Key Facts
- Per Capita Real GDP
- $54,496 Rank: 2/50 (2007)
- Population
- 873,092 Rank: 45/50 (2008)
- Per Capita Personal Income
- $39,022 Rank: 10/50 (2006)
- Unemployment Rate
- 3.80% Rank: 15/50 (2008)
- Business Tax Climate Index
- Rank: 9/50 (2008)
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Delaware: Introduction
Possessing an area of only 2,489 square miles, Delaware is the second smallest of the 50 U.S. states. It is located on the east coast of the United States, bordered by Maryland to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and by New Jersey across the Delaware Bay in the northeast. The majority of Delaware’s land area consists of flat coastal plains descending from the Piedmont Plateau in the north. The southernmost area of the state is covered by 30,000 acres of swampland. The state proved to be a significant force in the American Revolutionary War despite its small population. After success in the war, Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. constitution.
Delaware’s lenient taxation policies and business practice laws make it attractive to big business. Several of the nation’s largest banking and financial services companies have established headquarters in the state. Also, more than half of the top 500 industrial corporations are chartered in the state. Delaware does not have a sales tax or a state level property tax. These desirable policies have given Delaware’s citizens the fourth lowest state-local tax burden in the nation. The vast majority of the state’s corporations are located in the north, while farming is still the most substantial contributor to the economy in the southern portion of the state. The leading agricultural products include broiler chickens, soybeans, corn, and dairy products.
