Delaware small business statistics
Delaware logged 60,132 business applications in 2025, up 1.1% from 2024 and 132.3% from the pre-pandemic 2019 baseline. Professional services added the most private-sector establishments since 2019. Health care and social assistance added the most private-sector jobs.
Business applications, employment, lending, tax, bankruptcy, and contracting records cover different parts of Delaware's business economy.
At a glance
Delaware logged 60,132 business applications in 2025, up 1.1% from 2024 and 132.3% from the pre-pandemic 2019 baseline.
Through May 2026, total applications were up 1.2% from the same months in 2025; high-propensity applications were up 1.6%.
New Castle filed 28,427 applications in 2025, the largest county total in Delaware. Kent led the high-volume counties after adjusting for population, a filing-location signal that should be read with Delaware’s entity-registration context in mind.
Professional services added the most private-sector establishments since 2019. Health care and social assistance added the most private-sector jobs.
SBA 7(a) and 504 approvals to Delaware businesses reached $96.9M in FY2025 across 282 loans, led by accommodation and food services, other services, professional services, administrative services, and retail trade.
Business bankruptcy cases tied to Delaware counties rose from 58 to 81 in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2026.
New business formation
Delaware business applications reached 60,132 in 2025, up 1.1% from 2024. Through May 2026, applications were 1.2% higher than in the same months of 2025.
Why compare with 2019
2019 is the last full year before the pandemic. The shutdown period and the business churn that followed changed EIN filing patterns. High-propensity applications totaled 9,195 through May 2026, up 1.6% from Jan-May 2025. Projected business formations within eight quarters rose 2.7% over the same period.
Census BFS counts applications for employer identification numbers. Applications are early filings; confirmed operating-business counts arrive later.
Where applications are concentrated
New Castle is the largest application market by raw filing volume. Kent stands out after population adjustment. Its rate measures filing-location intensity; later employer data capture new local operating businesses.
Applications relative to population
Each rate divides 2025 Census BFS applications by the county’s Census Vintage 2025 resident population estimate. New Castle still has the most total filings, while Kent has the highest application volume relative to resident population among these high-volume counties. For Delaware, treat the county rate as a filing-location signal that can be influenced by entity-registration and business-address patterns.
Census BFS counts EIN applications. The denominator is 2025 resident population, which adjusts the filing count for scale. Startup conversion requires a business-based denominator.
| County | 2025 applications | Change vs 2024 | Change vs 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Castle | 28,427 | -4.3% | +85.0% |
| Kent | 24,828 | +5.4% | +276.8% |
| Sussex | 6,877 | +11.2% | +75.4% |
Jobs, establishments, and wages
In 2024, Delaware had 45,178 private-sector establishments and 409,731 private-sector jobs. The establishment count was 33.6% higher than in 2019, and employment was 5.3% higher.
Professional services led establishment growth.
Professional services added 3,913 establishments from 2019 to 2024. Health care and social assistance added 6,700 jobs over the same period.
BLS QCEW counts employer establishments and jobs, along with wages, payroll, and local industry structure.
| Industry | 2024 establishments | Change vs 2019 | 2024 jobs | Change vs 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional services | 9,297 | +3,913 (+72.7%) | 28,841 | +2,724 (+10.4%) |
| Health care and social assistance | 6,010 | +1,038 (+20.9%) | 78,754 | +6,700 (+9.3%) |
| Administrative services | 4,886 | +2,024 (+70.7%) | 28,768 | -777 (-2.6%) |
| Construction | 3,758 | +751 (+25.0%) | 24,283 | +1,374 (+6.0%) |
| Wholesale trade | 2,878 | +362 (+14.4%) | 12,775 | +1,792 (+16.3%) |
| Accommodation and food services | 2,572 | +315 (+14.0%) | 43,751 | +583 (+1.4%) |
| Finance and insurance | 2,556 | +733 (+40.2%) | 43,784 | +1,216 (+2.9%) |
| Other services | 2,460 | +408 (+19.9%) | 12,711 | +586 (+4.8%) |
| Real estate and rental | 1,298 | +213 (+19.6%) | 6,014 | +420 (+7.5%) |
| Information | 1,152 | +655 (+131.8%) | 3,529 | -376 (-9.6%) |
SBA lending
SBA 7(a) and 504 approvals to Delaware businesses totaled $96.9M in FY2025 across 282 loans. The SBA files report 1,848 jobs supported for those approvals.
Accommodation and food services drew the most SBA capital.
Accommodation and food services drew $18.0M in FY2025 SBA approvals. Other services, professional services, administrative services, and retail trade received the next-largest approval totals.
SBA fiscal year 2025 ran from Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025. The published files were current as of April 28, 2026.
| Sector | FY2025 loans | FY2025 approvals | SBA jobs supported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and food services | 28 | $18.0M | 420 |
| Other services | 41 | $13.9M | 294 |
| Professional services | 39 | $11.3M | 195 |
| Administrative services | 21 | $10.1M | 136 |
| Retail trade | 29 | $8.8M | 108 |
| Arts and entertainment | 13 | $7.4M | 66 |
| Manufacturing | 9 | $5.6M | 63 |
| Construction | 37 | $4.0M | 140 |
| Educational services | 7 | $3.8M | 66 |
| Wholesale trade | 14 | $3.8M | 73 |
| County | FY2025 loans | FY2025 approvals | SBA jobs supported |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Castle | 156 | $62.7M | 1,140 |
| Sussex | 76 | $26.4M | 475 |
| Kent | 50 | $7.8M | 233 |
The unincorporated business economy
IRS SOI data show 88,250 Delaware Schedules C and partnership returns/forms in Tax Year 2023. Those businesses reported $23.2B in gross receipts and -$5.1B in the combined income/profit measure.
Sole proprietors account for most returns.
Delaware had 69,004 nonfarm sole-proprietor Schedules C in Tax Year 2023, with $5.3B in gross receipts and $857.1M in net profit.
Partnerships reported more gross receipts.
Delaware partnerships filed 19,246 Forms 1065 in Tax Year 2023 and reported $17.9B in gross receipts.
| County | Returns/forms | Gross receipts | Combined income/profit metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Castle | 50,169 | $16.0B | -$5.6B |
| Sussex | 22,813 | $4.2B | $544.4M |
| Kent | 15,268 | $3.0B | $5.3M |
Business stress signals
Business bankruptcy cases tied to Delaware counties rose from 58 to 81 in the 12 months ending March 31, 2026. Chapter 11 accounted for 40 cases.
Why county totals can jump
New Castle had the largest business-bankruptcy count in the latest F-5A table. Related business cases filed in the same venue can create a sudden change in one county’s total.
Definition: U.S. Courts classifies debt as business when the debtor is a corporation or partnership, or when business-related debt predominates.
| County | Business cases, 12 months ending Mar. 31, 2026 | Change vs prior 12 months | Chapter 11 cases | All bankruptcy cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Castle | 54 | +8 | 24 | 927 |
| Kent | 18 | +9 | 12 | 407 |
| Sussex | 9 | +6 | 4 | 310 |
National credit backdrop
The 2026 Fed Small Business Credit Survey appendix reported that 94% of U.S. employer firms faced a financial challenge in 2025, 38% applied for financing, and 52% of applicants were fully approved.
Federal contract demand
USAspending reports $279.9M in FY2025 federal procurement obligations to recipients located in Delaware. USAspending assigns these obligations to the recipient’s state and includes award type codes A, B, C, and D.
| NAICS | Federal procurement category | FY2025 obligations |
|---|---|---|
| 334516 | Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing | $29.6M |
| 541519 | Other Computer Related Services | $25.0M |
| 236220 | Commercial and Institutional Building Construction | $22.2M |
| 324110 | Petroleum Refineries | $19.7M |
| 541511 | Custom Computer Programming Services | $18.7M |
| 541715 | Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) | $15.9M |
| 611110 | Elementary and Secondary Schools | $12.0M |
| 481211 | Nonscheduled Chartered Passenger Air Transportation | $11.8M |
| 561730 | Landscaping Services | $11.1M |
| 481212 | Nonscheduled Chartered Freight Air Transportation | $11.1M |
How the numbers fit together
Delaware's business applications rose 1.1% in 2025. The employer base has expanded since 2019, with establishments up 33.6% and employment up 5.3%.
Sources and definitions
Each dataset updates on its own schedule. Annual figures use the latest complete year, and partial-year comparisons are labeled beside the relevant number.
- Census BFS monthly CSV
Updated June 10, 2026, 14:00 GMT - Census BFS county workbook
Updated June 10, 2026, 14:22 GMT - Census county population estimates
Vintage 2025 county resident population estimates - BLS QCEW annual area files
2019 and 2024 annual API files - SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA package
Updated April 28, 2026, 14:42 GMT - IRS SOI Tax Year 2023 unincorporated tables
Tax Year 2023 county combined, sole proprietor state, and partnership state tables - U.S. Courts F-5A bankruptcy XLSX
12 months ending March 31, 2026 - Fed SBCS Main Street Metrics appendix
Last updated March 23, 2026 - USAspending API
FY2025 procurement obligations
Alex Morgan turns Census, BLS, SBA, IRS, court, Federal Reserve, and USAspending records into state-by-state business comparisons.