Short answer
Delaware had 2,518 construction establishments with paid employees in 2023, employing 24,194 people with $1.76 billion in annual payroll, according to the US Census Bureau's County Business Patterns. That's the fewest of any state, 0.31% of the US total. New Castle County has 1,378, Sussex 753 and Kent 385. Every contractor needs a Delaware business license; the state's trade licenses for electricians, plumbers and HVACR contractors come from the Division of Professional Regulation.
- 2,518 construction establishments and 24,194 employees in Delaware in 2023, the fewest of any state.
- New Castle County has 55% of establishments and 65% of construction jobs.
- Sussex County permitted 3,885 of the state's 6,468 new housing units in 2025.
- The Division of Revenue business license is 'not a regulatory license' and doesn't attest to qualifications.
- Non-resident contractors must post a bond of 6% of contracts over $20,000.
On this page
This report is for homeowners and developers hiring in Delaware, contractors from neighboring states bidding Delaware work, and B2B sellers whose customers are Delaware builders and trades. It covers the Census count, where the building is happening, what the state requires and where to find names.
Delaware construction in one table
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023, construction sector (NAICS 23), State of Delaware:
| Measure | Delaware, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Construction establishments | 2,518 |
| Employees (pay period including March 12) | 24,194 |
| Annual payroll | $1,764,304,000 |
| Average employees per establishment | 9.6 |
| Average annual pay | $72,923 |
| Share of US construction establishments | 0.31% (of 814,557) |
| Rank by establishments (50 states and DC) | 50th |
Only the District of Columbia has fewer construction establishments. Delaware's contractors are about the national average size (9.4 employees) but pay about $3,700 less than the $76,580 average across all states (our calculation from the CBP state file). No SEC-registered listed construction company has its business address in Delaware, even though many companies are incorporated there.
Three counties, very different markets
| County | Establishments | Employees | Employees per establishment | New housing units permitted, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Castle | 1,378 | 15,732 | 11.4 | 1,322 |
| Sussex | 753 | 5,957 | 7.9 | 3,885 |
| Kent | 385 | 2,481 | 6.4 | 1,261 |
Establishment and employee counts are from the CBP county file (two establishments in the state total have no county); housing units are Census Bureau Building Permits Survey estimates. New Castle, around Wilmington, is where the larger commercial, heavy civil and trade contractors are: it has 924 of the state's 1,638 specialty trade establishments and 52 of its 83 commercial builders. Sussex, on the coast, is where the houses are: 3,264 of Delaware's 5,422 single-family units permitted in 2025 were there, and Sussex has 90 of the state's 175 new single-family home builders.
Statewide, permits fell to 6,468 units in 2025 from 7,141 in 2024, as single-family units dropped from 6,236 to 5,422.
Size
| Employees per establishment | Establishments |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 1,600 |
| 5 to 9 | 380 |
| 10 to 19 | 281 |
| 20 to 49 | 158 |
| 50 to 99 | 60 |
| 100 to 249 | 35 |
| 250 to 499 | 4 |
| 500 to 999 | not published |
| 1,000 or more | not published |
In broader bands: 2,261 establishments (89.8%) have 1 to 19 employees, 218 have 20 to 99 and 39 have 100 or more. The Census Bureau doesn't publish the two largest classes for Delaware, but the published classes already add up to the 39, which leaves no establishment with 500 or more employees.
What CBP counts. Establishments are locations with paid employees, not companies, and self-employed contractors aren't included. Contractors from Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey that work in Delaware are counted in their home states.
What Delaware's contractors do
| Type of work (NAICS) | Establishments | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Specialty trade contractors (238) | 1,638 | 16,752 |
| Plumbing, heating and air conditioning (238220) | 344 | 4,719 |
| Electrical contractors (238210) | 283 | 3,437 |
| Site preparation (238910) | 121 | 1,758 |
| Painting and wall covering (238320) | 116 | 665 |
| Construction of buildings (236) | 770 | 4,443 |
| Residential remodelers (236118) | 456 | 1,677 |
| New single-family home builders (236115) | 175 | 951 |
| For-sale homebuilders (236117) | 46 | 584 |
| Commercial and institutional builders (236220) | 83 | 1,116 |
| Heavy and civil engineering (237) | 110 | 2,999 |
| Highway, street and bridge (237310) | 38 | 1,670 |
Highway and bridge contractors average 44 employees and site preparation contractors 14.5; remodelers average 3.7.
A business license, not a qualification
Delaware's Division of Revenue requires every contractor, general or subcontractor, resident or not, to hold a state business license. Its tax guide for contractors (still linked from its contractor page) sets out the rules:
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Business license | $75 a year, renewed by 31 December |
| Gross receipts tax | 0.6537% of taxable construction receipts, after a monthly exclusion of $100,000; amounts paid to subcontractors can be deducted |
| Bidding public work | A license application must be started before bidding a competitively bid contract over $50,000 |
| Non-resident contractors | A surety or cash bond of 6% of all contracts over $20,000, and the hiring firm must report the contract within 10 days |
The guide is explicit that this license "is not a regulatory license" and "does not attest to the qualifications of the applicant." The Division of Revenue's public license search, checked on 30 October 2026, returned 4,708 current non-resident contractor licenses and about 13,460 contractor licenses of both kinds.
The skills the state does license are electrical and plumbing work. The Division of Professional Regulation's Board of Electrical Examiners licenses apprentices, journeypersons, master electricians and limited electricians (the "special" versions are limited to specialties such as elevators or HVAC), and the plumbing and HVACR board licenses master plumbers and master and master restricted HVACR contractors. These boards cover trades rather than general contracting; for general contractors and home builders, the Division of Revenue's guide points to local requirements, so check with the town or county.
How to check a Delaware contractor
- Confirm the business license in the Division of Revenue's search: resident or non-resident, and valid through the current year.
- Verify the electrician or plumber in DELPROS, the Division of Professional Regulation's online license check.
- For an out-of-state contractor on a job over $20,000, ask whether the 6% non-resident bond is posted.
- Get insurance certificates directly from the insurer and two references on similar jobs, since the business license itself tests nothing.
Selling to Delaware contractors
| Size band | Establishments | Who usually decides |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 19 employees | 2,261 | The owner |
| 20 to 99 employees | 218 | Owner with a project manager, estimator or office manager |
| 100 or more | 39 | Operations, procurement, safety and equipment leaders |
A small state means a short list: there are only 257 establishments with 20 or more employees, so it's practical to research every one. Sussex builders and New Castle trade and civil contractors are effectively two territories. For the regional picture, the Philadelphia construction companies report covers New Castle County as part of the Philadelphia metro.
Illustrative example. The distributor, prices and assumptions are invented; the counts are from CBP 2023 and the Building Permits Survey.
Shoreline Window and Door (shorelinewindow.example) supplies windows and doors to coastal builders. Its market is Sussex County's 90 new single-family builders and 21 for-sale homebuilders, the main buyers for the 3,264 single-family homes the county permitted in 2025. Winning builders responsible for 15% of those homes, about 490, at $18,000 of windows and doors a home, is $8.8 million a year. The research that matters is which builders have the most lots in active subdivisions. Bebop finds builders that match a description like that and writes a playbook for each one.
Where to find names
| Source | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Delaware business license search | Current licenses by name, activity (resident or non-resident contractor), city and ZIP |
| DELPROS license verification | Licensed electricians, plumbers and HVACR contractors |
| State bid solicitation directory | Public works solicitations, including DelDOT's |
| Delaware Contractors Association | The state's AGC chapter for building, heavy, highway and utility contractors |
| ABC Delaware | Merit shop contractors, with offices in New Castle and Georgetown and a membership directory |
| Home Builders Association of Delaware | The state's only NAHB-affiliated builders' association, with a find-a-member directory |
Next step: build your list with the construction companies industry guide.
Sources
- County Business Patterns 2023, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Building Permits Survey, annual county data 2025, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Building Permits Survey, annual state data 2025 and 2024, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Contractors, Delaware Division of Revenue, accessed 30 October 2026
- Tax tips for contractors and real estate developers conducting business in Delaware, Delaware Division of Revenue, accessed 30 October 2026
- Business license search, Delaware Division of Revenue, searched 30 October 2026
- Board of Electrical Examiners, Delaware Division of Professional Regulation, accessed 30 October 2026
- Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Examiners, Delaware Division of Professional Regulation, accessed 30 October 2026
- Delaware Contractors Association, Delaware Contractors Association, accessed 30 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many construction companies are in Delaware?
The US Census Bureau counted 2,518 construction establishments with paid employees in Delaware in 2023, employing 24,194 people with $1.76 billion in payroll, the fewest of any state. New Castle County had 1,378, Sussex 753 and Kent 385. Establishments are locations rather than companies, and self-employed contractors with no employees aren't counted.
Do contractors need a license in Delaware?
Every contractor needs a Delaware business license from the Division of Revenue, but the state says that license isn't a regulatory license and doesn't attest to qualifications. Electricians, plumbers and HVACR contractors need professional licenses from the Division of Professional Regulation. For general contractors and home builders, check local requirements with the town or county.
What do out-of-state contractors need to work in Delaware?
A non-resident contractor needs a Delaware business license and must post a surety or cash bond with the Division of Revenue equal to 6% of all contracts over $20,000 for construction in the state. The firm that hires it must report the contract within 10 days. Delaware also charges a gross receipts tax of 0.6537% on construction receipts above a monthly exclusion.
Where is most construction happening in Delaware?
For housing, in Sussex County: it accounted for 3,885 of the 6,468 new housing units Delaware permitted in 2025, according to the Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey. For contractors themselves, New Castle County leads, with 1,378 of the state's 2,518 construction establishments and 15,732 of its 24,194 construction employees in 2023.