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Manufacturing Compass

Delaware manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2025. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Delaware manufacturing in 2025

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

Establishments

833

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
399,936
Share of U.S.Calc
0.2%

Employment

26,680

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,579,906
Share of U.S.Calc
0.2%

Total wages

$2.1 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

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

Average weekly wage

$1,527

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,721
vs. U.S.Calc
−11.3%

Average annual pay

$79,420

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$89,471
vs. U.S.Calc
−11.2%

Location quotient

0.69

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Delaware is 0.69 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. 6 are withheld by BLS (“Not disclosed”). Subsectors therefore may not add up to the manufacturing total.

  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    11,157
    Establishments
    76
    Avg. annual pay
    $56,518
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −10.9%
    Location quotient
    2.03
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    3,077
    Establishments
    132
    Avg. annual pay
    $119,808
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.9%
    Location quotient
    1.12
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,299
    Establishments
    64
    Avg. annual pay
    $118,877
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −27.5%
    Location quotient
    0.74
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,235
    Establishments
    100
    Avg. annual pay
    $69,651
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.8%
    Location quotient
    0.28
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    1,073
    Establishments
    51
    Avg. annual pay
    $74,049
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +4.4%
    Location quotient
    0.50
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    1,002
    Establishments
    26
    Avg. annual pay
    $103,949
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +15.4%
    Location quotient
    0.75
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    903
    Establishments
    12
    Avg. annual pay
    $81,144
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.7%
    Location quotient
    0.83
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    738
    Establishments
    13
    Avg. annual pay
    $144,407
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +0.5%
    Location quotient
    2.18
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    730
    Establishments
    32
    Avg. annual pay
    $49,982
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −22.1%
    Location quotient
    0.72
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    716
    Establishments
    38
    Avg. annual pay
    $77,414
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −1.7%
    Location quotient
    0.56
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    704
    Establishments
    41
    Avg. annual pay
    $77,596
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −14.6%
    Location quotient
    0.21
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    535
    Establishments
    70
    Avg. annual pay
    $88,916
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +2.9%
    Location quotient
    0.28
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    474
    Establishments
    33
    Avg. annual pay
    $62,398
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +0.4%
    Location quotient
    0.46
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    324
    Establishments
    24
    Avg. annual pay
    $57,580
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −10.4%
    Location quotient
    0.26
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    298
    Establishments
    65
    Avg. annual pay
    $58,046
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.2%
    Location quotient
    0.28
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    24
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    16
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    8
    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/2025/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2025 (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