Buckingham Greene Maintenance Corporation

Delaware Facts and Figures

Figures for 2000 are based on information from the U.S. Census Bureau and estimates developed by the Delaware Economic Development Office.
Population: 783,600 (New Castle County, 500,265; Kent, 126,697; Sussex, 156,638)
Households: 298,736
Per capita personal income: $31,255
Median household income: $45,709
Median income for four-person family: $65,157
Employment breakdown: White collar, 71 percent; blue collar, 29 percent (excludes retirees, others not in work force)
Unemployment rate: Annual 2000, 4.0 percent; April 2001, 3.3 percent
Racial breakdown of major groups: white, 584,596; black, 155,416; Hispanic, 35,000
Education: No high-school diploma, 22.4 percent; high-school graduates, 32.6 percent; some college, 16.9 percent; associate's degree, 6.4 percent; bachelor's degree, 13.6 percent; advanced degree, 7.7 percent
OFFICIAL SYMBOLS
Beverage: Milk
Bird: Blue Hen chicken
Butterfly: Tiger Swallowtail
Colors: Colonial blue and buff
Fish: Weakfish (sea trout)
Flower: Peach blossom
Fossil: Belemnite (ancient relative of the squid)
Herb: Goldenrod
Insect: Ladybug
Mineral: Sillimanite
Motto: Liberty and Independence
Tree: American Holly
SONG: 'OUR DELAWARE'
First verse:
Oh, the hills of dear New Castle, And the smiling vales between,
When the corn is all in tassel, And the meadow lands are green,
Where the cattle crop the clover, And its breath is in the air,
While the sun is shining over, Our Beloved Delaware.
Chorus:
Oh, our Delaware! Our beloved Delaware!
For the sun is shining over our beloved Delaware.
Oh! our Delaware! Our beloved Delaware!
Here's the loyal son that pledges, Faith to good old Delaware.
Second verse:
Where the wheat fields break and billow, In the peaceful land of Kent,
Where the toiler seeks his pillow, With the blessings of content;
Where the bloom that tints the peaches, Cheeks of merry maidens share,
And the woodland chorus preaches, A rejoicing Delaware.
(Repeat chorus)
Third verse:
Dear old Sussex visions linger, Of the holly and the pine,
Of Henlopen's jeweled finger, Flashing out across the brine;
Of the gardens and the hedges, And the welcome waiting there,
For the loyal son that pledges, Faith to good old Delaware.
(Repeat chorus)
Fourth verse:
From New Castle's rolling meadows, Through the fair rich fields of Kent,
To the Sussex shores hear echoes, Of the pledge we now present;
Liberty and Independence, We will guard with loyal care,
And hold fast to freedom's presence, In our home state, Delaware.
(Repeat chorus)
MISCELLANEOUS
Abbreviation: Del. (traditional), DE (postal)
Nicknames: First State (for being first to ratify the U.S. Constitution), Diamond State (for a quotation attributed to Thomas Jefferson likening the state to a small and valuable jewel), Small Wonder (slogan created by the Delaware Economic Development Office)