Delaware's immigrant population
Delaware's immigrant population has a rich historical context, beginning with early migrations in the seventeenth century by Dutch and Swedish settlers. Over the years, the state has seen waves of immigration, particularly from Irish, German, Italian, and Polish communities, contributing to its cultural landscape. The Wilmington area, as a transportation hub and corporate center, has attracted immigrants with backgrounds in chemistry, business, and technology, while those with less formal education have found it more challenging to benefit from the state's economic opportunities.
In more recent years, the Hispanic population, particularly from Mexico and Puerto Rico, has become a significant part of Delaware's demographic makeup. As of 2022, immigrants represented 9.6% of the state's population, with many working in professional services, manufacturing, healthcare, and social assistance sectors. However, challenges persist, including language barriers and economic disparities, with a notable portion of Hispanic households lacking sufficient income to meet basic needs. Despite these obstacles, there is a strong interest among immigrants in job training and language education, reflecting a desire for integration and advancement within the community. This evolving immigrant landscape continues to shape Delaware's cultural and economic identity.
Subject Terms
Delaware's immigrant population
SIGNIFICANCE: Aside from the more heavily populated northern tip of the state around Wilmington, Delaware has not been a popular destination for immigrants. The Wilmington area’s importance as a transportation hub and corporate center has offered prosperity to immigrants with backgrounds in chemistry, business, and technology. However, less well-educated immigrants have not shared in that prosperity.
Migration to the region that would become the state of Delaware began during the seventeenth century with ventures by Dutch and Swedes up the Delaware River to New Castle. During the eighteenth century, much larger contingents of Scotch-Irish and English settlers arrived. By 1787, when Delaware became one of the original thirteen states, the area was English-speaking, with some Quakers among the settlers. Smaller numbers of French and Irish settlers also lived in the region. The Irish worked in mills and on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, on which construction began in 1804 but did not reach completion until 1829. The canal remained commercially important into the twenty-first century.
Nineteenth Century Immigration
Delaware’s nineteenth-century immigrants were mainly Irish and German until late in the century. The Irish worked in construction and manufacturing, while many Germans were painters, upholsterers, woodworkers, brewers, and saloon keepers. Members of both groups clung to cultural elements from their former homes, but the Germans were unsuccessful in preserving the use of their native language. As in other areas, the Irish became increasingly important in local political life as the century unfolded. By the 1870s and 1880s, the Irish played significant roles in state politics.
Italians, many of whom were masons and construction workers, began appearing late in the century, as did German and Russian Jews fleeing persecution. Most immigrants settled in New Castle, the northernmost of Delaware’s three counties, particularly in Wilmington. By 1900, that city’s population exceeded 76,000, with foreign-born constituting about 14 percent of that total. Many immigrants worked in manufacturing products such as black powder, ships, leather, and textiles.
Twentieth Century Immigration
By 1920, the proportion of immigrants among Delaware’s residents reached its historic high, accounting for just under 9 percent of the total population. By 1970, the percentage of immigrants had dropped to 2.9 percent. During the early twentieth century, Italian and Polish immigrants outnumbered Irish and Germans; most of them worked in factory and service areas. Three powder companies, including the Du Pont Company, moved into the chemical industry early in the century. They concentrated their business's scientific and technological aspects in Wilmington, with much of the manufacturing taking place elsewhere. Delaware saw a sharp decline in blue-collar workers and an increasing need for well-educated ones.
Aside from Puerto Ricans, who are technically not foreign immigrants, the largest concentration of late twentieth and early twenty-first century immigrants in Delaware were Mexicans. In contrast to Mexican immigrants in other states, relatively few of Delaware’s Mexican residents are agricultural workers. Retail trade has attracted many, especially restaurant operations. Others have worked in finance, insurance, real estate, and rental and leasing occupations. Both Mexican women and men were well-represented in Delaware's labor force.
A study of the economic and employment status of Delaware’s Hispanic population, including Puerto Ricans, completed in 2008 found that one-quarter of them were living in poverty. In Kent and Sussex, the central and southern of the state’s three counties, 59 percent of the Hispanic households did not earn enough money to meet a family's basic needs. This report found construction, restaurant operation, and professional services as the most frequent sources of income. Moreover, nearly one-half of employed Hispanic people were judged to be deficient in English-language skills. However, the report also revealed that an overwhelming majority of the state’s Hispanic residents were interested in job training and English classes that many were not receiving.
The foreign-born population in Delaware grew by 69.2 percent between 2000 and 2013. In 2013, foreign-born residents comprised 8.3 percent of Delaware's population, 10.6 percent of its business owners, and more than 10 percent of the workforce. These immigrants were mainly Latino and Asian, with Mexico, India, and China being the leading countries of origin. According to data collected in the American Community Survey, analyzed by the American Immigration Council, in 2022, Delaware had 98,000 foreign-born residents, comprising 9.6 percent of its population. This number has been steadily increasing throughout the 2020s. The leading countries of origin for Delaware’s immigrant population in 2022 included Mexico, India, Guatemala, and China. In 2022, immigrants comprised 12.5 percent of Delaware’s workforce, or 65,500 people. The industries most likely to be pursued by foreign-born individuals in Delaware included professional services, manufacturing, healthcare, and social assistance. Over 56 percent of Delaware’s immigrant population were naturalized United States citizens, and in 2022, Delaware had 19,600 undocumented immigrants.
Bibliography
Boyer, William W., and Edward C. Ratledge. Delaware Politics and Government. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2009.
"Delaware." Migration Policy Institute, www.migrationpolicy.org/data/state-profiles/state/demographics/DE/. Accessed 30 Aug. 2024.
Hoffecker, Carol E. Delaware: A Bicentennial History. New York: W. W. Norton, 1977.
"Immigrants in Delaware." American Immigration Council, map.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/locations/delaware. Accessed 30 Aug. 2024.
Munroe, John A. Colonial Delaware: A History. Millwood, N.Y.: KTO Press, 1978.
Munroe, John A. History of Delaware. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1984.
Pauly, Megan. "Group Says Growing Immigrant Population in Delaware Bolsters Local Economy." Delaware Public Media, Delaware First Media, 3 Aug. 2016, delawarepublic.org/post/group-says-growing-immigrant-population-delaware-bolsters-local-economy. Accessed 17 Oct. 2016.