Most African American cities in Delaware research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to analyze Delaware’s most recent Census data to determine the cities with the largest Black population, based on the percentage of Black residents.
The city with the largest African American population in Delaware is Wilmington (51.6% Black); the least is Newark (9.9%). Statewide, Delaware is 21.4% Black — the 7th blackest state in the country.
Roughly 42 million people identifying as Black or African American live in the United States, about 12% of the total population. In Delaware, the Black population is 218,269, at 21.4% of the state total.
We broke down the most recent Census data to determine the cities in Delaware with the largest African American population in 2026.
#1 most African American in Delaware
Located in
New Castle County, DelawareWilmington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It is at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine River, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley metropolitan area. Wilmington was named by Proprietor Thomas Penn after his friend Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, who was prime minister in the reign of George II of Great Britain.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#2 most African American in Delaware
Located in
Kent County, DelawareDover is the capital and second-largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, DE Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County and is part of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD Combined Statistical Area. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware River coastal plain. It was named by William Penn of Dover in Kent, England. As of 2010, the city had a population of 36,047.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#3 most African American in Delaware
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#4 most African American in Delaware
New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 5,285.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#5 most African American in Delaware
Located in
New Castle County, DelawareSmyrna is a town in Kent and New Castle counties in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the Census Bureau, as of 2010, the population of the town is 10,023.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#6 most African American in Delaware
Located in
Sussex County, DelawareSeaford is a city located along the Nanticoke River in Sussex County, Delaware. According to the 2010 Census Bureau figures, the population of the city is 6,928, an increase of 3.4% from the 2000 census. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#7 most African American in Delaware
Located in
Sussex County, DelawareMilford is a city in Kent and Sussex counties in the U.S. state of Delaware. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 9,559.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#8 most African American in Delaware
Located in
New Castle County, DelawareElsmere is a town in New Castle County, Delaware, United States, bordering the city of Wilmington along Wilmington’s western border. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the town is 6,131.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#9 most African American in Delaware
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#10 most African American in Delaware
Located in
New Castle County, DelawareNewark is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It is located 12 miles west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is home to the University of Delaware, which is often regarded as a top ten ranked University in the United States.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Delaware’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Delaware’s Black communities live
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In Delaware With The Largest Black Population For 2026
We still believe in the accuracy of data — especially from the Census. So that’s where we went to get the race breakdown across Delaware.
That leads us to the Census’s most recently available data, the 2020-2024 American Community Survey data from the US Census.
Specifically, we looked at table B03002: Hispanic OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE. Here are the category names as defined by the Census:
- Hispanic or Latino
- White alone*
- Black or African American alone*
- American Indian and Alaska Native alone*
- Asian alone*
- Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone*
- Some other race alone*
- Two or more races*
Our particular column of interest was the number of people who identified as Black or African American.
We limited our analysis to non-CDPs with a population greater than 5,000 people in Delaware. That left us with 10 cities.
We then calculated the percentage of residents that are Black or African American. The percentages ranked from 51.6% to 9.9%.
Finally, we ranked each city based on the percentage of the Black population, with a higher score being more Black than a lower score. Wilmington took the distinction of being the most Black, while Newark was the least African American city.
We updated this article for 2026. This is our eleventh time ranking the cities in Delaware with the largest African American population.
The full plate
African American Population By City In Delaware
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | African American Population | % African American |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilmington | 71,727 | 37,046 | 51.6% |
| 2 | Dover | 39,837 | 17,831 | 44.8% |
| 3 | Middl | 24,661 | 7,646 | 31.0% |
| 4 | New Castle | 5,579 | 1,587 | 28.4% |
| 5 | Smyrna | 13,165 | 3,686 | 28.0% |
| 6 | Seaford | 8,485 | 1,897 | 22.4% |
| 7 | Milford | 12,803 | 2,497 | 19.5% |
| 8 | Elsmere | 6,203 | 1,126 | 18.2% |
| 9 | Georg | 7,660 | 840 | 11.0% |
| 10 | Newark | 30,330 | 2,988 | 9.9% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 10 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: Black Populations Across Delaware
If you’re looking for a breakdown of African American populations across Delaware according to the most recent data, this is an accurate list.
The blackest cities in Delaware are Wilmington, Dover, Middl, New Castle, Smyrna, Seaford, Milford, Elsmere, Georg, and Newark. Not sold on Delaware? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
