Delaware manufacturing fact sheet
THE FACTORY CENSUS, Q3 2026 · FACTORYREGISTRY RESEARCH · SNAPSHOT AUG 2026
As of AUG 2026, FactoryRegistry lists 592 manufacturing facilities in Delaware, of which 278 (47.0%) carry a recent operating signal. That is 56.28 facilities per 100,000 residents.
Full census, Q3 2026 · Delaware in the registry
Top counties
| COUNTY | FACILITIES |
|---|---|
| New Castle | 371 |
| Sussex | 126 |
| Kent | 60 |
Leading industries
| SUBSECTOR | FACILITIES |
|---|---|
| 325 Chemical Manufacturing | 143 |
| 332 Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing | 67 |
| 311 Food Manufacturing | 57 |
| 339 Miscellaneous Manufacturing | 53 |
| 326 Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing | 51 |
Largest listed employers
| FACILITY | CITY | EMPLOYEES |
|---|---|---|
| Delaware City Refining CO LLC | Delaware City | 500+ |
| Georgetown Plant | Georgetown | 500+ |
| Kraft Heinz Dover Delaware | Dover | 500+ |
| Little Falls Site DE | Wilmington | 500+ |
| Milford Plant | Milford | 500+ |
| Millsboro Processing | Millsboro | 500+ |
| Newark Site | Newark | 500+ |
| Selbyville Processing | Selbyville | 500+ |
| Air Liquide Advanced Separations | Newport | 100-499 |
| AstraZeneca Newark Facility | Newark | 100-499 |
Ranked by reported employment band. Facilities whose sources report no band are not listed here.
Coverage
The registry lists 592 facilities in Delaware against a BLS QCEW benchmark of 807 manufacturing establishments (2024) — coverage of 73.4%. The benchmark is a floor: QCEW counts establishments covered by unemployment insurance and so excludes most sole proprietors and some contract operations. The real number of manufacturing sites is therefore higher than the benchmark, and this percentage overstates coverage rather than understating it. Where it exceeds 100%, the registry lists more sites than QCEW counts establishments — which is expected in states with many small or single-person operations, and is also where duplicate listings would show up first.
FactoryRegistry Research, The Factory Census, Q3 2026 — factoryregistry.com/census/2026-q3/de · [email protected]