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Restaurants in Delaware

How many restaurants exist per person present (residents + daytime workers) across the 3 Delaware counties we cover, by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Data: Census ZBP 2023 + ACS 2024 + BLS QCEW.

Includes: Sit-down restaurants with table service. Counted together because official statistics use one 722511 code.

State verdict (covered counties): In line with the U.S. rate — 112% of the U.S. rate

Counties covered

in Delaware

Restaurants

886

establishments (2023)

Per 10,000 present

7.2

residents + 0.5×workers

U.S. average

6.4

per 10,000 present

State index

112%

vs. U.S.

Residents

1,021,605

in covered counties

Workers

425,758

jobs in covered counties

Coverage. This page aggregates only the 3 Delaware counties BizGapMap covers — not the whole state. Counts and the index reflect those counties. The aggregate index uses only ZIP cells Census published, so it is a lower bound. Density is a supply-side signal: it counts existing restaurants and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more.

Counties in Delaware

City	County	Restaurants	Residents	Workers	Per 10k	Index	Verdict
Lewes	Sussex County	329–343	267,041	85,779	10.6	166–172%	High density
Wilmington	New Castle County	442–480	573,431	285,874	6.2	97–101%	Range spans bands
Dover	Kent County	115–137	181,133	54,105	5.5	86–102%	Range spans bands

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Lowest vs. highest measured density

Fewest competitors per capita

Lewes

166%

Wilmington

97%

Dover

86%

Most competitors per capita

Dover

86%

Wilmington

97%

Lewes

166%

Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A county with few restaurants may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. Use the ranking to find where to look, then verify locally.

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BizGapMap — free, no-login small-business saturation reports for major U.S. counties. Built entirely from public U.S. Census, BLS, and IRS data (ZBP 2023, ACS 2024 5-year, PEP 2024, LODES, QCEW, IRS SOI). No forecasts, no revenue guesses — withheld cells are marked, and the few derived counts are labelled as estimates.