Most Densely Populated Cities in Delaware: Ranked by People per Square Mile
The densest city in Delaware in our data is Wilmington, DE, with about 6,434 people per square mile, followed by Elsmere, DE (5,833) and Wilmington Manor, DE (4,887). This list ranks the top 23 places among the 23 Delaware communities with at least 5,000 residents.
What are the top 23 in Delaware?
| # | City | County | Per sq mi | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilmington, DE | New Castle County | 6,434 | 70,166 |
| 2 | Elsmere, DE | New Castle County | 5,833 | 5,872 |
| 3 | Wilmington Manor, DE | New Castle County | 4,887 | 7,903 |
| 4 | Claymont, DE | New Castle County | 4,338 | 9,330 |
| 5 | Pike Creek Valley, DE | New Castle County | 4,253 | 10,989 |
| 6 | Edgemoor, DE | New Castle County | 3,714 | 6,934 |
| 7 | Bear, DE | New Castle County | 3,649 | 20,850 |
| 8 | Newark, DE | New Castle County | 3,647 | 33,515 |
| 9 | Brookside, DE | New Castle County | 3,395 | 13,396 |
| 10 | Pike Creek, DE | New Castle County | 2,764 | 7,613 |
| 11 | Middletown, DE | New Castle County | 1,937 | 35,695 |
| 12 | Smyrna, DE | Kent County | 1,880 | 11,813 |
| 13 | Dover, DE | Kent County | 1,611 | 117,282 |
| 14 | New Castle, DE | New Castle County | 1,598 | 5,392 |
| 15 | Seaford, DE | Sussex County | 1,577 | 8,013 |
| 16 | Georgetown, DE | Sussex County | 1,505 | 10,638 |
| 17 | Glasgow, DE | New Castle County | 1,445 | 14,359 |
| 18 | Hockessin, DE | New Castle County | 1,308 | 13,157 |
| 19 | Milford, DE | Sussex County | 1,199 | 22,102 |
| 20 | North Star, DE | New Castle County | 1,101 | 7,503 |
| 21 | Lewes, DE | Sussex County | 798 | 29,187 |
| 22 | Ocean View, DE | Sussex County | 790 | 14,360 |
| 23 | Millsboro, DE | Sussex County | 774 | 10,985 |
How dense are the cities in Delaware?
The densest place is about 3 times as dense as the median place in the state, which has about 1,880 people per square mile. At the other end, Millsboro, DE has about 774. Under our scale, 2 places are an urban core (over 5,000 per square mile), 18 are suburban, and the rest are small towns or rural. New Castle County contributes 15 of the top 23.
Which counties do the top 23 belong to?
The 23 places on this list are spread across 3 counties of Delaware. New Castle County has 15 (Wilmington, Elsmere, Wilmington Manor, Claymont, Pike Creek Valley, Edgemoor, Bear, Newark); Sussex County has 6 (Seaford, Georgetown, Milford, Lewes, Ocean View, Millsboro); Kent County has 2 (Smyrna, Dover). Counties with several entries are usually centers of a metropolitan area, where one large city is surrounded by many suburbs that each pass the 5,000-resident threshold.
How does Delaware compare with the rest of the country?
The median Delaware place with a page has about 11,813 residents, compared with about 13,459 nationwide, so the state's typical community is smaller than the national typical place. Wilmington, DE ranks 691st among all US places by estimated population in our data. The state has 77 communities in total, of which 23 reach 5,000 residents. See the national ranking of the largest cities for comparison.
Quick answers about Delaware cities
- Which is the densest city in Delaware? Wilmington (6,434 per square mile).
- How many Delaware cities have more than 100,000 people? 1 in our data.
- How many have 25,000 to 100,000? 4.
- What is the typical size? About 11,813 residents for a place with a page.
How is this ranking made?
The data comes from the SimpleMaps US Cities Database, which gives each place an estimated population and a density in people per square kilometer. We convert density to people per square mile and rank the places with at least 5,000 residents. Boundaries matter: a city that includes large parks or farmland scores lower on density than a compact city of the same size, and population estimates can include areas that share a city's ZIP codes. Read why population figures differ and how density is calculated before you quote a number.
Where to go next
Rankings use dataset estimates, not official counts.