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Manufacturing Compass

Delaware manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2023. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Delaware manufacturing in 2023

Totals and averages for all private manufacturing employers in Delaware combined. They describe the industry statewide, not any individual plant or company.

Establishments

808

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
392,201
Share of U.S.Calc
0.2%

Employment

26,818

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,868,061
Share of U.S.Calc
0.2%

Total wages

$2 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1.1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
0.2%

Average weekly wage

$1,428

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,588
vs. U.S.Calc
−10.1%

Average annual pay

$74,278

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$82,575
vs. U.S.Calc
−10.0%

Location quotient

0.68

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Delaware is 0.68 times its share of all U.S. jobs.

Calcmarks our calculations from BLS figures (formulas below). All other values are published by BLS.

02Subsectors

Where manufacturing jobs are

The 21 three-digit NAICS manufacturing subsectors, largest employment first. 4 are withheld by BLS (“Not disclosed”). Subsectors therefore may not add up to the manufacturing total.

  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    10,087
    Establishments
    74
    Avg. annual pay
    $51,260
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −13.6%
    Location quotient
    1.90
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    3,173
    Establishments
    127
    Avg. annual pay
    $115,784
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +2.7%
    Location quotient
    1.16
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,491
    Establishments
    63
    Avg. annual pay
    $110,187
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −27.8%
    Location quotient
    0.74
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    1,452
    Establishments
    48
    Avg. annual pay
    $66,265
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −0.5%
    Location quotient
    0.65
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,293
    Establishments
    105
    Avg. annual pay
    $63,844
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.9%
    Location quotient
    0.29
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    1,150
    Establishments
    19
    Avg. annual pay
    $79,450
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.0%
    Location quotient
    0.91
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    923
    Establishments
    10
    Avg. annual pay
    $76,499
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.8%
    Location quotient
    0.84
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    747
    Establishments
    31
    Avg. annual pay
    $45,736
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −22.0%
    Location quotient
    0.73
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    747
    Establishments
    14
    Avg. annual pay
    $156,917
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +14.0%
    Location quotient
    2.27
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    722
    Establishments
    38
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,209
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −15.3%
    Location quotient
    0.21
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    709
    Establishments
    32
    Avg. annual pay
    $53,752
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.4%
    Location quotient
    0.65
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    708
    Establishments
    36
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,385
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −1.8%
    Location quotient
    0.55
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    597
    Establishments
    62
    Avg. annual pay
    $63,916
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −17.8%
    Location quotient
    0.31
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    438
    Establishments
    23
    Avg. annual pay
    $94,958
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +7.2%
    Location quotient
    0.08
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    349
    Establishments
    71
    Avg. annual pay
    $57,317
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.6%
    Location quotient
    0.31
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    313
    Establishments
    25
    Avg. annual pay
    $61,920
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +2.3%
    Location quotient
    0.24
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    58
    Establishments
    15
    Avg. annual pay
    $55,841
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +7.8%
    Location quotient
    0.19
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    9
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    4
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    4
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    1
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed

03By year

Delaware manufacturing, 2022–2025

Wages are in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation). BLS cautions that QCEW is not designed as a time series, so treat year-to-year differences as indicative.

Private manufacturing in Delaware by year, annual averages, nominal dollars
YearEmploymentAvg. annual payvs. U.S.Calc
202226,227$73,557−7.5%
202326,818$74,278−10.0%
202426,676$76,813−10.1%
202526,680$79,420−11.2%

04About this data

Source, definitions, and limits

Source
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
File
data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2023 (final BLS data)
Industry
NAICS 2022, sector 31–33 and its three-digit subsectors
Ownership
Private employers only
Geography
Statewide; compared with the U.S. total
Citation
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).

What these numbers cover

  • Jobs reported to state unemployment insurance programs, about 95% of U.S. wage and salary jobs. Self-employed workers and proprietors are excluded; people with two jobs may be counted twice.
  • Averages describe all employers combined and do not represent any single manufacturer. Where a subsector has few establishments or jobs, its averages can swing widely and are less representative.
  • Not disclosed: BLS withheld the value to protect employer confidentiality. It is never shown as zero. No BLS data: BLS publishes no figures for that combination.

Calculations

  • Share of U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value.
  • vs. U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value − 1.
  • Both inputs come from the same BLS file: same year, industry, and ownership. Not calculated when either value is withheld (shown as —).
  • Location quotient is published by BLS: the industry's share of all local jobs (all industries and ownerships) divided by its share nationally.

Read our methodology