware County, Pennsylvania was 6.3 rooms, and of these housing units 68.7% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Delaware County, Pennsylvania had 216,946 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 12,769 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 69.6% while renters occupied 30.4%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.76 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.13.

3.2% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 13.8% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 9.6% and another 16.4% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Delaware County, Pennsylvania:

House Heating Fuel Used in Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 62.6
Electricity 22.9
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 13.2
All other fuels 0.9
No fuel used 0.4

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Delaware County, Pennsylvania was $332,200.

Of the owner-occupied households, 63.1 % had a mortgage. 36.9% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $2,222 and for owners without a mortgage it was $884.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Delaware County, Pennsylvania was $1,372. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.