county

Sussex County, DE

Demographic and economic profile of Sussex County, DE, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Sussex County is a largely residential, retirement-oriented coastal county with a median age of 51.9 and a homeownership rate of 81.6%, reflecting a population that skews older and settled rather than working-age. The labor force participation rate is just 54.2%, and 32.6% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher, with median worker earnings of $39,766 against a median household income of $81,497. The county grew 12.9% over five years to 271,134 residents, with a median home value of $353,300 and median gross rent of $1,221/month, while a GDP per capita of $67,757 outpaces per capita income, suggesting output concentrated in sectors not broadly reflected in resident wages.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

271,134

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$81,497

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

51.9 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+12.9% since 2018

Sussex County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone189,534 (74.1%)
  • Black or African American Alone25,415 (9.9%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race13,776 (5.4%)
  • Some Other Race Alone12,569 (4.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races9,282 (3.6%)
  • Asian Alone3,244 (1.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish21,446
  2. 2.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)2,867
  3. 3.Other Indo-European2,008
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic795
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island479

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

18.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

52.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

29.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

8.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

17,767

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$67,757

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$44,963

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

11.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance25,294
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)12,586
  3. 3.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services12,578
  4. 4.Construction (Group)11,112
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services10,280

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations40,903
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations22,529
  3. 3.Service Occupations21,269
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations12,884
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations12,176

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Construction (LQ 1.42×)10,451
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.34×)2,279
  3. 3.Public Administration (LQ 1.11×)5,557
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.10×)12,750
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.03×)9,632

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$353,300

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,221/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

81.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,99916,085 (18.5%)
  • $500,000 to $749,99915,707 (18.1%)
  • $400,000 to $499,99914,138 (16.3%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9997,443 (8.6%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9997,322 (8.4%)
  • $750,000 to $999,9995,987 (6.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

32.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

89.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

54.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$39,766

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

27.3 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone81,593 (75.4%)
  • Worked At Home14,479 (13.4%)
  • Carpooled8,689 (8.0%)
  • Walked1,440 (1.3%)
  • Other864 (0.8%)
  • Public Transit494 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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More on FDI Connect

Compare Sussex County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.