Print This Page Done
Select a Different State

Delaware


Summary Demographic State Data (and Source)
Population (2008 CB est.): 873,092
Population (2000 Census): 783,600
Foreign-Born Population (2008 FAIR est.): 71,155
Foreign-Born Population (2000 Census): 44,898
Share Foreign-Born (2008 FAIR est.) 8.1%
Share Foreign-Born (2000): 5.7%
Immigrant Stock (2000 CB est.): 71,000
Share Immigrant Stock (2000 est.): 9.1%
Naturalized U.S. Citizens (2006 CB est.): 28,987
Share Naturalized (2006): 42.2%
Legal Immigrant Admission(DHS 1997-2006): 65,690
Refugee Admission(2007 DHS 1997-2006): 6,660
Illegal Alien Population (2008 FAIR est.): 30,000
Costs of Illegal Aliens (2050 FAIR) $65,000,000
Projected 2050 Population (2006 FAIR) 1,356,612

Delaware : Extended Immigration Data

STATE POPULATION

Using the Current Population Survey, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that in July 2008 Delaware’s population had increased to 873,092 residents, i.e. an annual average increase of about 12,260 residents since 2000. That is a rate of increase of about 1.4 percent per year.

Delaware population 1900-2008

NET INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION (NIM)

Based on the Current Population Survey, the Census Bureau estimated that between the 2000 Census and July 2008 the state’s population increased by about 14,270 residents from net international migration (more foreign-born arriving than leaving). That was an annual average increase of about 1,720 residents, i.e., nearly one-sixth (15.9%) of the total increase (not including the children born to the immigrants after their arrival in the United States).


Delaware Sources of Population 2000-08

FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION

Based on the American Community Survey (ACS), the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the foreign-born population of Delaware was 64,591 persons in 2006. The ACS is a large-scale, continuous sampling process designed to replace the need for a long-form in the 2010 Census. However, because the ACS does not have the same follow-up procedures as the Census to include non-respondents, it may underestimate the foreign-born population.

FAIR estimates that the foreign-born population of Delaware was about 71,155 residents in July 2008. This meant a foreign-born population share of 8.1 percent. The amount of change since the 2000 Census indicates an average annual rate of increase in the foreign-born population of about 3,595 people, which is nearly three-tenths (29.3%) of the state’s annual average population increase. Since 2000, the foreign-born population has increased by 58.5 percent compared to an 8.6 percent increase in the native-born population.

Immigration also contributes to population growth through the children born to immigrants in this country. Nationally the share of births to the foreign-born is about double their share of the population. A 16.2 percent share of the state’s current births is large enough to account for about 1,860 births a year. Combining the increase in the foreign-born population and estimated immigrant births suggests that immigration may account for about 5,460 persons added to the state’s population annually, i.e., more than two-fifths (44.5%) of the state’s overall population increase.


Delaware Foreign-Born Population 1900-2008

The 2000 Census found that 47.2 percent of Delaware's foreign-born population had arrived in the state since 1990. This demonstrates the effects of the current mass immigration, and it is higher share than the national average (43.7%).

An indicator of the change in the immigrant population may be seen in data on the share of the population that speaks a language other than English at home. Between 1990 and 2000 the share of non-English speakers at home in Delaware increased by more than one-quarter from 6.9 percent to 8.9 percent. About two-fifths (40.8%) of those who said they spoke a language other than English at home in 2000 also said they spoke English less than very well.

Speakers of Foreign Languages
(at home in Delaware in the 2000 Census)

Spanish 34,690
French 3,930
German 3,430
Chinese 3,230
Italian 2,860
Polish 2,035
Korean 1,600
Tagalog 1,285
French Creole 1,200
Gujarathi 970

(Source: Census Bureau report: Language Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over, April 2004)

The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey found that in 2006, the foreign born population was 68,722 residents, an increase of 53.1% percent since 2000. In comparison, the foreign-born population changed from 22,275 to 44,898 residents between 1990 and 2000, an increase of 101.6 percent.

The ten countries below constituted 47.0% of the foreign-born population in Delaware in 2006. Mexico accounted for approximately one fifth alone (20.8%)

Foreign-Born Change Since 1990: Top Ten Countries 1990-2006

Rank

  Country

1990

 

  Country

2000

 

  Country

2006

1    United Kingdom 2,003    Mexico 7,846    Mexico 14,304
2    Germany 1,628    India 3,736    India 6,231
3    India 1,302    China 3,208    China 2,945
4    Italy 1,161    United Kingdom 2,521    Philippines 2,186
5    Canada 996    Germany 1,901    United Kingdom 1,971
6    Mexico 883    Jamaica 1,682    Canada 1,959
7    Korea 878    Guatemala 1,655    Korea 1,603
8    Jamaica 842    Korea 1,577    Jamaica 1,523
9    Philippines 826    Canada 1,544    England 1,500
10    China 756    Philippines 1,507    Germany 1,422
   All Other 11,000    All Others 17,721    All Others 33,078
   Total 22,275    Total 44,898    Total 68,722

Between the 2000 Census and the Census Bureau estimate for 2006, the foreign-born population in Delaware increased by about 30,800 persons (52.9%). Latin America (including Mexico) accounted for more than 18,800 immigrants (up 61.2%). Mexico alone accounted for nearly 7,000 additional immigrants (up 52.6%). Immigrants from Asia grew by 36.4% (nearly 5,000 people). Immigrants from Africa more than tripled (by nearly 4,700). The immigrant population from Europe and Canada increased by more than 2,300 persons (20.3%).

 

THE IMMIGRANT STOCK
The Census Bureau estimates that there were about 71,000 people in Delaware in 2000 who were "immigrant stock." That is a term that refers to immigrants and their children born here after their arrival. Based on that estimate and the population of 783,600 the immigrant stock share of the state's population was 9.1 percent in 2000.

As the graph below shows, the amount and share of Delaware’s population change due to the increase in the foreign stock is rising rapidly. Over the past 34 years the new immigrants and children born to them have added about 63,000 people to the population. Over this period, the increase in the foreign stock has accounted for 22.4 percent of the state’s population increase.

Delaware Foreign Stock

 

NATURALIZATION

Data from the 2006 American Community Survey indicate that 28,987 residents, or 42.2 percent, of the foreign-born population in Delaware were citizens, compared to 19,052 residents, or 42.4 percent, in 2000.  

Nationally, 40.3 percent of the foreign-born population was citizens in 2000, and 42.0 percent in 2006 

Refugee Settlement

Delaware has received 282 refugees over the most recent ten fiscal years (FY'97-'06) including two persons in FY’06

 

Under the Office of Refugee Resettlement's (HHS/ORR) assistance funding for FY'02 $75,000 is available for refugee employment training and other services programs in Delaware based on a three-year refugee settlement program covering 143 refugees (an average of $524 per refugee). This allocation does not include a larger share (55%) of funding programs for communities heavily affected by recent Cuban and Haitian entrants, communities with refugees whose cultural differences make assimilation especially difficult, communities impacted by federal welfare reform changes, educational support to schools with significant refugee students, and discretionary grants. ORR grants for FY’05 and FY’06 respectively were $146,945 and $158,586. 

LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY STUDENTS

Data are not available nationally on immigrant students (either legally or illegally resident in the United States) who are enrolled in primary and secondary schools (K-12). However, many of these students are enrolled in Limited English Proficiency/English Language Learning (LEP/ELL) instruction programs. Many may be U.S.-born, but the majority of these students may be assumed to be either immigrants or the children of immigrants, with the exception being areas with native Americans who speak a native language other than English.

In Delaware, overall enrollment in 2004 (115,486) was 9.5 percent below enrollment in 1995. By contrast, LEP enrollment was 183,2 percent higher a decade earlier.

Data on enrollment in LEP/ELL programs are collected by the federal government from school systems that receive Title VII funds for these special instruction programs. The data on LEP/ELL enrollment are understated because data from private schools that do not apply for Title VII assistance are sketchy.

FOREIGN STUDENTS

The 2006/07 annual report of the Institute of International Education (IIE) lists the number of foreign students attending post-secondary school in Deleware as 1,964. One school in Deleware is listed as having a major concentration of these students: Univeristy of Deleware had enrollment of 1,411 foreign students, 7.6% of total enrollment. Below, a chart illustrates the sharp increase of foreign students attending school in Deleware from 1960-2007.

ILLEGAL ALIENS

FAIR Estimate - FAIR estimates the state’s illegal alien population as of 2008 is as many as 30,000 persons. This is part of an overall estimate of the U.S. illegal alien population of about 13 million persons.

INS/DHS Estimate - The INS (now dissolved into the Dept. of Homeland Security) estimated in February 2003 that the resident illegal population in Alabama was 10,000 as of January 2000. This number was 7,500 higher than the INS' 1996 estimate.

Other Estimates - The Pew Hispanic Center estimates the illegal alien population of the state at 15,000 to 30,000 as of 2005.

COST OF ILLEGAL ALIENS

Incarceration Costs- Delaware has received partial compensation under the federal State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) that was established in 1994 to compensate the states and local jurisdictions for incarceration of "undocumented," aliens who are serving time for a felony conviction or at least two misdemeanors.

The recent SCAAP amounts that Delaware has received were:
FY’99  —  $491,498
FY’00  —  $202,591
FY’01  —  $211,983
FY’02  —  $228,963
FY’03  —  $140,799
FY’04  —  $131,263

The amount of SCAAP awards has been declining in both total distributions and even more as a share of the state’s expenses. In FY’99 the state received 38.6% of its costs. SCAAP data indicate that Delaware's illegal alien inmate population had decreased by 24 percent from the 70 inmate years in FY'99 to 53 inmate years in FY'02, while compensation declined by 53 percent.

Medical Costs-Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, hospitals with emergency rooms are required to treat and stabilize patients with emergency medical needs regardless whether or not they are in the country legally or whether they are able to pay for the treatment. Congress in 2003 enacted an appropriation of $250 million per year (for 4 years) to help offset some of the costs due to use of this service by illegal aliens. This amount has been allocated among the states based upon estimates of the illegal alien population and data on the apprehension of illegal aliens in each state. This amount compensates only a fraction of the medical outlays. For Delaware, the proposed payment in fiscal year 2004 is $238,469.

Educational Costs-In our study Breaking the Piggy Bank: How Illegal Immigration is Sending Schools into the Red, we estimated based on 2004 data that educational expenditures for illegal immigration were costing the Deleware taxpayer $53.8 million dollars annually. This cost was partially for educating students who were themselves illegally in the country ($22.4 million) and in part for the education of their siblings born in the United States to illegal residents ($31.4 million).

Projected Fiscal Costs- In 2006 we estimated tha Deleware taxpayer is currently burdened with annual costs of about $65 million because of illegal aliens residing in the state. That estimate was based on only expenditures for education, emergency medical care and incarceration. We projected that those costs will rise unless we gain control over our borders and our worksites. If a new amnesty and increases in immigrants and guest workers were enacted, as proposed by business and ethnic advocacy groups, we project that the cost to the state’s taxpayers for those same programs would rise to $112 million per year in 2010 and to $198 million per year in 2020.

LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS
View a listing of local immigration reform groups here.

STATE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION VOTING RECORD
You can now access the voting record of your representatives in Congress regarding immigration issues in our voting report section.

Back to Top

Delaware : Immigration Impact

State Population (2006 CB estimate) 853,476
State Population in 2000 783,600
Average Annual Change 2000-2006 1.4%
Foreign Born Population 20061 56,225
Foreign Born Share 2006 6.6%
Foreign Born Population 2000 44,898
Foreign Born Share 2000 5.7%
Average Annual Change 2000-2006 4.0%
Population Projection 2010 8.8 million
Population Projection 2025 9.9 million
Population Projection 2050 (FAIR) 1.3 million

All numbers are from the U.S. Census Bureau unless otherwise noted.Additional Census Bureau, INS, and other immigration-related data are available for Delaware.

Population Change 

Delaware's population increased by 17.6 percent between 1990 and 2000, and by 8.9 percent between 2000 and 2006, bringing Delaware's total population to approximately 850 thousand. 

Approximately 16.2 percent of the total population increase between 2000 and 2006 in Delaware was directly attributable to immigrants.

FAIR estimates the illegal alien population in 2005 at 20,000. This number is 100% above the U.S. government estimate of 10,000 in 2000, and 567% above the 1990 estimate of 3,000.

According to an estimate of the Pew Hispanic Center, in 2005 there were an estimated 15,000 to 35,000 illegal aliens living in Delaware. 2

FAIR estimates in 2004 that the taxpayers of Delaware spent $53.8 million per year on illegal aliens and their children in public schools.3 

 

FAIR’s projected annual fiscal costs to Delaware taxpayers
for emergency medical care, education and incarceration resulting if an amnesty is adopted for illegal residents.

Current

2010

2020

$65,000,000

$112,000,000

$198,000,000

Population Profile

Delaware’s population increased by 18 percent, or 50,000 people, between 1990 and 2000.

Delaware’s foreign-born population more than doubled during the 1990s, increasing by 102 percent. Between 1990 and 2000 Delaware gained 23,000 immigrants.

 

 

Foreign-Born Population 

Delaware's foreign-born population increased by over 25 percent between 2000 and 2006. During that period Delaware gained over 11,000 immigrants, bringing the total number of foreign-born residents in the state to over 56,000.

 

 

 

 

 

Environmental and Quality of Life Profile

Traffic: As population growth put more traffic on the roads, the average commute for Delaware residents increased 20 percent during the 1990s, from 20 to 24 minutes in 2004 4,5 and to 23.7 in 2005.6

26% of Delaware's major urban roads are congested and 29% of Delaware's major roads are in poor or mediocre condition. Vehicle travel on Delaware's highways increased 38% from 1990 to 2003. Driving on roads in need of repair costs Delaware motorists $160 million a year in extra vehicle repairs and operating costs --- $273 per motorist.7  In 2003 13 percent of workers had a commute of at least 45 minutes.8

Water: Between 2000 and 2006, Delaware’s foreign-born population increased by 53.1 percent.9 That compares with a 6.2 percent increase in the native-born population and that includes the children born to immigrants. When the U.S-born children of immigrants are included, immigration accounts for nearly half (49.7%) of the state’s overall growth during that time.10 By 2050 the state’s population is expected to rise from 850,000 in 2006 to 1.3 million.11 Delaware has a daily, per-capita water demand of 121.2 gallons.12

Air Quality: The American lung association gave all three of Delaware’s counties a grade of “F” in their “State of the Air” report in 2005.13

Disappearing Open Space: Each year, Delaware loses 4,600 acres due to development.14 The American Planning Association says that the state expects a possible loss of 125,000 acres of open space by 2020.15

A study of urban sprawl between 1970 and 1990 that calculated the impact of population increase and per capita land use found that 78.0 square miles of additional land were consumed by urban sprawl in the Wilmington area, with spillover into New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, and 35.7 percent of that sprawl was attributable to population increase. 16

Solid Waste: Delaware generates 1.3 tons of solid waste per capita.17

Crowded Housing: 6,272 Delaware households were defined as crowded by housing authorities in 2005.18 Studies show that a rise in crowded housing often correlates with an increase in the number of foreign-born.19,20

In Georgetown, an influx of immigrants working in local chicken processing plants has created a shortage of affordable housing. Deteriorating single-family houses—many purchased for $40,000 or less a few years ago—now charge up to $1,000 a month in rent. Many of these houses are shared by half-dozen or more tenants, leading to further deterioration. Georgetown’s mayor and other town officials say the situation is reaching a crisis point.21

Poverty: Almost eighteen percent of immigrants in Delaware have incomes below the poverty level, a change of one-hundred percent since 2000.  Among non-citizens, the poverty rate jumps to twenty-three percent.22

Impact of Immigration on Delaware Schools

Between 2000 and 2006 Delaware’s elementary and high school enrollment increased by 6.7 percent (over 8,000 students) 23,24 and is projected to grow by an additional 8.3 percent by 2015 to a total student enrollment of 131,000. 25 Delaware’s student to teacher ratio currently ranks 30th in the nation. 26

 

Endnotes

  1. FAIR estimate based on the 2006 Current Population Survey.
  2. States based on the March 2005 CPS", Pew Hispanic Center
  3. Martin, Jack. “Breaking the Piggy Bank: How Illegal Immigration is Sending Schools into the Red,” A Report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
  4. “Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000,” Census 2000, U.S. Census Bureau.
  5. “Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 1990,” 1990 Census, U.S. Census Bureau.
  6. "Data Set: 2005 American Community Survey: Delaware 2005," American Factfinder, U.S. Census Bureau.
  7. Report Card for America's Infrastructure 2005," American Society of Civil Engineers.
  8. “U.S. Population 2007 Data Sheet,” Population Reference Bureau.
  9. U.S. Census Bureau 2006.
  10. Jack Martin. “Issue Brief: Estimation of Foreign Born Birthrate.” FAIR. 2008
  11. Jack Martin and Stanley Fogel. “Projecting the U.S. Population to 2050.” FAIR. March 2006.
  12. U.S. Geological Survey 2000.
  13. “State of the Air 2005: Delaware”, American Lung Association.
  14. “2002 State of the States,” American Planning Association.
  15. Beck, Roy and Leon Kolankiewicz, “Weighing Sprawl Factors in Large U.S. Cities,” NumbersUSA, March 2001
  16. Report Card for America's Infrastructure 2005," American Society of Civil Engineers.
  17. Selected Housing Characteristics: 2005 data set-2005 American Community Survey, American Fact Finder, U.S. Census Bureau.
  18. Haya El Nasser, “U.S. Neighborhoods Grow More Crowded,” USA Today, July 7, 2002
  19. Randy Capps, “Hardship Among Children of Immigrants: Findings from the 1999 National Survey of America’s Families,” Urban Institute, 2001.
  20. Patricia Rivera, “Housing Woes Plague Georgetown,” News Journal, November 28, 1997.
  21. “Delware State Factsheet,” Migration Information Source, Migration Policy Institute.
  22. "Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools and Districts: School Year 1999-2000," National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
  23. "Public Elementary and Secondary School Student Enrollment, High School Completions, and Staff From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2005-06', National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, June 2007.
  24. Projections of Education Statistics to 2010, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
  25. "Public Elementary and Secondary School Student Enrollment, High School Completions, and Staff From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2005-06', National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, June 2007.

Back to Top

Back to Top