An Overview of Poverty in Delaware

Delaware’s 2017-2021 five-year average poverty rate was 11.4%, which is lower than the rate of 12.6% throughout the United States as a whole. Poverty rates by race and ethnic background show disparities. Black Delaware residents were more than twice as likely to live in poverty as white Delawareans, with poverty rates of 17.8% and 8.4%, respectively, while Asian individuals had a poverty rate of 10.5%. Hispanic or Latino/x individuals of any race were the most likely to experience poverty and had a five-year average poverty rate of 18.2%. Tracking the overall poverty rate (most commonly through the American Community Survey 5-Year Averages) is valuable when studying trends over time but lacks the power to display the true economic status of individuals and families. Access: work, income supports, shelter, food, and healthcare all complete each whole person. Level of access within each of these sectors of life determines well-being, and varies based on race and ethnic background, geography, and age. A new challenge is now faced as the Public Health Emergency (PHE) has ended, repealing a multitude of supports with the risk of putting individuals and families into a new phase of crisis.