Delaware: Small State, Steady And Mostly Small Employers
Delaware counted 29,706 employer establishments in the 2023 Census County Business Patterns, and 28,153 of them have fewer than 50 employees, about 95% of the state's total. The Delaware Department of Labor's Annual Economic Report for 2024, published in September 2025, records statewide average employment rising by 7,634 workers, or 1.6 percent, from 2023 to 2024, with health care among the fastest-growing categories at 83,391 jobs statewide. Agriculture stays part of the picture too: the Delaware Department of Agriculture describes food, fiber and agricultural industries as vital to the state's economy.
- U.S. Census Bureau: 2023 County Business Patterns: State file (cbp23st) (2023 CBP; retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Delaware Department of Labor, Office of Occupational and Labor Market Information: Delaware Annual Economic Report 2024, City of Dover Employment and Wages (published September 2025; December 2024 city-address employment; retrieved 2026-10-08)
- Delaware Department of Agriculture: Department homepage, producers and businesses overview (undated current page; retrieved 2026-10-08)