Work & commute · Wilmington

Work & commute in Wilmington, DE

About one in 5 of Wilmington’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are New Castle (5%), Philadelphia (5%) and Newark (3%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

21%

6,180 of 29,263 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 23,083 Wilmington residents head out of town to work, 6,180 work right here, and 41,415 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Wilmington.

23,083live here, work elsewhere

6,180live and work here

41,415work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Wilmington goes to work

Wilmington (in town)right here

21%6,180

New Castle4.9 mi away

5%1,357

Philadelphia, PA28.4 mi away

5%1,326

Newark12.6 mi away

3%749

Dover39.7 mi away

2%442

Edgemoor1.9 mi away

1%320

Brookside10.4 mi away

1%235

Hockessin8.4 mi away

1%234

Middletown22.6 mi away

1%231

Glasgow14.7 mi away

1%217

Everywhere elseother towns and states

61%17,972

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Wilmington commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

68%

15%

10%

68%Under 10 mi

15%10–24 mi

10%25–50 mi

6%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Wilmington is a job hub

1.63jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Wilmington are

47,595 jobs are based in Wilmington. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Wilmington’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Wilmington

47,595 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)84%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month74%

Jobs Wilmington residents hold

29,263 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month54%

−7%

Jobs based in Wilmington, 2013 → 2023: 50,973 → 47,595. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.