# Delaware statistical areas

The U.S. State of Delaware currently has four statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated one combined statistical area, two metropolitan statistical areas, and one micropolitan statistical area in Delaware. As of 2023, the largest statistical area in the state is the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD Combined Statistical Area, which includes Delaware's largest city, Wilmington.

## Background

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has designated more than 1,000 statistical areas for the United States and Puerto Rico. These statistical areas are important geographic delineations of population clusters used by the OMB, the United States Census Bureau, planning organizations, and federal, state, and local government entities.
The OMB defines a core-based statistical area (commonly referred to as a CBSA) as the county or counties (or county-equivalents) surrounding at least one densely-settled core of at least 10,000 population, "plus adjacent counties having a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured through commuting ties with the counties containing the core". The OMB further divides core-based statistical areas based on population into metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) for those with at least 50,000 and micropolitan statistical areas (μSAs) for those with 10,000 to 49,999 people.
The OMB defines a combined statistical area (CSA) as two or more adjacent core-based statistical areas where the employment interchange rate (% commuting from A to B plus % commuting from B to A) is at least 15%. The primary statistical areas (PSAs) include all combined statistical areas and any core-based statistical area that is not a constituent of a combined statistical area.

## Table

The four United States statistical areas and three counties of the State of Delaware :
| Combined statistical area | 2023 population (est.) | Core-based statistical area | 2023 population (est.) | County | 2023 population (est.) | Metropolitan division | 2023 population (est.) |
| Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA | 7,390,919 768,381 (DE) | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA | 6,246,160 578,592 (DE) | Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania | 1,550,542 | Philadelphia, PA MD | 2,127,262 |
| Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA | 7,390,919 768,381 (DE) | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA | 6,246,160 578,592 (DE) | Delaware County, Pennsylvania | 576,720 | Philadelphia, PA MD | 2,127,262 |
| Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA | 7,390,919 768,381 (DE) | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA | 6,246,160 578,592 (DE) | Montgomery County, Pennsylvania | 868,742 | Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County, PA MD | 2,064,510 |
| Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA | 7,390,919 768,381 (DE) | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA | 6,246,160 578,592 (DE) | Bucks County, Pennsylvania | 645,984 | Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County, PA MD | 2,064,510 |
| Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA | 7,390,919 768,381 (DE) | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA | 6,246,160 578,592 (DE) | Chester County, Pennsylvania | 549,784 | Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County, PA MD | 2,064,510 |
| Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA | 7,390,919 768,381 (DE) | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA | 6,246,160 578,592 (DE) | Camden County, New Jersey | 527,196 | Camden, NJ MD | 1,304,786 |
| Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA | 7,390,919 768,381 (DE) | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA | 6,246,160 578,592 (DE) | Burlington County, New Jersey | 469,167 | Camden, NJ MD | 1,304,786 |
| Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA | 7,390,919 768,381 (DE) | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA | 6,246,160 578,592 (DE) | Gloucester County, New Jersey | 308,423 | Camden, NJ MD | 1,304,786 |
| Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA | 7,390,919 768,381 (DE) | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA | 6,246,160 578,592 (DE) | New Castle County, Delaware | 578,592 | Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ MD | 749,602 578,592 (DE) |
| Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA | 7,390,919 768,381 (DE) | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA | 6,246,160 578,592 (DE) | Cecil County, Maryland | 105,672 | Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ MD | 749,602 578,592 (DE) |
| Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA | 7,390,919 768,381 (DE) | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA | 6,246,160 578,592 (DE) | Salem County, New Jersey | 65,338 | Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ MD | 749,602 578,592 (DE) |
| Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA | 7,390,919 768,381 (DE) | Reading, PA MSA | 432,821 | Berks County, Pennsylvania | 432,821 | none | none |
| Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA | 7,390,919 768,381 (DE) | Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ MSA | 369,823 | Atlantic County, New Jersey | 275,213 | none | none |
| Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA | 7,390,919 768,381 (DE) | Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ MSA | 369,823 | Cape May County, New Jersey | 94,610 | none | none |
| Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA | 7,390,919 768,381 (DE) | Dover, DE MSA | 189,789 | Kent County, Delaware | 189,789 | none | none |
| Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA | 7,390,919 768,381 (DE) | Vineland, NJ MSA | 152,326 | Cumberland County, New Jersey | 152,326 | none | none |
| none | none | Seaford, DE μSA | 263,509 | Sussex County, Delaware | 263,509 | none | none |
| State of Delaware | State of Delaware | State of Delaware | State of Delaware | State of Delaware | 1,031,890 | none | none |

## Core-based statistical areas

The following table provides the in-state population ranking of each CBSA along with its rate of population change over time.
The three core-based statistical areas of the State of Delaware :
| 2023 rank | Core-based statistical area | Population | Population | Population | Population | Population |
| 2023 rank | Core-based statistical area | 2023 estimate | Change | 2020 Census | Change | 2010 Census |
| 1 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA (DE) | 578,592 | +1.38% | 570,719 | +5.99% | 538,479 |
| 2 | Seaford, DE μSA | 263,509 | +11.01% | 237,378 | +20.41% | 197,145 |
| 3 | Dover, DE MSA | 189,789 | +4.37% | 181,851 | +12.04% | 162,310 |
| | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA | 6,246,160 | +0.02% | 6,245,051 | +4.69% | 5,965,343 |

## Combined statistical areas

The following table provides the in-state population ranking of each CSA along with its rate of population change over time.
The one combined statistical area of the State of Delaware :
| 2023 rank | Combined statistical area | Population | Population | Population | Population | Population |
| 2023 rank | Combined statistical area | 2023 estimate | Change | 2020 Census | Change | 2010 Census |
| 1 | Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA (DE) | 768,381 | +2.10% | 752,570 | +7.39% | 700,789 |
| | Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA | 7,390,919 | +0.15% | 7,379,700 | +4.41% | 7,067,807 |