The county economy from official statistics, with source and year on every table.
Click any dot to open that city: jobs, pay, rent, commute, county economy and climate. Dot size follows population; colours follow the state flag.
By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Sussex County is a county of Delaware with 255,626 residents. Its economy produced $23,356 million in 2024 (ranked #2 of 3 counties) and had 94,273 jobs with an average annual pay of $55,078 (#3 for pay). The unemployment rate was 4.2% in 2026M09. It is part of the Seaford, DE micropolitan area (central county).
Sussex County produced about $23,356 million of goods and services in 2024, which is 21.0% of the combined output of the 3 counties of Delaware that BEA reports (about 25.0% of the state's population lives here), and ranks it 2nd of 3 on that measure. Per resident that is $91,367, 16% below the state average; the average for all counties of the state taken together is $108,669. In current dollars output grew 9.7% from 2023 to 2024, before adjusting for inflation.
BLS counts 94,273 jobs located in Sussex County on average in 2024, spread over 11,171 employer sites (about 8 jobs per site). That is 0.37 jobs for every resident, close to the 0.38 of the typical county in Delaware, which tells you whether the county is a place people mostly commute to for work or a place they commute from. The average annual pay per job was $55,078, 23% below the average of all counties in the state ($55,078 against $71,794). Average pay is total wages divided by jobs, so it is pulled up by high earners and counts part-time jobs as whole jobs; it is not the pay of a typical worker. The number of jobs rose 3.8% from 2023 to 2024.
The three largest private industries are accommodation and food services (17.9% of private jobs, $28,748 a year on average), health care and social assistance (17.4% of private jobs, $69,371 a year on average), retail trade (16.5% of private jobs, $38,159 a year on average). Together they hold 51.8% of private-sector jobs. Among industries with at least 3% of jobs, the best paying is professional and technical services at $98,735 a year, followed by health care and social assistance ($69,371). The county is specialised in several industries: accommodation and food services (1.7 times the US share, 14,617 jobs); manufacturing (1.5 times the US share, 11,376 jobs); retail trade (1.4 times the US share, 13,446 jobs). A location quotient above 1 means an industry employs a larger share of workers here than in the whole country, so these are the industries where local employers compete hardest for skills. Several of the biggest employers pay well below the county average: accommodation and food services ($28,748), retail trade ($38,159). Jobs there are plentiful but the pay is lower than the headline average suggests.
In 2026M09 the unemployment rate in Sussex County was 4.2%, 8% below the average of the state's counties (4.2% against 4.6%). The labour force (people working or looking for work) numbered 120,133. Over the last 12 months it ranged from 4.1% (2026M05) to 5.8% (2026M01); the latest month is preliminary and BLS revises it. These county rates are not seasonally adjusted, so compare the same month across years.
The median household income was $81,497 (ACS 2020–2024), 4% below the state median ($81,497 against $84,954). The guide covers 7 cities with this as the main county: Milford, Seaford, Georgetown, Millsboro, Laurel, Milton, Lewes. Open any of them for rent, home values, commuting and climate. Within the county, median rent runs from $381 in Lewes to $1,410 in Georgetown, so where you live matters as much as which county you pick.
Counties close to Sussex County in output are New Castle County, Kent County. Compare their jobs, pay and unemployment on their own pages.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ | Rank among the 3 counties of Delaware ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 255,626 | 2 of 3 |
| GDP 2024 | $23,356 million | 2 of 3 |
| GDP per resident | $91,367 | 2 of 3 |
| Jobs (QCEW 2024) | 94,273 | 2 of 3 |
| Average annual pay | $55,078 | 3 of 3 |
| Job change vs 2023 | +3.8% | 1 of 3 |
| Unemployment rate (lower is better) | 4.2% | 1 of 3 |
| Median household income | $81,497 | 2 of 3 |
Federal jobs in Delaware (103) →All cities of DelawareState guide: Delaware
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
Cities of this guide whose main county is Sussex County.
| City ⇅ | Population ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ | Median home value ⇅ | Bachelor's+ ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milford | 12,803 | $59,464 | $1,260 | $296,900 | 27.6% |
| Seaford | 8,485 | $54,016 | $1,176 | $224,300 | 15.3% |
| Georgetown | 7,660 | $49,719 | $1,410 | $281,400 | 15.9% |
| Millsboro | 7,424 | $78,707 | $1,277 | $332,600 | 34.2% |
| Laurel | 4,152 | $48,644 | $1,056 | $230,300 | 4.6% |
| Milton | 3,567 | $80,875 | $1,310 | $407,000 | 40.7% |
| Lewes | 3,505 | $96,393 | $381 | $826,100 | 67.8% |
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and food services | 14,617 | 17.9% | $28,748 | 1.71 |
| Health care and social assistance | 14,175 | 17.4% | $69,371 | 1.05 |
| Retail trade | 13,446 | 16.5% | $38,159 | 1.43 |
| Manufacturing | 11,376 | 14.0% | $57,254 | 1.47 |
| Construction | 6,274 | 7.7% | $64,470 | 1.27 |
| Administrative and waste services | 5,961 | 7.3% | $51,312 | 1.07 |
| Professional and technical services | 3,485 | 4.3% | $98,735 | 0.53 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 3,038 | 3.7% | $43,942 | 1.07 |
| Finance and insurance | 2,387 | 2.9% | $96,449 | 0.62 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 2,124 | 2.6% | $31,489 | 1.34 |
| Wholesale trade | 1,881 | 2.3% | $88,330 | 0.51 |
| Real estate and rental | 1,546 | 1.9% | $62,584 | 1.06 |
| Information | 615 | 0.8% | $111,836 | 0.35 |
| Educational services | 379 | 0.5% | $42,060 | 0.19 |
| Management of companies | 215 | 0.3% | $127,771 | 0.14 |
A location quotient above 1 means the industry is more concentrated here than in the US. BLS withholds sectors with too few employers.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Labour force | 120,133 |
| Employed residents | 115,071 |
| Unemployed residents | 5,062 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.2% |
| Jobs located in the county (QCEW) | 94,273 |
| Employer sites | 11,171 |
Residents employed and jobs located here differ: many residents commute to other counties.
| County ⇅ | Population ⇅ | GDP 2024 ⇅ | GDP per resident ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Unemployment ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Castle County | 577,961 | $75,964 million | $131,434 | 303,806 | $80,334 | 4.6% |
| Sussex County | 255,626 | $23,356 million | $91,367 | 94,273 | $55,078 | 4.2% |
| Kent County | 187,604 | $11,652 million | $62,111 | 71,071 | $57,464 | 5.0% |
255,626 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024).
$23,356 million in 2024 (BEA, current dollars).
4.2% in 2026M09 (BLS, not seasonally adjusted; the latest month may be revised).
94,273 jobs on average in 2024 with an average annual pay of $55,078 (BLS QCEW).