588,093 people (2024 Census estimate, +3.0% since 2020)
426 square miles of land · 1,379 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
31 active community water systems list New Castle County in the area they serve, reporting 528,883 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| ARTESIAN WATER COMPANY buys surface water · private · DE0000552 | 231,114 served |
| WILMINGTON WATER DEPARTMENT surface water · local government · DE0000663 | 107,976 served |
| VEOLIA WATER DELAWARE, INC surface water · private · DE0000564 | 100,495 served |
| NEWARK WATER DEPARTMENT surface water · local government · DE0000630 | 40,000 served |
| MIDDLETOWN WATER DEPARTMENT buys surface water · local government · DE0000614 | 17,700 served |
| MUNICIPAL SERVICES COMMISSION groundwater · local government · DE0000634 | 5,549 served |
| EAST NCC DISTRICT groundwater · private · DE00A0334 | 5,538 served |
| NORTH WEST PUMP DISTRICT groundwater · private · DE00A0347 | 4,149 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
No county jail figure in the national data for New Castle County — not gathered, never hidden. Some counties share a regional jail or have none.
6 school districts have their office in New Castle County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $361.8 million — $326.4 million to run schools, about $22,094 per student, plus $13.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $130.7 million local (mostly property tax), $182.9 million state, $53.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $106.4 million.
Spent $494.6 million — $444.5 million to run schools, about $33,954 per student, plus $5.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $181.4 million local (mostly property tax), $264 million state, $55.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $99 million.
Spent $274.2 million — $218 million to run schools, about $17,023 per student, plus $47.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $73.6 million local (mostly property tax), $160.6 million state, $9.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $185.5 million.
Spent $235 million — $220.1 million to run schools, about $21,228 per student, plus $4.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $92.8 million local (mostly property tax), $119.5 million state, $24.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $102 million.
Spent $234.1 million — $210.2 million to run schools, about $23,018 per student, plus $10.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $71.8 million local (mostly property tax), $116.8 million state, $32.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $71.8 million.
Spent $115.8 million — $105.9 million to run schools, about $22,587 per student, plus $6.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $48.2 million local (mostly property tax), $63.3 million state, $10 million federal. Long-term debt: $31.8 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively High compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost New Castle County about $202.2 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
528 bridges in New Castle County: 209 in good condition, 314 fair, and 5 poor (0.9%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| I 495 SB over I 95 NB · built 1965 | 84,782 vehicles a day |
| DUPONT PKW/US13 SB over BLACKBIRD CREEK · built 1920 | 11,020 vehicles a day |
| SOUTH HEALD ST over NORFOLK SOUTHERN · built 1942 | 7,915 vehicles a day |
| DELAWARE RT. 9 over C&D CANAL · built 1969 | 1,203 vehicles a day |
| SR 9 over APPOQUINIMINK RIVER · built 1973 | 840 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $654.5 million of work in New Castle County in fiscal 2025, about $1,147 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Delaware are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for New Castle County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have New Castle County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Delaware: the state government and every county in Delaware.
Nearby counties: Salem County, NJ (15 mi) · Cecil County, MD (16 mi) · Delaware County, PA (27 mi) · Chester County, PA (28 mi) · Gloucester County, NJ (28 mi) · Cumberland County, NJ (33 mi).